MALPIGHIACE^E. XIV. VARGASIA. XV. TETRAPTERIS. XVI. BANISTERIA. 



643 



XIV. VARGA'SIA (probably an alteration from the vernacu- 

 lar name of one of the species in St. Domingo). Bert. ined. 

 Spreng. syst. 2. p. 283. no. 1707. 



LIN. SYST. Decdndria, Monogynia. Calyx 5-parted, with- 

 out glands. Petals almost sessile. Styles joined at the base, 

 but revolute at the top. Samaras winged at the apex. Shrubs 

 with 3 leaves in a whorl. 



1 V. GLA'BRA (Bert. ined. in Spreng. syst. 2. p. 388.) leaves 

 tern, obovate, acute, serrated, very smooth on both surfaces, 

 veiny ; racemes spiked, aggregate, reflexed. Pj . v _ y . S. Native 

 of St. Domingo. Flowers yellow. 



Smooth Vargasia. Shrub cl. 



2 V. TOMENTOSA (Bert. ined. in Spreng. syst. 2. p. 388.) 

 leaves tern, spatulate-oblong, serrulated, clothed with white 

 down beneath ; racemes aggregate, erect. Tj . w . S. Native of 

 St. Domingo. 



Donny Vargasia. Shrub cl. ? 



Cult. These climbing shrubs will thrive well in a mixture of 

 loam and peat ; and ripened cuttings will strike root in sand 

 under a hand-glass, in heat. 



XV. TETRA'PTERIS (from rcrpa, tetra, four, and wrcpov, 

 pteron, a wing ; in allusion to the carpels being each expanded 

 into 4 wings). Cav. diss. 9. p. 433. D. C. prod. 1. p. 587. 

 Triopteris, Willd. spec. 2. p. 743. 



LIN. SYST. Monadelphia, Decdndria. Calyx 5-parted ; each 

 segment furnished with 2 glands at the base. Petals roundish, 

 unguiculate. Stamens 10, with awl-shaped filaments, which are 

 a little joined together at the base, each alternate one longer than 

 the others. Carpels expanded each into 4 oblong wings, 2 su- 

 perior, 2 inferior ; these last are usually smaller. Petioles with- 

 out glands. Flowers of all yellow. Shrubs twining or climbing. 



1 T. BUXJFOLIA (Cav. diss. 9. p. 434. t. 262. f. 1.) leaves 

 ovate, obtuse, almost sessile, small, very smooth ; flowers in 

 umbels, terminal. P? . w . S. Native of St. Domingo. Triopteris 

 buxifolia, Willd. spec. 2. p. 745. Leaves 8 or 9 lines long and 

 5 or 6 broad. Wings of fruit purplish. 



Box-leaved Tetrapteris. Clt. 1822. Shrub cl. 



2 T. ACAPULCE'NSIS (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 5. p. 

 168.) leaves ovate-elliptical, obtuse, on very short stalks, cor- 

 date, coriaceous, shining, smooth ; umbels axillary, solitary, 4- 

 flowered. Tj . w . S. Native of Mexico near Acapulca on the 

 sea-shore. Flowers unknown, but probably yellow. 



Acapulca Tetrapteris. Shrub cl. 



3 T. MUCRONA'TA (Cav. diss. 9. t. 262. f. 2.) leaves ovate, 

 mucronately acuminated, on short footstalks, very smooth ; pa- 

 nicles axillary, somewhat umbellate at the tops of the branches. 

 Tj . ^. S. Native of Cayenne. Triopteris acuminkta, Willd. spec. 

 2. p. 745. Petioles 3 lines long. Leaves 4 inches long and 2 

 broad. 



Mucronate-leaved Tetrapteris. Shrub cl. 



4 T. ACUTIFOLIA (Cav. diss. 9. t. 261.) leaves ovate-lanceolate, 

 acuminated, with the middle nerve beneath clothed with close- 

 pressed hairs which are fixed by their centre ; panicles terminal. 

 fy . w . S. Native of Cayenne. Triopteris acutif61ia, Willd. spec. 

 2. p. 744. Cavanilles says that his plant is smooth. It is there- 

 fore perhaps distinct, or the hairs are omitted in the description, 

 or they may be deciduous. 



Acute-leaved Tetrapteris. Shrub cl. 



5 T. SCHIEDIA'NA (Schlecht. et Cham. inLinnaea. 5. p. 218.) 

 leaves lanceolate, acuminate, acute, on short petioles, smoothish, 

 middle nerve strigose ; umbels usually 4-flowered, panicled at 

 the apex ; fruit with equal sides. Tj . w . S. Native of Mexico 

 near Jalapa. Flowers orange-coloured. Differs from T, acuti- 

 fblia in the leaves being one-half smaller. 



Schiede's Tetrapteris. Shrub cl. 

