748 



MELASTOMACE.E. XXVII. TRICENTRUM. XXVIII. MARCETIA. 



every part ; branches somewhat tetragonal ; loaves ovate, mu- 

 cronate, villous, 5-nerved ; flowers bibracteolate, on short peili- 

 cels in the axils of the upper leaves. H . S. Native of Brazil. 

 Calyx cylindrical, villous ; lobes 4, linear. Petals oblong. 

 Stamens exactly as in the following species. 



Oral-leaved Tricentrum. Sh. 1 fo'.t. 



2 T. ? LEPTOPHY'LLVM (I). C. prod. 3. p. 123.) glabrous; 

 steins procumbent, tetragonal ; leaves linear, 1 -nerved, serru- 

 lated at the apex ; flowers terminal, solitary. f? . S. Native 

 on the banks of the Orinoco, near Maypures. Rhexia lepto- 

 phylla, Bonpl. rhex. t. 24. Habit very different from the first 

 species, but the flowers and fruit, as far as known, are similar. 

 Seeds unknown. Ovarium free. Style filiform. 



Slender-leaved Tricentrum. Sh. procumbent. 



Cult, For culture and propagation see Lasiandra, p. 752. 



XXVIII. MARCETIA (dedicated by De Candolle to his 

 friend Fr. Marcet, who has advanced vegetable physiology by a 

 singular memoire on the effects of poison on living vegetables). 

 D. C. prod. 3. p. 124. 



LIN. SYST. Octandria, Monogynia. Tube of calyx oblong or 

 cylindrical ; lobes 4, lanceolate. Petals 4, oval, acute. Stamens 

 8, equal ; anthers oblong, furnished with 2 tubercles at the base, 

 opening by one pore. Ovarium free, glabrous. Style filiform. 

 Stigma dot-formed. Capsule 4-valved, 4-celled, about equal in 

 length to the tube of the calyx. Seeds cochleate. Brazilian 

 shrubs. Branches terete. Leaves rather fleshy, oblong, usually 

 with revolute edges, cordate at the base, on very short petioles 

 or almost sessile, quite entire, usually nerveless. Flowers axil- 

 lary, solitary, almost sessile, bibracteate, white or reddish. 



1 M. DECUSSA'TA (D. C. 1. c.) suffruticose, branched ; leaves 

 sessile, ovate, rather cordate, bluntish, quite entire, 3-nerved at 

 the base, downy, as well as the branchlets and calyxes ; flowers 

 axillary, pedicellate : lobes of calyx lanceolate-subulate, hardly 

 shorter than the tube ; petals oval, acute. f; . S. Native of 

 Brazil, in the province of Bahia, on woody mountains, at the 

 height of 2000 feet. Rhexia decussata, Mart. e.t Schrank, mss. 

 Leaves hardly 2-3 lines long. Genitals exserted. Stamens 

 alternately unequal, but similar to the rest. Anthers furnished with 

 2 tubercles at the base. Seeds wrinkled, truncate at the base. 



Decussate-leaved Marcetia. Sh. 1 foot. 



2 M. COKDIGERA (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, much branched ; 

 branches hispid from bristles ; leaves sessile, cordate, when young 

 revolute at the margins, but at length becoming flat, and truly 

 heart-shaped, rather scabrous from minute glandular down ; 

 flowers axillary, pedicellate, solitary, disposed in a leafy raceme; 

 petals obliquely mucronate. Jj . S. Native of Brazil, in the 

 province of Rio Janeiro, on the Alps. Rhexia cordigera, Mart, 

 et Schrank, mss. Flowers white. Allied to M. taxifolia. 



Heart-bearing Marcetia. Sh. 1 foot. 



3 M. EXCORIA'TA (D. C. I. c.) suffruticose, much branched ; 

 leaves almost sessile, oblong, rather cordate at the base, obtuse 

 at the afex and mucronulate, densely clothed with down, some- 

 what 3-nerved ; flowers axillary, pedicellate, disposed in short 

 leafy racemes ; anthers furnished with 2 tubercles at the base. 



1? . S. Native of Brazil, on the mountains between Villa Ricca 

 andTejuco. Rhexia excoriata, Mart, et Schrank, mss. Bark 

 at length separating from the stem. Leaves with a bluntish mucrone, 

 covered with resiniferous down. Teeth of calyx linear. Petals 

 oblong-obovate, rose-coloured. Genitals exserted. Seeds hardly 

 wrinkled, truncate at the base. 



Excoriated Marcetia. Sh. 2 to 3 feet. 



4 M. TAXIFOLIA (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, much branched, clothed 

 with glandular down in every part ; leaves nearly sessile, oval- 

 oblong, nearly linear, cordate at the base, with the margins re- 

 volute ; flowers axillary, solitary ; calyx covered with glandular 

 hairs, with 4 oblong-linear lobes ; petals obliquely mucronate. 



