054 



GESNERIACE^E. XII. KLUGIA. XIII. TAPINA. XIV. NEMATANTHUS. XV. ALLOPLECTUS. 



bilamellate. Seeds numerous, cylindrical. An herb with al- 

 ternate leaves, and somewhat grumose from minute down. Leaves 

 unequal-sized. Flowers disposed in a terminal raceme. Habit 

 of a species of Cuphea. 



1 K. AZU'REA (Schleeht, 1. c.) %. S. Native of Mexico, 

 at Cueste grande de Chiconqulaco. Root creeping. Stems 

 simple, or branched, roughish from minute, spreading, stiff 

 hairs. Leaves oblong-ovate, acuminated, vertical, entire, or 

 repand, or obsoletely and sinuately-toothed, bluntish at the base, 

 green above, and beset with short, thick, rufous hairs, paler 

 beneath, and clothed with somewhat grumose, minute down ; 

 largest ones 4-5 inches long. Racemes usually solitary, downy. 

 Corolla blue, 1 J inch long. Capsule elliptic, attenuated at both 

 ends, 1 -celled. 



^2re-flowered Klugia. PI. \ to 1 foot. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Rytidophyllum, p. 650. 



XIII. TAPl'NA (from raireivoc, tapeinos, humble; dwarf 

 plants.) Mart. nov. gen. bras. 3. p. 59. 



LIN. SYST. Didynamia, Angiospermia. Calyx free, 5-part- 

 ed, unequal. Corolla funnel-shaped, sub-ringent, gibbous in 

 front at the base ; tube coarsely ventricose behind ; throat con- 

 tracted ; limb erect ; upper lip 2-lobed ; lower one 3-lobed. 

 Stamens 4, didynamous, with the rudiment of a fifth behind ; 

 anthers cohering. Hypogynous ring swelling into a gland 

 behind. Capsule ovate, coriaceous, 1 -celled, 2-valved; pla- 

 centas 2, parietal, bilamellate. Seeds numerous, oblong. 

 Stems simple, or branched, rising from an underground tuber, 

 and, like all the herb, soft and fleshy. Leaves petiolate, oppo- 

 site. Peduncles axillary, 1-flowered, solitary, rarely twin. 



1 T. BARBA'TA (Mart. 1. c. p. 60. t. 225. f. 1.) stem branch- 

 ed ; leaves oblong, or oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at both 

 ends, acute, toothed ; segments of calyx cordately sub-deltoid ; 

 corolla hairy outside. 3. S. 



Native of Brazil, in the mine 

 provinces, in dense woods near 

 Almada ; -and in like marshy 

 places on the road to Felisbert. 

 Gesneria barbata, Nees, et 

 Mart, in nov. act. bonn. 11. 

 p. 48. Stems decumbent, throw- 

 ing out roots at the base. Co- 

 rolla white, suffused with red 

 inside, above an inch long, much 

 inflated below, (f. 69. a.) 



Bearded-flowered Tapina. PI. 

 decumbent. 



2 T. PUSI'LLA (Mart. 1. c. p. 

 61. t. 225. f. 2.) stem simple, an 

 inch high ; leaves orbicularly- 

 ovate, obtuse, crenated ; caly- 



cine segments triangular ; corolla downy outside, tj . S. Na- 

 tive of the province of Rio Janeiro, in shady woods on Serra 

 d' Estrella, Beyrich. Tuber size of a pea. Corolla 4-lines 

 long, white, ventricose in the throat below. 



Least Tapina. PI. 1 inch. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Rytidophyllum, p. 650. 



XIV. NEMATA'NTHUS (from vnpa, nema, a thread ; and 

 avdos, anthos, a flower ; in allusion to the flowers being hairy.) 

 Schrad. in gott. gel. anz. 1821. 1. p. 719. Maximil. reise bras. 

 2. p. 108. and 343. Mart. nov. gen. bras. 3. p. 46. 



LIN. SYST. Didynamia, Angiospermia. Calyx free, deeply 

 5-parted, oblique. Corolla inferior, campanulately funnel- 

 shaped, oblique, gibbous at the base behind ; throat spreading ; 

 limb equally 5-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous, with a small 



FIG. 69. 



rudiment of a fifth, or without ; anthers cohering. Hypogynous 

 ring swollen into an oblong gland behind. Capsule pyramidal, 

 coriaceous, 1 -celled, 2-valved ; placentas 2, parietal, bilamellate. 

