Mr, J. Miers on the Menispermacesc. 193 



dendron the stamens arc free to the base, and, though connately 

 erect in two scries, they are all firmly agglutinated to the androe- 

 cium; the filaments are thickened clavately at the summit, 

 which is incurved, the anther-cellsbeinglateral, widely separated 

 and partially imbedded in the thick connective, which terminates 

 in a long, salient, apical point, these points of the stamens being 

 connivent in the centre. Notwithstanding the great identity of 

 characters before mentioned, I consider this difference in the 

 structure of the stamens to be a feature of considerable import- 

 ance, and consequently I do not hesitate to acknowledge Sych- 

 nosepalum upon the same ground that I formerly urged in the 

 instances of Anelasma and Elissarrhena. But in these latter 

 cases Dr. Eichler has refused to acknowledge the validity of this 

 distinction; and as long as he persists in that determination, 

 he should consistently relinquish his claim for the distinctness 

 of Sychnosepalum, and merge it into Chondrodendron — a course 

 which I do not recommend. Dr. Eichler describes three species, 

 two of which are recognized below ; but his third species be- 

 longs to a very diff'erent genus, one which I formed many years 

 ago upon two Brazilian plants of Blanchet's collection : one of 

 these, Detandra ovata, nob., is the Sychnosepalum microphyllum, 

 Eichl. The fruit is not yet known; but, from the singular 

 resemblance of the ovaria of its ^ flowers and in the relation of 

 its floral parts to those of Chondo dendron, we may anticipate a 

 similar seminal structure : I have therefore placed Sychnosepalum 

 following the genus last mentioned. 



Sychnosepalum, Eichl. — Flores dioici. Masc. Sepala 15-24, 

 ordine ternario dense imbricata, exteriora gradatim minora, 

 oblonga, acuta, extus valde pilosa, rigidiuscula, erecta, 6 in- 

 teriora majora, elliptico-oblonga, subsequalia. Petala 6, se- 

 palis dimidio breviora, oblonga, apice paulo truncata, imo 

 gradatim angustiora, concava, lateribus a summo ad basin 

 utrinquc inflexis, carnosula, extus pilosa. Stamina 6, biseriata, 

 petalis opposita, a basi plus minusve monadelpha; filamenta 

 erecta, 3 exteriora paulo breviora, fere ad basin libera, teretia, 

 3 interiora fere ad summum in columnam centralem coalita 

 aut rarius brcviter coalescentia ; antherce 2-loba3, filamcnto 

 latiores, dorso adnatse, lobis ovalibus, summo contiguis, imo 

 divaricatis, rima obliqua singulatim introrsum dchiscentibus. — 

 Foem. Sepala et petala ut in masc. Stamina stcrilia 6, libera, 

 petalis opposita et sequilonga ; filamenta tenuiter teretia, erecta; 

 anthera eff*et8c minutse, glandulajformes. Ovaria 6, gibboso- 

 oblonga, imo stipitata, apice in stylum brevem gradatim at- 

 tenuata, extus pilosa, summo gynaicii insita, erecta et conni- 

 ventia. Stigmata breviter subulata, paululo patentia. Drvpa 



