400 Mr. J. Miers on the Calyceraceze. 
Var. 8. serratifolia ;—foliis elliptico-lanceolatis, submembrana- 
ceis, sinuato-serratis, dentibus calloso-mucronatis, imo integro 
cuneatis, 5-7-nerviis, glaberrimis; caule scapiformi, solitario 
(an semper ?), monocephalo, nudo, foliis radicalibus breviore ; 
paleis integris, acutis.—In Andibus Mendozinis, v. s. in herb. 
Hook. ; circa Casa Pintada (Gillies). 
Folia majora, textura tenuiora, 4 poll. long., 1 poll. lat., imo 
integra, latiora; scapus 2 poll. alt.; capitulum cirea 1 poll. 
diam. 
6. ACICARPA. 
This genus, first established by A. de Jussieu, was named by 
him Acicarpha*, because of the spinose lobes of its acheenia, 
which he erroneously attributed to the growth of the palez, and 
their accretion with the ovarium. Mr. Robert Brown first de- 
tected this error, and showed that the spinose excrescences were 
owing to the growth of the calycine lobes, and not of the pales; 
and hence he objected to the name of Acicarpha as being inad- 
missible, suggesting in its stead the far more appropriate epithet 
ot Acicarpat. DeCandolle and other botanists have disregarded 
this suggestion, and have retained Jussieu’s name ; but it appears 
to me that we are bound to adopt that of Acicarpa, so long ago 
recommended by Mr. Brown. The little difference existing 
between this genus and Calycera has been already pointed out, 
consisting principally in the much greater length of the excres- 
cent calycine lobes, and in the accretion of the achznia with 
each other and with the receptacle; but this last-mentioned 
feature is not a constant character. Richard represents the 
ovaria as being immersed within a fleshy receptacle ; this, how- 
ever, is an erroneous view of the case: the receptacle is, in fact, 
merely a cylindrical axile column, upon which the ovaria are 
imposed, thus resembling an abbreviated spikelet, round which 
the flowers are densely crowded ; from this receptacle a secretion 
exudes, which flows between the ovaria, and finally agglutinates 
them and all the lower portion of the spikelet into one compact 
mass. Sometimes, however, this agglutination is only partial, 
especially towards the middle and summit of the inflorescence ;_ 
and it then occurs that many of the achenia, perfectly mature, 
are as free as in Calycera, which fact I have frequently observed 
in Acicarpa tribuloides: even in the typical species the ovaria of 
the upper florets always remain free, as Richard has described 
them {; but in that species these free achznia seldom perfect 
their seeds. In Acicarpa the calyx, which is adnate to the ova- 
* Ann. Mus. ii. p. 347. 
+ Linn. Trans. xii. p. 182; Mém. Mus. vi. pl. 11 & 12. fig. B. 
{ Mém. Mus. vi. 46, tab. 11 B. fig. 5. acheenia coalita, fig. 6. alia libera. 
