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Dr. B. Seemann on the Bignoniaccee. 195 
weight than the dry woody capsule of a Bignoniacea. The heaviest 
fruit borne by trees are always developed from flowers springing 
from the trunk and old wood. I instance Crescentia, Theobroma, 
the large-fruited Myrtacee. Mr. Miers occasionally witnessed 
the same mode of floral development in some species of Tecoma, 
“whose racemes grow out of the old leafless axils of the stem.” — 
I am well aware that several of the digitate Tecomas flower after 
all the leaves have fallen off, as, for instance, my 7. Guayacan 
from Panama; but I have never seen blossoms on the trunk, or 
springing from the old wood, as happens in that section of Colea 
which I have termed “‘Colee genuine.” 
With regard to Phyllarthron, which Mr. Miers, notwithstand- 
ing the positive testimony of Bojer that it has an indehiscent 
fruit, also wished to expel from Crescentiacez, I obtained some 
additional information during my late visit to Mauritius. Mr. 
Duncan, of the Botanic Garden, showed me a drawing of the 
fruit of P. Comorense, made by his son years ago, according 
to which it is as fleshy and indehiscent as that of Parmentiera; 
and it is converted into sweetmeats in Mauritius. I regard 
it simply as a /apsus penne when Mr. Miers says that I stated 
Tripinnaria to belong to Kigelia, as I classed it with Colea. 
It will therefore be seen that there is no reason why a good 
natural division should be set aside, and why any genus of 
Crescentiaceze enumerated by me should be transferred to Big- 
noniacez. If Adenocalymna has really no wings, it would sim- 
ply form an exception to the generality of Bignoniacee; and, 
in drawing up a diagnosis of the order, the word “ plerumque ” 
used in connexion with “semina alata” would remedy the diffi- 
culty. But unless I see the fruit actually attached to the speci- 
mens, I should hesitate to admit that Adenocalymna had wingless 
seeds. All the other genera having more or less apterous seeds 
require yet to be studied more closely. Oxycladus, Miers, which 
I think will prove to be identical with Reyesia, Clos, I could 
never bring myself to regard as Bignoniaceous ; and Henriquezia, 
Benth., with its ally Platycarpum, H.B.K., by their semi-inferior 
ovary, five fertile stamens, and (in Henriquezia) stipulate leaves, 
would seem to be much better placed between Rubiacee and 
Loganiace, forming a natural transition from one to the other. 
I have seen Fagreas with a corolla much more irregular than 
that of Henriquezia. 
As my principal object in this communication has been to 
vindicate the independence and integrity of the Crescentiacez 
as circumscribed in my Synopsis, I shall only touch slightly 
upon other statements made by Mr. Miers. Dolichandra is 
not marginicidal in its fruit, as Mr. Miers supposes; it is locu- 
Jicidal, as stated by Chamisso, and must be classed with the Catal- 
