12 Mr. J. Miers on the Menispermacez. 
Tribe 5. Hypserpex. The style here also is seen near the 
base of the fruit, in consequence of its excentric growth. The 
putamen is formed as in the preceding tribe, and the embryo, 
imbedded in simple albumen, is of the same slender proportions; 
but the cotyledons are accumbent (not incumbent). The sepals 
in estivation are either imbricated or valvate, and the flowers 
are sometimes remarkable for bemg very unsymmetrical im the 
relative number of their parts. 
Tribe 6. PLaryconeax. The style here also is near the base of 
the iruit. The putamen either resembles that of the Tilacoree 
in shape, divided by a septiform condyle, having a hippocrepi- 
form cell, or the condyle is subglobular and often 2-camerate, 
variously perforated, to the edge of which the mteguments are 
attached, as in the two last tribes, the cell being in this case 
cyclical. The seed is either 2-crural or cyclical ; the embryo is 
imbedded in the middle of the albumen, which fills the cell, 
partakes of its form, has large incumbent cotyledons, as in the 
Leptogonee (not accumbent) ; these are flattened and foliaceous, 
twice or three times the breadth of the more slender terete 
radicle, and always from two to six times its length; the radicle 
in the upper horn points to the style. This is a very natural 
and well-marked division, and ought on no account to be con- 
founded with the two former. 
Tribe 7. Pacnyconrm. The style, as in the three former 
groups, is near the base of the fruit, or it is more removed from 
it. The putamen is generally coriaceous, with a septiform con- 
dyle, which is sometimes almost obsolete. Unlike all the other 
tribes, the embryo is here quite exalbuminous, so that it entirely 
fills the cavity of the hippocrepiform or reniform cell, the radicle 
being extremely short and small, pointing to the style, the coty- 
ledons being very large, extremely fleshy, cyclically curved and 
accumbent. These characters render it one of the most natural 
divisions of the family. 
- The authors of the ‘Flora Indica, in their arrangement of 
Asian Menispermacee (in 1855), were the first to adopt the 
principle of the above distribution; but they made several ob- 
jectionable alterations in it, losing sight of some of the more 
prominent and constant characters, and adopting others of less 
value. They divided the family in a somewhat different manner, 
some of their groups being extremely heterogeneous. Their 
first tribe (Cosciniez) offers no character different from my 
Heterocliniee ; the latter was adopted by them as their second 
tribe, but they changed its name to 7inosporee without any 
advantage; the former designation certainly better expresses 
the very peculiar and most salient character of the group—that 
of their divaricated cotyledons imbedded in distinct cells of the 
