Remarks on Certain Floiocring Plants. 147 



Dr. Wallich, on discovering this plant, may well be 

 conceived. 



At John B. Smith Esqr's sale of hot-honse plants in 

 Philadelphia, in 1839, I pnrchased, among others, a plant of 

 Astrapse'a viscosa, which Mr. Smith, at that time, stated to 

 me had been raised from seed received from Madagascar, 

 and was the only plant of the kind in his possession. It 

 had never yet flowered with him. I searched Paxton's 

 Mag. of Botany, Loudon's Encydopadia., &c. but all I 

 found was that A. Wallich/i was the only one of the species 

 deserving of cultivation. Having planted out the Astrapse^a 

 viscosa in an open border of the palm-house, it made a sur- 

 prising growth, and by 1842 it had attained the height of 

 about twenty feet, and formed quite a handsome tree. The 

 foliage is not near so large as Wallichti', but neat. As a 

 singular feature regarding this plant, I have to remark, that 

 all the different soft-wooded parts, leaves included, emit in 

 the shape of dew-drops a humid substance resembling very 

 much sweet oil. In the month of January, 1841, it flowered 

 for the first time with me, and I was most agreeably sur- 

 prised, as well by the beauty of the fl.owers as by the con- 

 trast they formed when compared with A. Wallichii. The 

 following appeared to me the most striking diflerences : — 1. 

 Astrapse'a viscosa forms strong erect-growing flower-stems, 

 eight inches long, about six flower-stems being equally dis- 

 tributed on the head of every branch. 2. The flower is 

 perfectly globular, and so admirably are the little flowers 

 arranged, that not the smallest vacancy can be conceived 

 underneath the flower-stem. The color of the flower is 

 white, with crimson in the centre, and emits, not like AVal- 

 lichu, a foetid, but a singular, medicinal odor. The little 

 individual flowers, although strongly resembling Wallichi/, 

 are of a more compact shape. This plant flowered very 

 freely again in 1842, and presented truly a very beautiful 

 appearance. 



In conclusion, I cannot help remarking, that these two 

 splendid species furnish us with a beautiful illustration of 

 the inexhaustible diversity of the great Creator in all his 

 works, and how flowers seem particularly destined by Ilim 

 to delight and el(>vate tiie human race. In ilio Astrap<£^a 

 Wallichii, where the flower-stems are pendant, the shape of 

 the flower is semi-globular, turning its whole surface to- 

 wards the earth. On the other hand, in Astrapse'a viscosa. 



