68 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



38. Ossaea DC.^ — Flowers nearly of IT^m^^f^a ; receptacle tubular 

 or campanulate, dilated above to a truncate or lobed calyx, externally 

 costate or furnished with subulate accessory appendages (Octopleiira^). 

 Petals 4, 5, generally acute or acuminate, sometimes coherent in a 

 cone, contorted. Stamens 8-10, 2-seriate, subequal; anthers gene- 

 rally curved, connective not or scarcely produced at base, very rarely 

 with obtuse posterior spur. Germen for a large part adnate to recep- 

 tacle, enlarged or intruded at apex, 4, 5-celled; style generally slender. 

 Fruit baccate, often globular, sometimes 8-10-costate ; seeds sub- 

 globular, obovoid or obpyramidal; raphe lateral hollowed. — Shrubs 

 orundershrubs; leaves membranous, 3-7-nerved, entire or denticulate ; 

 flowers^ in axillary or rarely terminal, sometimes 1 -lateral scorpioid 

 ipidemia^) cymes, bracteate or ebracteate. (Both trop. Americas,^) 



39 ? Mecranium Hook, f.^ — Flowers nearly oWssea, 4, 5-merous ; 

 receptacle obovoid or hemispherical glabrous. Sepals obtuse. Petals 

 obtuse or retuse ; sometimes terminated at apex mth a hair. Stamens 

 8-10, subequal; anthers short, dehiscing by 1, 2 pores; connective 

 not produced at base, articulated at top of filament not appendiculate. 

 Germen adnate to receptacle inferior, 3-5 -celled, subplane at vertex, 

 slightly prominent or sulcate ; style generally rather short, at apex 

 stigmatose truncate or capitellate. Fruit small baccate ; seeds oblong,- 

 dimidiately obovoid, sometimes curved or subcochleate. — Glabrous 

 shrubs or small trees ; branches terete or sometimes sub-4-gonal ; 

 leaves petiolate, entire or crenate, 3-nerved ; flowers^ in axillary or 

 infra- axillary ramosely compound racemes; pedicels minutely bracte- 

 olate.^ (Antilles,'^) 



«^owa).— Seem. Ser. 124 {Saffraa).—GmsBB. Fl. FL BHt. W.-Ind. 248 (Clidemia), 265 {Davya) ; 



JBrit. W.-Ind. 245 {loreya). — Wai.p. JRep. ii. Cat. PI. Cub. 95 {Calycogonium, Sagrcea). — 



145; V. 716; Ann. ii. C09 ; iv. 777, 778 {Hen- AValp. Rep. ii. 142; Ann. iv. 754. 



riettella), 809. 6 Gen. 767, n. 115.— Tki. Melast. 139. 



1 Frodr. iii. 168 (not Naud.). — Enpl. Gen. n. 7 Small or very small. 



6242.— B. H. Gen. 770, n. 126. — Tki. Melast. ^ Qen. hence very near Cre^wamwrn and Os^^a ; 



146. — Sagrcea Naud. Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 3, xviii. differing from Clidemia by its anthers, thence 



92 (not DC). closely allied to Loreya among the BlakeecB. 



2 Grisbb. FL Brit. W.-Ind. 260.— B. H. Gen. » Spec. 5, 6. B. Melad. t. 36, 37.— Sw. Fl. Lid. 

 769, n. 125.— Tri. Mela.'^t. 145. Occ. 804, 816 {Melastoma).—^A.VT). Ann. Sc. Nat. 



3 Small or very small. ser. 3, xvii. 335-337 (Ossapo).— Desrx. Lamk. 

 * Naud. loc. cit. xviii. 102. Bict. iv. 35 {Melastoma).—lslkc^. Fl. Jam. ii. 49 

 « Spec, about 45. B. Melast. i. 38, 59 {Mela- (Ow«ff).— Gkiseb. Fl. Brit. W.-Ind. 261 [Cre- 



stoma).—BE^TH. Sulph. 94 {Clidemia).— Gkiseb. maniuin) ; Cat. Fl. Cub. 102 {Cremanium). 



