Ventilago.'] rhamnace^. 67 



oblong flat wing, and seated upon or surrounded by the persistent base of the 

 calyx, its edge usually indicated by a more or less prominent ring. Seed 

 without albumen. — Tall woody climbers. Leaves alternate, elegantly marked 

 with transverse veinlets between the principal pinnate veins. Flowers in small 

 axillary cymes or terminal panicles. 



A small genus, coufined to the tropical regions of the Old World. 



1. V. leiocarpa, Bentli. in Journ. Soc. Li?m. Lond. v. 77. A glabrous 

 woody climber. Leaves shortly stalked, fi'om ovate to oblong, acuminate, entire 

 or slightly waved at the margin, 2 to 3 in. long. Flowers small, in small axillary 

 clusters or cymes, the upper ones rarely forming a short leafless simple panicle, 

 the pedicels seldom above a line long. Nut 2 or 3 lines diameter, marked 

 round the middle by a prominent ring indicating the remains of the calyx ; 

 the terminal wing smooth and shining, 1| to 2 in, long, about 4 lines broad. 

 — V. 7naderaspatana, Benth. in Kew Journ. Bot. iii. 42 ; not of Gasrtner. 

 In ravines, Champion and others ; also INIalacca and western tropical Africa. 



3. BERCHEMIA, Neck. 



Petals and stamens 5. Ovary half-immersed in the disk, 2-celled, with 1 

 ovule in each cell borne on a long erect funiculus. Fruit a small, ovoid or 

 oblong, 2-celled berry or drupe, inserted on the persistent but not enlarged 

 base of the calyx. Seeds with little or no albumen. — Shrubs or woody climb- 

 ers. Leaves alternate, elegantly marked underneath with parallel veins di- 

 verging from the midrib, and small, transverse, often indistinct veinlets. 

 Flowers in small fascicles or cymes, usually forming terminal racemes or 

 panicles. 



A small genus, dispersed over tropical aud subtropical Asia and the warmer parts of Xorth 

 America. 



Flowers pedicellate. Veins of the leaves numerous. 



Leaves 1 to 1^ in. long or more. Flower-clusters in racemes, 



forming terminal panicles \. B. racemosa. 



Leaves seldom above \ in. long. Flower-clusters mostly axillary . 2. B. lineata. 

 Flowers sessile, axillaiy. Veins of tbe leaves few ^. B. ? sessilijlora. 



1. B. racemosa, ^ieb. and Zucc. Fl. Jap. Fam. Nat. part I. p. 39. A 

 woody climber. Leaves on rather long petioles, ovate, somewhat acute, or 

 rarely obtuse, 1 to 1^ or rarely 2 in. long, white or hoary underneath between 

 the veins. Flowers 2 or 3 together, in clusters, arranged in racemes of 2 or 

 3 in., which again form large terminal panicles. Pedicels 1 line, or in fruit 

 1^ lines long. Calyx-lobes about 1 line. Fruit oblong, but little succulent, 

 about 4 lines long. — B. lineata, Benth. in Kew Joiu-n. Bot. iv. 42 ; not of DO. 



Hongkong, C/iampion and others ; also on the adjacent continent and in Japan. It is 

 nearly allied to the Himalayan B. muUiflora, but that has larger leaves, smaller flowers in 

 closer clusters, etc. 



2. B. lineata, BO. Prod. ii. 25 ; Hook, and Am. Bot. Beech, t. SI. A 

 half-climbing shrub. Leaves on very short petioles, ovate or orbicular, and 

 obtuse, much smaller than in the last species, seldom attaining h in. in length, 

 pale or whitish underneath. Flowers nearly twice as large as in B. racemosa, 

 2 to 4 together on pedicels of 2 or 3 lines, either in the axils of the leaves or 



F 2 



