174 Mr. J. Miers on the Menispermacee. 
two or more raceme-like panicles which spring out of the knotty 
axils of the leafless old branches; in these the rachis is slender, 
longer than the leaves, furnished sparsely with short branches 
again branched, the branchlets supporting from one to three 
pedicellated flowers, all bracteolated at the articulations and 
rigidly pubescent ; the flowers have nine sepals in three series, 
alternately smaller, the outer bracteiform, the intermediate 
somewhat larger, the three inner ones double the length of the 
former, nearly orbicular, very concave, thick, with their margins 
valvate in estivation; they have three petals, smaller than the 
sepals, fleshy, cuneately oblong, subconcave, emarginated at the 
apex, having as many free stamens fixed to their claws; the 
filaments, nearly as long as the petals, become much broader 
and flattened towards the apex, to which two distinct divaricately 
separated anther-lobes are dorsally affixed and partially imbedded, 
the lobes bursting introrsely by a longitudinal furrow. Here 
the chief peculiarity consists in the valvate zstivation of its or- 
bicular fleshy inner sepals, in which respect it resembles Tiliacora, 
Abuta, Anelasma, Limacia, Triclisia, and Synclisia. From the 
first and fourth it differs in having only three free stamens, 
from the second and third in the presence of petals, from the 
fifth in its stamens being only three in number with three petals, 
and from the last in its sepals being orbicular and free to the 
base, not oblong and united for half their length into a tube: 
other differential features exist, which may be seen by comparing 
the respective generic characters. This valvate character of its 
stamens suggested the generic name *. 
AristeGca, nob.—Filores dioici. Masc. Sepala 9, in ordine ter- 
nario alternatim disposita, extus gradatim minora, quorum 
6 exteriora bracteiformia, ovata, carnosula, preter margines 
tenuiores longe piloso-ciliatos, glabra, 3 interiora dimidio 
majora, suborbicularia, valde concava, apice inflexa, carnosa, 
. Imarginibus crassis, estivatione arcte valvata, glabra. Pe- 
_ tala 3, sepalis tertia parte breviora, alterna, cuneato-ob- 
longa, apice emarginata, canaliculatim concava, carnosa, gla- 
bra, staminibus paulo breviora et opposita. Stamina 8, libera; 
filamenta unguibus petalorum affixa, sursum gradatim latiora, 
- erassiuscula, apice dilatata et rotundata; anthere 2-lobe, 
introrse, dorso semiimmerse, lobis oblongis, segregatis, imo 
paulo divaricatis, utrinque sulco longitudinali dehiscentibus. 
Frutex scandens, origine ignoto, sed verisimiliter ex India oriental: 
folia ovata, acute attenuata, 5-nervia, reticulata, glaberrima, 
petiolo brevi et tenui: panicule 3 racemiformes, solitarie aut 
gemine, e nodis aphyllis annotinis orta, folit circa longitudine, 
* From apt, valde; oréya, tego. 
