250 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



sepals clecui'rent at base beyond insertion. Germen sessile, sur- 

 rounded at base by glands (staminodes ?) few or co , 3-locular ; style 

 branches 3, peripheric and discrete at base, inserted round vacant 

 apex of germen, fi-om the base or only at the apex, suddenly dilated 

 into an ovoid-compressed mass inwardly and longitudinally sulcate 

 stigmatiferous ; ovules in cell 2-nate, sometimes as if with thick 

 obturator very small. Capsule, sometimes outwardly suberosej cocci 

 3, l2-valved, 1-2-spermous ; seeds smooth, arillate at micropyle ; 

 cotyledons of albuminous embryo^ foliaceous elliptical, 5-plinerved 

 at base. — Glabrous shrubs, often partly lavender-coloured leaves op- 

 posite entire coriaceous penninerved; flowers'- at svimmit of twigs or 

 in the axils of the upper branches composite-cymose, each cyme 1- or 

 2-sexual ; female central; male peripheric. (N. Caledonia?) 



142. Bureavia H. Bn.* — Flowers dioecious apetalous (nearly of 

 DissiUaria) ; male sepals 4, inserted on shortly depressed conical 

 receptacle, alternately imbricated. Stamens 8-12; filaments free 

 erect ; exterior aggregate inserted rovind glands in irregularly 4-6- 

 agonal disk, and encircling more interior stamens 2 (or more rarely 

 3, 4); anthers extrorse, 2-rimose. Female flowers 3-4-merous; 

 receptacle thick conical ; sepals short rather thick at base, imbricated. 

 Disk hypogynous annular submembraneous unequally imbricated at 

 apex. Gormen thick sessile ; cells 3, 4, oppositisepalous ; style 

 branches 3, 4, thick, fleshy, subelliptical, the middle inwardly sul- 

 cate, more or less patulous ; ovules 2-nate and smaller by thick obtura- 

 tor. Fruit subdrupaceous, 3-4-coccous ; exocarp coriaceous subfleshy 

 solubilo from endocarp ; cocci solute fi-om ligneoiis columella dilated 

 at apex; seeds 1, 2, crowned with the filiform very densely comose 

 lobes of ariP springing from the micropyle as well as from the hilura 

 and persistent obturator ; testa otherwise nitid ; ^ cotyledons of copi- 

 ously albuminous embryo^ wide plane. — Small trees; leaves opjiosite 

 P'tiolate exstipulate simple coriaceous penninerved; male flowers in 

 crowded fascicidate composite-cymiferous racemes in axils of upper 

 sometimes falling leaves ; bracts and bractlets opposite ; female 

 axillary or springing from wood subsessile, solitary or glomerate few 

 bracteate ; fructiferous pedicels short thick. (iV. Caledonia,^) 



1 Gieon. ^ Black or very dusky. 



^ White, small crowded. ' Virescent. 



3 Species 2, of which 1 is oligandrous. ^ Spec. 2. H. Bn. loc. cit. 84 ; in Aiiansonia, 



* \n Aiiaiismiia,-id.»'A. ii. 215 {Baloghia ?). — M. AvlO. Piodr. 1117, n. 



» Yellowish. 2 (Coiiiamm ?). 



