116 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. 
ovules 1-2 on the ventral suture, rarely 1, basal, erect. Ripe carpels berried, globose or 
ovoid, stalked. 
Disrris.—About 20 Asiatic species, 12 Australian and 1 African. (The Australian 
and African species may be generically separable.) 
There has been considerable variety of opinion as to the place of Popowia amongst 
the genera of Anonacew. The genus was founded by Endlicher (Genus No. 4710) to 
accommodate the species which had been named Bocagea pisocarpa by Blume [Flora 
Javee (Anonacee) 90, t. 45]. Endlicher placed it next to Orophea, from which it is dis- 
tinguished by its inner row of petals being free and having their apices inflexed in 
sestivation, while those of Orophea are clawed, vaulted, attached by their edges, and 
not inflexed in estivation. In their Flora Indica Hooker filius and Thomson added 
the species P. ramosissima to the origmal plant of Endlicher, with a remark to the -effect 
that Uvaria Vogelii, H. £., should be included in the genus. Further they associated 
Popowia with the genera Orophea, Mitrephora and Goniothalamus in the. tribe Mirte- 
phoree. In their Genera Plantarum My. Bentham and Sir Joseph Hooker take a differ- 
ent view of the position of Popowia and, in the arrangement adopted in that great 
work, Popowia is put amongst the Unonee; Orophea is relegated to the tribe Miliusecee ; 
while Goniothalamus and Mitrephora ‘are retained side by side in the tribe Mitrephoree. 
Now the character of the tribe Unonee is:—“ petals flat, slightly unequal, or those of 
the inner row smaller than those of the outer, or absent,” while in several of the 
Popowias (e.g., P. pisocarpa, P. ramosissima) the inner petals are longer than the outer. 
Baillon, whose arrangement of tribes differs from that of Messrs. Bentham and Hooker, 
puts Popowia mto Unonee, leaving Mitrephora and Orophea side by ‘side in TBS tribe 
Oxymitree. 
Dr. Scheffer differs from the opinion of the authors of the Genera Plant um and of 
Baillon, and rather inclines to that of the authors of the Flora Indica. He points out 
with much force that the proper place of Popowia is in the tribe characterised by its 
“outer petals being open, the inner connivent over the andro-gynecium, erecto-conni- 
vent or connate”—that is to say, in the tribe Mitrephoree of these authors. The stamens 
of Popowia present considerable diversity, but on the whole they have the character of 
those of Uvarie rather than those of Unonew. As Scheffer remarks, there is little 
difference between the genera Orophea and Mitrephora except that the outer petals 
of Mitrephora are usually larger than those of Oropkea.: And, if M. Baillon’s plan of 
reducing the number of the genera in Anonucee were to be carried out, Dr. Scheffer 
would’ suggest the union of these two and of Popowia into a single genus, from which 
would be excluded, however, all the African species. Of these new. genus Orophea 
would be the typical form, and the other two would form sub-genera. 
There is no doubt that in externals many species of Popowia are like Orophea ; and 
the non-unguiculate character of the inner petals is really the best character by which 
to distinguish them from Orophea. 
I venture to follow Dr. Scheffer and the authors of the Flora Indica in putting 
Popes, Orophea, and Mitrephora together in the tribe Mitrephorec. 
Flowers hermaphrodite. 
Both surfaces of leaves glabrous except the nerves, 
Both ‘surfaces minutely granular; nerves 9 or 10 pairs, sparsely 
putes hertath «64% 565 eyes cl ee ne a ee ks E, paciniora, 