I; . S. Native of Brazil, in the province of Mitias Geraes, in 

 sandy places. Rhexia taxifoliit, St. Hil. in Bonpl. rhex. t. 57. 

 Flowers white, on pedicels, which are furnished with one bractea 

 each ? 



Var. ft, cinerea (D. C. 1. c.) the whole plant almost white from 

 short cinereous down. 1? . S. Native of Brazil, in the pro- 

 vince of Minas Geraes, at the height of 4000 feet, in fields. 

 Rhexia cinerea, Mart. herb. Flowers purplish. 

 Yen-leaved Marcetia. Sh. 1 to 2 feet. 



5 M. GLANDULOSA (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, much branched ; 

 branches thickly beset with glandular hairs; leaves sessile, oval- 

 oblong, but nearly lanceolate from the margins being revolute ; 

 cordate at the base, nerveless, crowded, ornamented with glan- 

 dular hairs ; flowers axillary ; pedicels short, bibracteolate in the 

 middle ; lobes of calyx subulate, fj . S. Native of Brazil, in 

 the province of Minas Geraes. Rhexia quadrivalvis, Mart. herb. 

 Flowers purplish, a little larger than those of M. taxifolia. 



Glandular Marcetia. Sh. 1 to 2 feet. 



6 M. PUBE'SCENS (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, branched; branches 

 clothed with glandular down ; leaves sessile, oval-oblong from 

 the revolution of the margins, oblong, cordate at the base, downy, 

 not glandular, nerveless ; flowers axillary, almost sessile ; brac- 

 teoles small, setaceous ; lobes of calyx short, t? . S. Native 

 of Brazil. Rhexia Langsdorfiana, Kunth ex Mart. Flowers 

 purplish. 



Pubescent Marcetia. Sh. 1 to 2 feet. 



7 M. TENUIFOLIA (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, much branched ; 

 branches rather tetragonal, clothed with short hispid down ; 

 leaves sessile, linear, nerveless, clothed with short velvety down, 

 revolute at the margins ; pedicels axillary, short, 1 -flowered, fur- 

 nished with 2 bracteas each, fj . S. Native of Brazil. Rhexia 

 tenuifolia, Mart. herb. Allied to M. tax/folia, from the white 

 flowers, but differs from it in the down not being glandular, and 

 in the leaves being narrower and more spreading. 



Fine-leaved Marcetia. Sh. 1 to 2 feet. 



8 M. JUNIPE'RINA (D. C. I.e.) suffruticose; branches slen- 

 der, downy ; leaves lanceolate, but linear from the revolution of 

 the edges, acute, nerveless, clothed with rough pubescence ; 

 flowers axillary, solitary, sessile, bibracteate ; lobes of calyx 

 linear-subulate ; petals oval-oblong, awnedly mucronate. T? . S. 

 Native of Brazil. Rhexia juniperina, Spreng. syst. 2. p. 310. 



Juniper-like Marcetia. Sh. 1 foot. 



9 M. TAMARISCINA(D. C. 1. c ) shrubby ; leaves sessile, rather 

 fleshy, oblong, cordate, with revolute margins, and hence as if 

 they were sagittately cordate ; flowers axillary, almost sessile ; 

 petals lanceolate. (7 . S. Native of Brazil, in the province of 

 Minas Geraes. Rhexia tamariscina, Schrank et Mart. rnss. 

 Leaves, branches, and calyxes rather downy ; lobes of calyx 

 narrow, acute, acerose. Petals white. Stamens similar. An- 

 thers rather tumid at the base. Seeds truncate at the base. 

 Leaves almost like those of Empetrum. Very near M. taxi- 

 folia. 



Tamarisk-like Marcetia. Sh. 1 to 2 feet. 



10 M. ACEROSA (D. C. 1. c.) suffruticose, very humble ; leaves 

 clothed with velvety down, oblong-linear, with revolute edges ; 

 flowers solitary, terminal, erect, sessile ; genitals shorter than 

 the petals, which are orbicular, and hardly apiculated. F? . S. 

 Native of Brazil, in the province of Minas Geraes, in the Certao 

 or desert, in stony sandy fields. Rhexia acerosa, Schrank et 

 Mart. mss. A small heath-like shrub. Leaves 1-2 lines long. 

 Branches filiform. Anthers ovate, hardly auricled at the base. 

 Petals purple. Allied to M. taxifolia from the leaves, but 

 differs in the flowers being 4-petalled and octandrous. Habit of 

 Tetratheca. 



Needle-leaved Marcetia. Sh. 1 foot. 



1 1 M. SERTULA'RIA (D. C. 1. c.) shrubby, branched ; branchlets 

 and leaves rough from thick glandular down ; leaves sessile, 



1 



