132 ASCLEPIADE,E. XXVIII. MARSDENIA. XXIX. COSMOSTIGMA. XXX. HETEROSTEMMA. XXXI. PERGULARIA. 



yellow. Leaves 4-6 inches long and 3-4 broad. Follicles 

 ovate-lanceolate, downy, green, 6 inches long, and 4-5 in cir- 

 cumference. The bark of the young luxuriant shoots yields a 

 large portion of beautiful fine silky fibre, with which the 

 mountaineers of Rajemahl make their bow-strings, on account 

 of their great strength and durability. Their fibres, and those 

 of the bark of a Malay plant (Batha-calay, or poolas, the 

 Urtica tenacissima, Roxb.) are much stronger in the fibre 

 than hemp, and even exceeding those of Sanseveria Zeyldnica, 

 Roxb. A line made of common hemp for a standard, broke 

 with 150 Ibs. when dry, and 190 Ibs. when wet, the average of 

 several trials. A similar line, of this substance, broke with 

 248 Ibs. when dry, and 343 when wet, while that of Urtica 

 tenacissima broke witli 240 when dry, and 278 when wet. 

 Very tough Marsdenia. Clt. 1806. Shrub tw. 



SECT. II. NEPHRA'NDRA (from ve<f>OQ, nepkos, a kidney, and 

 avr)p avdpoc, aner andros, a male ; shape of anthers). Stigma 

 beaked. Anthers kidney-shaped. 



15 M. ERE'CTA (R. Br. 1. c. p. 31.) stem erect; leaves cor- 

 date, ovate, acute ; cymes umbel-formed ; segments of the 

 limb of the corolla beardless, 4-5 times longer than the tube. 

 T? . G. Native of Syria. Cynanchum ereczum, Lin. hort. 

 cliff. 79. Willd. spec. 1. p. 1158. Jacq. hort. t. 38. Per- 

 gularia erecta, Spreng. syst. 1. p. 844. Kniph. cent. 7. no. 19. 

 Apocynum, Clus. 1. p. 124. Leaves pale green, glaucescent. 

 Flowers numerous, white, sweet-scented, ex Jacq. 



Erect Marsdenia. Fl. Jul. Aug. Clt. 1597. Sh. 3 to 6 ft. 



16 M. ROSTRA'TA (R. Br. 1. c.) stem twining; leaves ovate, 

 subcordate, acuminated, glabrous ; umbels many-flowered ; 

 limb of corolla bearded. I? . rN . G. Native of New Holland, 

 without the tropic. Pergularia rostrata, Spreng. syst. 1. p. 844. 

 This species differs from all the preceding in the pollen masses 

 being reniform, nearly transverse, fixed by the extremity, more 

 remote from the corpuscles of the stigma. 



Beaked Marsdenia. Shrub tw. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Pergularia, p. 133. 



XXIX. COSMOSTl'GMA (from icoir/ioc, kosmos, decked ; 

 and ariypa, a stigma ; in reference to the stigma being adorned 

 by a narrow wing). Wight, contrib. ind. bot. p. 41. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, Digynia. Corolla rotate. Sta- 

 mineous corona 5-leaved ; leaflets compressed, bifid. Anthers 

 ventricose, terminated by a membrane ; pollen masses erect, 

 fixed by the base to the corpuscles of the stigma, hanging by long 

 retinacula. Stigma mutic, crowned by a repand, flexuous, nar- 

 row wing. Follicles large, linear-oblong, obtuse, smooth. Seeds 

 comose. Twining shrubs. Leaves opposite, membranous. Co- 

 rymbs usually twin, on long peduncles. Flowers small. This 

 genus has been separated from Marsdenia on account of the 

 very beautiful and peculiar stigma; the cleft leaflets of the co- 

 rona allies it to the last section of that genus. 



1 C. RACEM6SA (Wight, 1. c. p. 42.). J; . ^. S. Native of 

 Silhet and Chittagong. Asclepias racemosa, Roxb. fl. ind. 2. 

 p. 32. mus. ind. or. t. 1818. Nerium piscitlium, Wall. cat. no. 

 59. but not of Roxb. 



Racemoxe- flowered Comostigma. Shrub tw. 



Cult. See Pergularia, p. 133, for culture and propagation. 



XXX. HETEROSTE'MMA (from tVtpoc, heteros, variable, 

 and vrepfia, stemma, a crown ; the corona in each of the species 

 has a form peculiar to itself). Wight and Arnott, contrib. ind. 

 bot. p. 42. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, Digynia. Corolla rotate, 5-parted. 



