connected with the Flora of Guiana. 227 



be imbricate. The stigma may as well be described as subquinquelohum as sub- 

 trifîdiitn, for the carpellary number varies from three to five in most species. 

 L'llcritier's character of the fruit, as far as it goes, applies to all his species. 



Persooa in his Synopsis (vol. ii. p. 74.) adopts L'llcritier's views in uniting 

 Alstouia and Ciponima with St/»iplocos, but again separates Ilopea ; and Gœrt- 

 ner {Carpologia, iii. p. 139. et se(j. t. "209. /". 1, 2, 3.) not only follows Persoon in 

 considering the latter genus as well characterized by a pentapetalous corolla, 

 pentadelphous stamina, and a trilocular drupe, but also re-estabhshes Ciponima, 

 distinguishing it chiefly by the stamina being in a double, not in a quadruple 

 row, as in Si/mplocos, the anthers bilocular, not quadrilocular, the drupe qua- 

 drilocular, and the embryo erect, not inverted as in Ilopea. 



Of all these characters, those derived from the corolla and stamina alone 

 appear to be of any importance. The quadrilocular anthers of Si/mploco.s are a 

 mistake ; the position of the embryo, it is now well known, varies in Symplocos 

 in different seeds in tlie same drupe, and tlie number of cells of the ovary is 

 very variable, at least in the true species of Symploeuti. 



On these grounds, probably, Jîonpland {PL ^Hquin. \. \). 180.), followed by 

 Kunth, {Nov. Gen. et Sp. PL Amer. iii. p. 256.) returns to LTIeritier's opinion, 

 that the four genera form but one. In the first of these works Bonjjlantl adds 

 to the six species then known eight new ones, and commences liis monogra- 

 phic sketch with a new character, in which the corolla is described as " disco 

 epigyno imposita, polypetala vel monopetaia; polypetala, petalis circiter 10, 

 dupiici série dispositis, exterioribus majoribus, basi in formam tiibi arete co- 

 heerentibus, monopetaia, tabo brevi, laciniis 10 ut in polypetala dispositis." 

 This is evidently taken from S. Alstonia {PL yEqain. t.51.) and S.coccinea 

 (t. 52.) ; it is also applicable, with a slight modification as to tlie number of 

 petals of the inner series, to *S'. cernua (t. 53.), but is completely at variance 

 as well with S. serruluta and S. ra/escens, figured in the same work (t. 54 & 55.), 

 as with the original S. marfinicensis, AuhleVs Ciponima, ami Linneeus's Hopea. 



The subsequent additions to the genus consist chiefly of Asiatic species, of 

 which S. sinica was figured and described in detail i)y Ker in the Botanical 

 Register (vol. ix. t. 710.), the S. Loha, Sa/nanfia, theœfoUa, and cratœgoides 

 were established by D.Don, Prodr. Ft. Nepalensis, p. 144., the S. racemosa, 

 spicata, and /erraginea, by Roxburgh FL Ind. Or. vol. ii. p. 539. None of these 