 1 



6 T. CITRIFOLIA (Pers. ench. 1. p. 505.) leaves ovate-oblong, 

 acute, smooth ; umbels axillary, stalked ; wings of fruit twin, 

 lower ones one-half shorter than the others. J? . w . S. Native of 

 Jamaica in the woods on the mountains. Tetrapteris inaequalis, 

 Cav. diss. 9. t. 260. Triopteris bifurca, Gaert. fruct. 2. p. 163. 

 t. 116. Triopteris citrifolia, Swartz, fl. ind. occ. 2. p. 857. 

 Flowers small. Leaves cordate at the base. 



Citron-leaved Tetrapteris. Clt. 1818. Shrub cl. 



7 T. DI'SCOLOR (Meyer, esseq. prim. 182. under Triopteris,) 

 leaves oblong, acuminated, smooth on both surfaces, discoloured 

 beneath ; umbels panicled, terminal, and axillary. Pj . S. Na- 

 tive of Guiana near the Essequebo in sandy woods. Exterior 

 wings of fruit 3-times larger than the rest. 



Discoloured-\eaved. Tetrapteris. Shrub 6 feet. 



ST.? PAUCIFLORA (Meyer, prim, esseq. p. 183. under Triop- 

 teris,) leaves oblong-lanceolate, smooth on both surfaces, on very 

 short footstalks ; umbels axillary, shorter than the leaves. T? . w . 

 S. Native of Guiana in bushy places near the Essequebo. 



Fern-flowered Tetrapteris. Shrub cl. 



Cult. This is a genus of rather ornamental shrubs, but ex- 

 tremely difficult to bring into flower in this country. They 

 will all thrive in a mixture of sand, loam, and peat ; and cuttings, 

 taken from ripened wood, will strike root in sand under a hand- 

 glass, in heat. 



XVI. BANISTE V RIA (in honour of John Baptist Banister, 

 a traveller in Virginia in the 1 7th century, author of a catalogue 

 of Virginian plants, inserted in Ray's Historia Plantarum). H. B. 

 et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 5. p. 161. D. C. prod. 1. p. 587. 

 Banisteria with unconnected fruit, Lin. gen. no. 573. Cav. diss. 

 9. p. 421. 



LIN. SYST. Monadelphia, Decdndria. Calyx 5-parted (f. 109. a.) 

 furnished with 8 or 10 glands on the outside at the base. Petals 

 roundish, unguiculate (f. 109. &.). Stamens 10 (f. 109. c.), with 

 awl-shaped filaments, which are a little joined at the base (f. 109. 

 c.) Styles 3 (f. 109. d.), usually expanded into a leaflet at the 

 apex. Carpels 3, indehiscent (f. 109./.), 1 -seeded, somewhat 

 distinct, and are at length separable, each ending in a mem- 

 branous wing (f. 109. a.), thickened on the upper part (f. 109. d.) 

 Seed pendulous, 1 in each cell. Cotyledons thick, unequal. Ra- 

 dicle pointing towards the hilum. Trees or shrubs, usually 

 climbing. Flowers of all yellow. 



* Leaves cordate at the base, lobed, or angularly toothed. 



1 B. PALMA'TA (Cav. diss. 9. p. 430. t. 257. f. 2.) leaves pal- 

 mately cleft, downy beneath, with acuminated lobes ; petioles 

 biglandular at the top. Pj . / ~ > . S. Native of St. Domingo and 

 Cayenne. Perhaps only a variety of B. angulosa. Flowers 

 sulphur-coloured. 



Palate-leaved Banisteria. Shrub tw. 



2 B. ANGULOSA (Lin. spec. 611.) leaves cordate, bluntly an- 

 gular, rather fiddle-shaped, downy or silky-pubescent beneath ; 

 petioles biglandular at the apex. >2 . ^\ S. Native of St. Do- 

 mingo and Cayenne. Plum. ed. Burm. t. 92. Cav. diss. 9. t. 

 252. Flowers sulphur-coloured. 



^nguZar-leaved Banisteria. Shrub cl. 



3 B. SINUA'TA (D. C. prod. 1. p. 588.) leaves cordate, ovate- 

 roundish, very bluntly sinuated, smooth above, and scarcely 

 pubescent beneath ; petioles biglandular at the apex. 17 . ""\ S. 

 Native of Guiana. Flowers yellow. Carpels on the inner side 

 have a larger appendage than in B. angulosa, with the lateral 

 wings almost reduced to a crest. 



<$coWoperf-leaved Banisteria. Shrub cl. 



4 B. VARIIFOLIA (D. C. prod. 1. p. 588.) leaves cordate, 

 clothed with hoary down beneath, some of which are ovate and 

 undivided, others are 3-lobed, and acute at the apex ; petioles 



4N 2 



