Mr. J. Miers on the Bignoniacese. 268 



the two component carpels and their placentaj stand right and 

 left of the axis of inflorescence. The Cyrtandracea present pre- 

 cisely the same carpellary characters. In the Pedaliacea, where 

 the sutural lines of a 2-carpellary ovary are also anterior and 

 posterior, the two bifurcate placentae, as in Gesneriacece, have a 

 parietal origin on the right and left of the axis of inflorescence. 

 The above character, founded upon the origin of the placentae 

 upon the midrib of the normal carpellary leaves, is, I believe, 

 universal among all the tribes of the Bignoniacea, the Crescen- 

 tiacecB, the Cyrtandracea, the Pedaliacea, the Gesneriacece, and 

 perhaps also the Orobanchacea, which might all be associated in 

 one general alliance. This is somewhat at variance with the 

 Bignonial alliance of Prof. Lindley, which comprehends also the 

 Acanthacea, Scrophulariacea, and Lentibvlariacece, which ought 

 to be rejected — the latter because of its free central placentation, 

 the two former on account of the different nature and position 

 of their carpels. The ScrophulariacecB have a most intimate 

 relationship with the Solanacece, as I have elsewhere demon- 

 strated ; they, as well as the Atropacea, Gentianacece, and Acan- 

 ihacea (forming a Solanal alliance), are distinguished by an ovary 

 composed normally of two carpellary leaves, which are placen- 

 tiferous on their margins (not on their midribs), which margins 

 are more or less deeply inflected and conjoined into a dissepi- 

 ment : the lines of placentation here are antical and postical ip 

 regard to the axis of inflorescence, not right and left of it as in 

 the Bignonial alliance. 



There is much evidence in favour of the conclusion that, ex- 

 cept in the few instances where they form stunted shrubs, the 

 Eubignoniea are climbing plants, and that the Catalpea invari- 

 ably form standard trees, or erect shrubs. Most of the former 

 have 3-foliolate leaves, in which very often, and especially in the 

 superior axils, the odd leaflet is transformed into a cirrhus, thus 

 forming cirrhosely conjugated leaves; in rarer instances, the 

 leaves are either simply pinnate or 2-3-pinnate, the leaflets 

 being always petiolulated, and then generally the odd normal 

 foliole is also converted into a cirrhus. Among the Catalpea, on 

 the contrary, the leaves, with very few exceptions, are either 

 pinnate or quinate ; and I am not aware of the existence of a 

 cirrhus in any legitimate species of this tribe ; for I have shown 

 that all the conjugate-leaved species of Tabebuia must be ex- 

 cluded, not only from that genus, but from the tribe. A great 

 portion of the simple-leaved species of the order have been 

 arranged among the Eubignoniea ; but it will be seen that most 

 of them must be removed into the Catalpea. Some exceptions 

 to this rule might be cited in the genera Delostoma and Asti- 

 anthus ; substantial reasons, however, will be given for transferring 



