546 Mr. MiERS ou some ueiv Brazilian Plants 



Plantée {Bras, et Amer. Bor.) rhizocarpœ, radiée fibrosa. Caulis erectus, stib- 

 dicJiotomè ramosus, ramis suhfle.iuosis. FoVm pauca, sessilia, erecta, hrac- 

 teiformia, pallida. Inflorescentia terminalis, unijlora. Flores cceteris ma- 

 jores, erecti, ebracteati, purpurasceiites. 



I . A. setacea, Nutt. 



On this species I need only remark, in justice to Mr. Nuttall, that he states 

 all his materials to have been derived fiom dried specimens, and that he 

 could not distinguish the nature of the stamens. Had he been able to observe 

 the plant in its living state, he would no doubt have witnessed the curious 

 development of those organs so peculiar to the genus. From all that lie had 

 noted and recorded of Apferia, there was sufficient ground for concluding 

 that my Brazilian plant constituted a distinct genus, and accordingly I had 

 named it Sfemuptera from the peculiar character of the stamens, although I 

 confess that its close approximation to Mr. Nuttall's plant had forcibly struck 

 me. While I was preparing these details, Mr. Brown examined a specimen 

 of .tpteria setacea in his possession from the original locality, and identified 

 my plant with Mr. Nuttall's genus, of which Mr. Bentham also examined 

 another species collected by Ilartweg in Mexico ; these observations were 

 kindly communicated to me, and I was favoured with the sight of a spe- 

 cimen, when I could perceive by transmitted light the hollow sacs in the 

 perianthium above described, and somewhat similar winglike expansions of 

 the filaments. I did not hesitate, therefore, to suppress my generic name and 

 substitute for it that of Jpteria. 



•1. J. lilacinu, caule ramoso, foliis plurimis acutis erecto-patentibus, perianthio 

 urceolato-tubuloso : laciniis exterioribus 3 lanceolatis acuminatis ; inte- 

 rioribus 3 ovatis mucronulatis. Tab. XXXVIII. fig. 5. 

 A native of the Serra dos Orgaos, near Rio de Janeiro. 



I have already observed, that in general habit and appearance this plant 

 bears much resemblance to the figure Mr. Nuttall has given of his Apteria 

 setacea : the singular expansion of the filaments and the swellings in the 

 mouth of the perianthium give to Apteria a very distinct character from all 

 the related genera. Its flowers are greatly larger than those of Dictyostega or 



