IVJ. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



CurateUd^ (figs. 149, 150) is also very near Tetracera; tlie iierma- 

 plirodite llowers are more usually tetra- than pentamerous, and 

 consist of iinbricato sepals ; petals also imbricated, and longer than 

 the sepals ; numerous hypogynous stamens whose filaments are bent 

 in the bud, and dilate towards the tip into a connective which bears 

 the two adnate anther cells, whose dehiscence is nearly lateral f and 

 two carpels which appear united along the lower part of their inner 

 angles — an appearance due to the very oblique insertion of their 

 bases on the faces of the dihedral angle formed by the central pro- 

 jection of the receptacle. Each ovary contains two collateral 

 ascending ovules, whose micropyles originally^ look downwards and 

 inwards. The styles are distinct, and, traversed by an internal 

 longitudinal groove, they are somewhat dilated in the stigmatiferous 

 portion. The fruit consists of two dry dehiscent^ or indehiscent' 

 carpels, each containing one or two arillate seeds. This genus 



consists of climbing shrubs from Guiana," Brazil,' and the neigh- 



frequently wantinc; or reduced to an insignificant 

 rudiment, so that the plant becomes polygamous. 

 There are usually two collateral ascending ovules 

 in each ovary, with tlieir micropyles downwards 

 and inwards. The umbilicus early bears a ru- 

 dimentary aril, which is afterwards well deve- 

 loped. 



' L. Oen., n. 679.— Lcefl., ex Adans., Fam., 

 ii. 450.— Juss., Gen., 282.— DC, Frodr., i. VO. 

 — Si'ACH, .Vh(7. a Buff., vii. 417. — A. S. H., 

 £1. Us. Brmil., t. xxiv. — Ekdl., Gen., n. 4759. 

 — Walp., liep., i. 65.— Pl. & Trian., Ann. 

 He. Nat., sen 4, xvii. 15, 23.— B. H., Gen., 

 12, n. 3. — II. Bn., Adansonia, vi. 280. — 

 Pinzona, Makt. & Zccc, Flora (1832), ii. 

 Beibi., 77. 



^ The clefts are somewhat nearer tlic inner 

 tliaii llic outer face ; the connective is flattened, 



rectangular ; and the filament is dilated below 

 the anther. 



^ Later the ovule undergoes a slight twisting on 

 its vertical axis, turning the micropyle sideways 

 and outwards, while the raphe approaches that 

 of its neighbour. At the base of the ovule 

 appears a small collar-shaped thickening, the first 

 trace of the aril. 



■• The true Curatellas, of which C. americana 

 L. is the type, are marked by the very distinct 

 dorsal dehiscence of the carpels. 



^ The incompleteness of the dehiscence or its 

 entire absence characterizes Pinzona, which 

 cannot be separated generically from Curatella 

 for this reason alone. 



fi Afdlet, Guian., i. 579, t. 232. 



^ A. S. H., PI. Us. Brasil., loc. cU. — Netto, 

 Itin. Bot., 16. — EiCHL., oj). cit., 67, t. 15. 



