MR. JOHN MIERS ON THE GENUS CRESCENTIA. 173 



im 



acuminatis, acute mucronatis, imo cuneatis, sessilibus, subcoriaceis, glabcrrimi^ 

 supra viridibus, subtus paulo pallidioribus, utrinque nervis vcnisque reticulata ; 

 prominulis, nervo marginali subrevoluto : flore solitario ; pedunculo ad medium 

 bracteolato : fructu parvo, globoso, vix sesquipollicari, apice obsolete cruciat 

 sulcato, styli vestigio notato, imo disco iudurato stipitato et calyce brevi persistrnte 

 ad basin inaDqualiter fisso suffulto ; pericarpio duro, sul)coriaceo, fusco, n;evis flavidis 

 maculato, minutissime impresso-punctulato, intus plaeontis <!< parietalibus longitu- 

 dinalibus costaeformibus cruciatim dispositis adnatis, membrana fusca adlnerente 

 ncxis. — In Antillis : v. s. ins. S. Thomae, ad Boboni ((Ersted). 

 In the peculiar shape of its leaves, and in its very approximated nodes, this species 



bears no resemblance to any other of the genus. The branch is 2\ lines in diameter, 



with large projecting cup-shaped nodes, 2 to 6 lines apart, out of which issue 6 to 12 

 fasciculated leaves of various ages and sizes, the older ones being 2 inches long, 2 lines 

 broad, the younger 9 lines long, lj line broad, all more or less divaricated. The fructi- 



ferous peduncle is 6 lines long, 1 line thick : the fruit is quite globose, scarcely 1-| inch 



diameter, supported by the indurated disk 3 lines high and 4 J lines in diameter, and 



surrounded by the ruptured calyx ; the pericarp is J line thick, hard, subpolished, closely 

 dotted with minute hollow punctures, and is marked inside by four prominent adnate 

 ribs united at the base and apex and connected together by a dark-coloured adhering 

 laminar coating. 



9. Ceescentia spathulata, nob. : foliis e nodis cupulosis 5-6, fasciculatis, sessilibus, 



spathulato-oblongis, apice rotundatis, apiculo brevissime mucronatis, a summo ad 

 basin gradatim cuneatis, lateribus fere rectis, supra viridibus, glabris, subtus palli- 

 dioribus, ad costam utroque latere tomentoso-pubesccntibus, et in nervis utrinque 

 20 divaricatis et arcuatim nexis puberulis : flore solitario ; pedunculo brevi, sub- 

 tenui; calyce subbrevi, in lobos ovatos fere ad basin 2-fisso, glandulis sparsis im- 

 mersis punctato; corolla campanulata, longitudinaliter striata, glandulis min litis crys- 

 tallinis scabrido-punctulata, tubo lato, subbrevi, infra medium plica transversali 

 deorsum profunde introflexo, limbo sub-5-lobo, lobis deltoideis, acutis, marginibus 

 undulato-crispatis, suberectis ; staminibus inclusis. — In Ecuador : v. s. in hb. Hook. 

 Ecuador (Sinclair) : in hb. Mus. Brit, sine flore [Linden., an cult. ?). 



This species is well marked by the peculiar shape and pubescence of its leaves. The 

 alternate cupular nodes are 1 inch apart, and fringed with several short ligneous stipu- 

 loid scales, generally prevalent in the plants of this section. The leaves on each fascicle 

 vary much in size according to their age, and are remarkable for their very elongated 

 form with rounded apex, and for the unusual number of the puberulous nerves beneath, 

 while the midrib has a narrow band of soft pubescence along each side ; they are 6-7 

 inches long, IJ-li inch broad, the younger leaves sometimes only 1J inch in length. 

 The peduncle is 5 lines long ; the calyx 8-9 lines long, with broadly ovate lobes ; the 

 corolla is very like that of C. plectantha, but smaller, the tube being 1^-lJ inch long, 



inch broad in the mouth, with a deep transverse downward duplicature on the ventral 

 face 6-8 lines above the base, the lobes of the border being 5-6 lines long and broad. 



