108 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Hymencea 

 (Trachylobvu/m) 



verrucosa. 



or more pairs of unsymmetrical leaflets, and caducous ill-developed 

 stipules. The flowers form usually terminal shortly pedicellate 

 racemes, simple or branched. 



Hymencea} has the floral symmetry of Schotia or Humboldiia. Its 

 coriaceous obconical receptacle, lined by a thick disk, bears four 

 slightly imbricate sepals, five subequal imbricate petals, and ten 

 free perigynous stamens, five alternate with the petals, and five 

 shorter superposed to them. The gynseceum, inserted laterally at a 

 variable distance from the bottom of the receptacle, is stipitate, w T ith 

 an ovary containing a few anatropous descending ovules, and bearing 

 a style which is at first folded on itself and ends in a little stigma- 



tiferous head. The fruit is obliquely obovate or 

 oblong, flattened or terete, thick coriaceous nearly 

 woody, and indehiscent. It contains a variable 

 number of seeds with very hard coats and a 

 thick fleshy exalbuminous embryo. They are 

 completely surrounded by a sort of dried up floury 

 pulp. 2 



Hymencea venose? and verrucosa* natives of tropical 

 America and Hast Africa respectively, have been 

 made the types of the genera Veltogyne 1 and Trachy- 

 lobiwniy which we think we may retain as sections of 

 the genus Hymencea. The former has the stigma 

 more dilated than in Hymenaa proper, and a com- 

 pressed bivalve fruit whose dorsal suture is often, 

 though not constantly, prolonged into a narrow 

 wing. The latter has the two anterior petals ru- 

 dimentary and its ovary is borne on a foot dilated at the top into 

 a little fringed collar. Its fruit, indehiscent and often one-seeded, 

 is covered with warts (fig. 84). 



Fig. 84. 

 Fruit. 



1 Hymencea L., Gen., n. 512. — J., Gen., 351. 

 — Gjsb.ts., Fruct., ii. 305, t. 139, 145. — Lamk., 

 Diet., ii. 147; Sappl., ii. 374; III., t. 330.— 

 DC, Prodr., ii. oil. — Hayx., Arzneiff., t. 6-1'J. 

 — Spach, Suit, a Buffon, i. 122. — Enel., Q .. 

 n. 6788.— B. H., Gen., 583, n. 354.— Courbaril 

 Plum., Gen., t. 36.— Apaxs.. Fam. des PI., ii. 

 317. — Jetaiba Pis., Brasil., 60 (ex Adaxs.). 



2 Consisting of a large number of hairs, which 

 contain resinous matter, together with a great 

 abundance of starch granules. 



3 Vaul, Eel. Atner., v. 31. — DC, Prodr., 

 n.2. 



4 G.t:i:tx., Fruct., ii. 306, t. 139, fig. 7.— 

 DC, luc. cit., n. 3.—Tanroujou J., Gen., 351, 

 not. 



6 Vog., in Linncea, xi. 110. — Exdl., 6'-/;., 

 n. (J7S7.— H. 11., Gen., 582, n. 353. 



6 Hayx., Arzneig., xi. t. 18, 19 (char. sub. t. 

 11).— B. H., Gen., 583, n. 355.— Oi n ., / /. 

 Trop. Afr., ii. 311. 



