belongwg to the Order Ki/mphceacece. 447 



aids, surrounded by a great variety of novel plants requiring 

 immediate examination, not long after my arrival at Rangoon, 

 and on the very eve of departing on a distant journey to A va. 

 I believe I have not omitted any thing that is of importance ; but 

 in case I have, the accompanying rough sketches of the ilower 

 may perhaps serve to supply what is wanting in that respect. 



The plant grows in great abundance towards the margins of 

 tanks ; it is smooth and slender, not slimy ; the root fixed to 

 the bottom ; the leaves at first submersed, afterwards tloating, 

 exceedingly thin, oblong, cordate, u'ithout the slightest ten- 

 dency to become peltate. I should have observed, that some- 

 times, though exceedingly rarely, a leaf is to be seen having one 

 or both margins marked with one or two obtuse short lobes, but 

 this circumstance must be viewed in the light of a monstrosity. 

 The flowers are without any beauty ; but this defect is amply 

 made up by their very singular structure, widely ditî'ering from 

 that of Nelumbo, Nymphœa, Euryak, and N up liar ; that is, from 

 any of the members of the order, to which it unquestionably 

 belongs. From Poclop/ii/llece, DeCand. the plant is as remote as 

 any of those genera. I'he flowers are fleshy, smooth and green : 

 the calyx on the outside purplish-green ; the raised part within 

 it stained with pink ; the rest of a shining sap-green colour 

 without, and deep-red (atro-sanguineous) on the inside. 



The above was written yesterday. — -To my great delight, a 

 berry which I had placed on my table the night before has 

 ripened fully, and by taking it into my hand it spontaneously 

 separated into two or three pieces along the dissepiments. Each 

 cell is easily separable, consisting of a soft mealy fleshy paren- 

 chyma, pinkish-white ; the outer margin coated with a thin 

 membrane (which forms the outside of the berry) ; the inner 

 margin (that which looked toward the axis) oblique above and 

 straight underneath ; sides with obliquely-ascending furrows. 



VOL. XV. 3 M The 



