SAPINDACE^. 369 



thick coriaceous and glabrous testa. The majority of the species of 

 j^sctilus have a tube-shaped calyx, petals very unlike each other, two 

 especially, with slender and long claw, being spathulate or coch- 

 leate, and a fruit usually smooth ; the genus Pavia ^ has been made 

 of them, which we only preserve here as a section, the same as 

 Macrothyrsus- and Calothi/rsm,^ genera proposed for the species of 

 jTJscuhis with tubular calyx, bilabiate or nearly so in the latter, 

 which has the claws of the petals flattened, while they are canali- 

 culate in the former, remarkable, moreover, by the arched staminal 

 filaments. So constituted, the genus Msmlus contains twelve to 

 fifteen species,^ beautiful trees or shrubs from North America and 

 temperate Asia, having opposite, compound-digitate leaves, with 5-9 

 denticulate foliolcs, and flowers (white, pink, or yellow) arranged 

 in ramified terminal clusters, composed of cymes, usually uni- 

 parous. 



The species of Bdlia^" shrubs from Mexico and Columbia, have 

 been sometimes joined to ^Esculus^ having opposite digitate leaves gene- 

 rally with three foliolos, but distinguished from it, it is said, by the 

 petals being provided with a bilobate appendage. This is the case 

 in one of the species of the genus inhabiting Columbia; but the 

 character is of little value, for it disappears in the other species, 

 otherwise very analogous, native of Mexico, and only exhibiting a 

 slight interior thickening of the claw of the petals. Nevertheless, 

 Billia might, strictly, be preserved as a distinct genus, because the 

 disk is excentric and unilateral, and the unequal distinctly imbricate 

 sepals arc almost completely free. 



VI. MELIANTHUS SERIES. 



The honey -flo wers ^ (fig. 409-413) have hermaphrodite and irre- 

 gular flowers. The very unequal receptacle is prolonged backwards 



' BOERH. Hiirl. Lugd.-Bat.im.—Voxvi. Did. Fi: i. 323.— Hot. Mag. t. 2118, 5017, 5117.— 



V. 93.— TuRP. Diet. Sc. Nat. Atl. t. 165, 166.— Walp. Kep. i. 423 ; Ann. ii. 226; iv. 381 ; vii. 



Spach, Ann. Sc. Nut. 8er. 2, ii. 52; tiuil. u Buffim, 624. 



iii. 18. 5 Peyh. i}„t_ Zeit. (1858), 153.- Tu. et Pl. 



2 Bv.Kcn,Ann. Se. Nat. sir. 2, ii. 61. ' Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 4, xviii. 366. — W.u,p. Ann. 



^ Spach, loc. eit. 62. vii. 624. — Putzcijsia Pl. et Lind. Cat. (1857). 



•• Reichb. U. Fl. Germ. v. 1. 161.— Jacquem. « Melianthus T. Inst. 430, t. 245.— L. Gen. n. 



Voij. But. t. 35.— A. Gray, Man. ed. 5, 117.— 795.— Amans. Fnm. d<s. Pl. ii. 388.— J. Gen. 



Boiss. Fl. Or. i. 946.— Gren. ut CJoijr. Fl. rlc 795.— Lamk. ///. t. 552. — Ueshouss. Diet, iv, 



VOL. V, 3 J5 