 Seeds numerous, oblong. Shrubs with simple, or irregularly 

 branched stems, furnished with shining, cinereous epidermis, 

 tumid at the nodi, climbing upon trees, and adhering to them 

 by their roots. Leaves opposite, petiolate, thickish. Gem- 

 mation naked, with complicate leaves. Peduncles axillary, 1- 

 flowered, bractless, very long and filiform, pendulous. Corollas 

 large, showy, scarlet. 



1 N. CHLORONE'MA (Mart. 1. c. p. 47. t. 219.) leaves oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminated at both ends ; calyxes and peduncles 2-4 

 inches long, green, clothed with white hairs, t? . S. Native 

 of the province of Rio Janeiro, in shady parts of woods on 

 Mount Corcovado ; and on Serra dos Orgaos. Leaves reddish 

 beneath, or pale, glabrous, or ciliated. Calyx 1 to lg inch long, 

 with glandularly denticulated margins. Corollas large, 2 inches 

 long, scarlet, beset with white hairs outside. Filaments white. 



Green-threaded Nematanthus. Shrub climbing. 



2 N. JONE'MA (Schrad. 1. c.) leaves broad- lanceolate, acu- 

 minated at both ends ; calyx of a violaceous colour, clothed 

 with hoary villi ; peduncles 6 to 12 inches long, clothed with 

 violaceous and white villi. (7 . w . S. Native of Brazil, in 

 woods between Ilheos and St. Petro de Alcantara. Habit of 

 the preceding. Calyx obscurely violaceous ; segments shorter 

 and narrower, hoary from white hairs. Corolla scarlet, a little 

 smaller, beset with scattered, minute hairs. 



Violet-threaded Nematanthus. Shrub climbing. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Rytidophyllum, p. 650. 



XV, ALLOPLE'CTUS (from aX\o , alias, diverse; and 

 ir\fKd>, pleco, to plait ; the calyx appears as if it was plaited in 

 diverse directions.) Mart. nov. gen. bras. 3. p. 53. Crantzia, 

 Scop. Orobanche species, Vellos. in Vand. script, t. 7. f. 18. 

 Gesneria species, Lin., Aubl., Swartz, and Kunth. 



LIN. SYST. Didynamia, Angiospermia. Calyx free, coloured, 

 5-cleft ; segments imbricate, more or less combined, 2 interior. 

 Corolla inferior, tubular or club-shaped, straightish; limb short, 

 5-lobed or 5-toothed. Stamens 4, didynamous, with a small 

 rudiment of a fifth from the base of the tube. Hypogynous 

 ring swollen into a gland behind. Capsule baccate, ovate, coria- 

 ceous, 1 -celled, 2-valved. Seeds numerous, oblong. Shrubs 

 climbing on trees, and adhering to them by the roots, or by the 

 clasping of the branches. Stems somewhat tetragonal above, 

 and somewhat thickened at the nodi, rather flexile, and filled 

 with medulla. Branches opposite. Leaves opposite, one in 

 each pair smaller than the other, petiolate, fleshy, with scattered 

 or decumbent, or erect down, the under surface generally red- 

 dish. Gemmation naked, with the young leaves complicate, vil- 

 lous, or hairy. Flowers axillary or many, aggregate, nearly 

 sessile or racemose, furnished with coloured brae teas, or soli- 

 tary, on long peduncles. Calyxes and bracteas scarlet or blood 

 red. Corolla yellow. The species inhabit the humid parts of 

 woods in tropical America, in which they are great ornaments to 

 the trees, from the vivid colour of the calyxes and bracteas. 



1 A. SPARSIFLORUS (Mart. nov. gen. bras. 3. p. 55. t. 223. f. 

 1.) leaves oblong, or oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at the base, 

 acuminated, beset with fine strigae ; flowers nearly sessile, ax- 

 illary, aggregate, or scattered ; bracteas smaller than the orbi- 

 cularly triangular segments of the calyx, which are, as well as 

 the bracteas, of a deep blood colour, and almost quite entire ; 

 limb of corolla villous, 5-toothed. I? . S. Native of Brazil, in 

 the province of Rio Janeiro, climbing upon rocks and trees, in 

 shady humid places near Corrego Seco, and elsewhere on Serra 

 dos Orgaos ; as well as on Serra de St. Geraldo, in the mine 



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