RHAMNAGE^. 



61 



Fig. 6b. Flower (f). Fig. 56. Long. sect, 

 of flower. 



and the fruit, equally inferior, conformed to that of Helinus, finally 



divides into tliee cocci dehiscing internally, but destitute of a 



columella. Msiota, a shrub from 



the island of St. Helena, covered PhyUca ginda. 



with a whitish down, has opposite 



broad and oval-oblong leaves, and 



flowers disposed in loose cymes. 



The fruit is that of Phylica ; but 



from the superior opening of the 



deep sac formed by the receptacle 



emerges the summit of the pericarp 



proper, which represents a sort of 



small conical cover. In Lasiodiscus^ 



of which two African species are 



known, one from the AVestern 



tropical region, the other from Madagascar, the leaves are also 



opposite, large, glabrous, and accompanied by wide and long 



pointed interpetiolate stipules, sometimes free, sometimes more or 



less connate in pairs, straight and imbricate with them, for some time 



persistent. Tiie flowers in axillary cymes, the inferior ovary of 



which is surmounted by a style articulate at the base, are succeeded 



by a fruit equally inferior, depressed, slightly convex at the 



summit and areolate. 



Tnjmalium^ Australian shrubs belonging to a distinct sub- 

 series, exclusively oceanic, has alternate leaves, generally to- 

 mentose, with a simple or stellate, whitish or rusty down. The 

 inferior ovary is surmounted by an annular or 5-lobed disk, sur- 

 rounded by coloured epigynous sepals, and petals in a hood capping 

 an equal number of stamens. The fruit, inferior, capsular and 

 dehiscent, like that of Nesiota^ is generally surmounted by a conical 

 projection which represents the summit of the ovarian cells ; it is 

 the same with that of Pomaderris^ Australian and New Zealand 

 shrubs, with numerous flowers generally disposed, like those of 

 Trymalium^ in great ramified groups of cymes; they are distin- 

 guished from Trymalium by the absence of petals or their being 

 nearly flat, too little developed to cover the stamens which are 

 superposed to them. Spyridium has the same flowers as Foma- 

 derris and Trymalium^ with a capsular fruit altogether inferior, 



