MONIMIACEyTJ. :50l 



enough to let the styles pass through. These are numerous, for the 

 whole of the inner surface of the sac bears free indelinite carpels, 

 each consisting of a unilocular ovary, tapering above into a long 

 subulate horn, whose stigmatiferous apex is not dilated. In the 

 inner angle of each ovary is seen a suspended ovule,' with its micro- 

 pyle introrse and superior. The male flowers come much nearer those 

 of Iledycanja in the form of their perianth ; this is broad and shallow 

 like a dish ; the valvate sepals- taper towards the apex to narrow 

 points, much inflexed towards the centre of the flower in the intervals 

 between the innermost stamens. Each of these consists of a very 

 short filament, supporting a basifixed erect anther, shaped like an 

 isosceles triangle, with two cells opening by introrse or nearly lateral 

 clefts. The fruit, like that of Tamhourissa, resembles a little fig, 

 with only a very small pore at the apex, and contains an indefinite 

 number of glabrous drupes, with thin mesocarps and very thick 

 stones.^ In each stone is a suspended seed ;^ the radicle of the 

 embryo is superior. The drupes are sessile, and inserted by a large 

 base on the surface of the sac ; and the spaces between them are 

 thickly covered with hairs.' Pcdmeria may then be defined as 

 Mo/nmia, with shallow male flowers," and stamens lacking lateral 

 glands. It is believed that the drupes are never freed from the sac 

 forming their common envelope. As yet only one species" is known, 

 a native of eastern Australia, a climbing shrub, with slender sar- 

 mentose stem, opposite entire leaves, and flowers in axillary clusters 

 of cymes. 



J The funicle is usually pretty long. The •' We find them on almost all the organs of 



ovule has two coats. the plant ; they are short and simple, or stellate. 



■ Of these there are most frequently four, ^ The sac enclosing tl;e androceum is of ap- 



nearly equal. More rarely we find a fifth equal pendicular nature above ; but the basilar por- 



to the others, or narrower. Only exceptionally tion on which the stamens are inserted is of axial 



do we tind six perianth-lobes, of which two are nature, for on it, borne at a variable height, we 



very small. often tind a long bract similar to those seen on 



3 In the dry state they are a little angular, tlie diflerent axes of the inflorescence, 



with a finely punctate surface. " P. racemosa A. DC, he. cit., n. 2.— P. 



■• In the descriptions given by A. DE Candolle scandens V. Muell., loc. cit. ; — A. DC, loc. cit., 



and F. Muelleu, where the seed is stated to be n. 1. — Redyearya racemosa Ttjl., ^»h. Sc. Nat., 



erect, the chalazal mark, which is inferior and ser. 4, iii. 45 ; Mon., Arch. JIus., viii. 409, u. 3 



very large, has no doubt been mistaken for the t. xxxiv. i. — Walp., Ann., iv. 113, n. 3. 

 umbilical cicatrix. 