Stamineous corona 5-leaved ; leaflets dilated, furnished each with 

 a process inside. Anthers lying upon the stigma, terminated by 

 a membrane; pollen masses erect, obsoletely tetragonal, pellucid 

 on one side. Follicles smooth. Seeds comose. Twining 

 shrubs. Leaves opposite, furnished above the base with a small 

 gland. Umbels small, interpetiolar, on short peduncles. The 

 corona being variable in the species of this j;enus, the principal 

 distinction rests in the form and structure of the pollen masses, 

 which resemble those of Stapelia, and the allied genera. 



1 H. TANJORE'NSIS (Wight and Arnott, 1. c.) twining, gla- 

 brous ; leaves broadly ovate or oblong, short-acuminated, ob- 

 tuse or cordate at the base ; peduncles shorter than the leaves, 

 few-flowered ; leaflets of corona spreading, broad, truncate, 

 furnished with a tongue-formed process inside ; follicles diva- 

 ricate, slender, glabrous, hooked at the apex. >; . / "\ S. Na- 

 tive of the East Indies, in the province of Tanjore, in sand. 

 Stapelia involucrata, herb. madr. Leaves 2-4 inches long, and 

 1-2 broad. 



Tanjore Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 



% H. WALLICHII (Wight, 1. c.) twining; branches having a 

 downy, lateral line on both sides ; leaves ovate, acuminated, 

 glabrous ; peduncles very short, few -flowered ; leaflets of 

 corona much dilated, obcordate, furnished with an erect, fleshy 

 process inside, lying upon the eynostegium. I? . *"\ S. Na- 

 tive of Nipaul, on Sheopore. Wall. ascl. no. 154. without a 

 name. Leaves 4-8 inches long, and 2-3 broad. 



Wallich's Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 



3 H. ALA'TA (Wight, 1. c.) twining; branches having a downy 

 line on both sides ; leaves ovate, acuminated, glabrous ; umbels 

 few-flowered, almost sessile ; leaflets of corona cuspidate, fur- 

 nished with a subulate tooth on the back, and a gland-formed 

 process inside ; follicles slender, glabrous, divaricate. 17 . r *. S. 

 Native of Nipaul, and Massooree. Hoya alata, Wall, asclep. 

 no. 136. Leaves 2-5 inches long, and 1-3 broad. 



Winged Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Pergularia, p. 133. 



XXXI. PERGULA'RIA (from pergula, an arbour ; twining 

 plants, fit for covering arbours). R. Br. in mem. wern. soc. 1. 

 p. 31. Blum, bijdr. p. 1055. Pergularia species, Lin. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, Monogynia. Corolla salver-shaped, 

 with an urceolate tube. Stamineous corona 5-leaved ; leaflets 

 compressed, undivided at top, and furnished each with a little 

 segment inside. Anthers terminated by a membrane ; pollen 

 masses erect, fixed by the base. Stigma mutic. Follicles ven- 

 tricose, smooth Seeds comose. Twining plants, with broad 

 membranous leaves ; interpetiolar cymes, of yellowish, sweet- 

 scented flowers, for which they are cultivated in China and the 

 East Indies. Throat of corolla usually hairy. 



1 P. ODORATISSIMA (Roxb. and Smith, icon. pict. p. 16.) 

 leaves cordate, acuminated, soft, downy ; umbels shorter than 

 the leaves ; calycine segments shorter than the tube of the 

 corolla, which is woolly inside ; corona shorter than the tube 

 of the corolla ; segments of corolla short, obtuse. ^ . r ^. S. 

 Native of China, Cochinchina, and Sumatra, where it is called 

 West coast creeper by the English. Andr. bot. rep. t. 185. 

 Pergularia minor, Sims, bot. mag. 755. Perg. tomentosn, Lin. 

 mant. 53. Cynanchum odoratissimum, Lour. coch. p. 164. 

 Flos Siamicus, Rumph. amb. 6. p. 58. t. 26. f. 1. The Malay 

 name of the shrub is Tonki or Tonkin. Bark corky ; young 

 branches downy. Leaves rather downy while young, 4 inches 

 long and 3 broad. Flowers middle-sized, greenish yellow, ex- 

 ceedingly fragrant. Seeds surrounded by a membranous rind, 

 and ending in a long tuft of hairs. 



Sweet-scented Pergularia. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1784. Sh. tw. 



2 P. ACCE'DENS (Blum, bijdr. p. 1056.) leaves ovate, or oval- 



