MK HIERN, ON EBENACE^E. 65 



Several species of DIOSPTROS are remarkable for ruminated albumen in the seeds, and 

 I have employed this character for the purpose of separating such species as a section from 

 the remaining species of the genus. It must however be admitted that as the condition of 

 the albumen is unknown in many of the remaining species, it is quite possible and indeed 

 probable, that some of them will require when better known to be removed to this section. 

 In cases where the albumen has not been observed, I have, with the exception of 

 I). Kurzii which is evidently very near to D. sylvatica Roxb. and of D. decandra Lour., 

 considered for the purposes of classification the albumen to be equable. 



The new genus which I call TETRACLIS differs from the rest of the family by a strictly 

 valvate aestivation of the corolla instead of a contorted one. In other respects its characters 

 do not substantially differ from DiGSPYROS. Mr Bentham's Brazilian genus BRACHYNEMA, 

 which he described as a doubtful member of this family, certainly differs remarkably from 

 it in habit, especially in respect of the foliage and fruit. The structure of the seed is 

 not clearly known, but seems to me not to agree with that of this family ; on the whole 

 it seems to shew an alliance with the family OLACINE^E rather than with EBENACE^E. 



Again Zollinger's second genus DREBBELIA from Java, which was described as Ebenaceous, 

 seems to me to have characters absolutely accordant with the family OLACINE^;, and indeed 

 may even belong to OLAX itself. However, I have not seen a specimen and therefore 

 cannot speak with confidence about it. 



There is in the Kew herbarium, collected by Mann (No. 1800), a specimen of a male 

 plant from Mount John river, West equatorial Africa, which probably belongs to a new genus 

 of Ebenaceae; but as the female plant is unknown to me I do not venture to publish it 

 with a new name. The characters are as follows : 



Flares diced. Flores masculi 1 3-ni, siibsessiles, axillares. Bractece minutes. Calyx 

 inferior, 3 4>-fidus, campanulatus, parvus. Corolla monopetala, gracillime tubulosa, apice 

 3 k-loba; lobis patentibus, in prcefloratione sinistrorse contortis. Stamina 2 3, receptaculo 

 inserta ; filamentis brevibus hirsutis ; antheris linearibus, lateraliter bilocularibus, dorso 

 pubescentibus. Ovarii rudimentum nullum. Flores feminei et fructus ignoti. Arbor parva, 

 foliis simplicibus integerrimis distichis obliquis subsessilibus firmiter sub-membranaceis exsti- 

 pulaceis. Species unica, Africae occidentalis sequatorise incola. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SPECIFIC NAMES. 



At the time of the publication of the first edition of Linnaeus' "Species Plantarum," 

 in 1753, only 5 Ebenaceous species were known, 3 belonging to Royena and 2 to Diospyros. 

 The first species of Eudea was published in the 13th edition of the "Systema" of Linnaeus 

 in 1774, and the first species of Maba in 1776 by the two Forsters. 



Loureiro in 1790 published several new species in his "Flora Cochinchinensis," but 

 most of them remain a puzzle to this day, as but few of his specimens have reached Euro- 

 pean botanists. 



Several Indian species were described and figured by Roxburgh in the first volume of 

 his work on Coromandel plants published in 1795; Dr Koenig concurrently described some 



VOL. XII. PART I. 9 



