MALPIQHIAGEM. 437 



and narrow ridge on the middle of tlie back and upper part. 

 Sphedamnocarpus, natives of the warm regions of tropical Afi'ica, 

 Madagascar, and the Cape, is also very analogous to Heteropterys. 

 But the sepals are destitute of glands ; the three styliae branches 

 are slender, elongated, ineurvate ; and the flowers are collected in 

 small terminal clusters of false umbels, often quadriflorous. This 

 genus had formerly been assigned, as a simple section, to Acrîdocar- 

 pus, inhabiting tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, 

 and Persia, and even î^cw Caledonia, and distinguished by 

 leaves usually alternate, sepals with glands wanting or very slightly 

 developed, and styline branches only two of which are very long, 

 slender, rolled inwardly in a spiral in the upper part, whilst the third 

 is very short, rigid, upright, or nearly wanting. The fruit is formed 

 of one, two, or three large samarte whose base, flat or concave, is 

 applied to the sides of an elongated receptacle. 



Tricomaria and Ptilochœta have also been joined to this series. 

 The former is a curious shrub from the Cordilleras of La Plata, 

 having opposite branches, ending in spines and covered by a silky 

 down, just like the very small, lanceolate leaves (analogous to those 

 oi Kramei'ia). The flowers, solitary or collected in triflorous cymes, are 

 very like those of Banisteria ; but the ovary is surmounted by three 

 styline branches, one of which is rudimentary, very short, as in 

 Acridocarpus, whilst the other two are very like those of Bracliyp- 

 terys ; and the trilobate fruit is covered with long tufts of hair. 

 Ptilochœta, a shrub still imperfectly known, native of the environs 

 of Bahia, has opposite well developed, oval, exstipulate leaves, and 

 axillary flowers, often solitary, pedunculate, whose calyx has no 

 glands, and whose andi-oceum is composed of ten stamens with fila- 

 ments completely joined at the base. The trilocular ovary is sur- 

 moimted by thi-ee capillary and flexuous styline branches ; and the 

 trilobate fruit is covered with long patulous and feathery dorsal 

 hairs. The seeds contain an uncinate embryo, with flat cotyledons, 

 ineurvate and incumbent. 



