the ovary. Fruit composed of unilocular one-seeded berries. SEED 
somewhat globular, with a coriaceous, rather thick testa, and broad 
umbilical scar (or hilum) at the base. Empryo antitropous, in the 
axis of the albumen, with the radicular extremity uppermost, diametri- 
cally opposite to the umbilical scar. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES, eee SEGUINUM. STEM 
between five and six feet long, procum bent ported, but ascend- 
ing towards the extremity, succulent and dark resi varied with pale 
brown transverse rings, which are the scars of the fallen leaves. Leaves, 
about half a dozen crown the stem, with a limb of twelve and a petiole 
of four inches in length; ovate-oblong, waved, acuminate, with a 
thick midrib from which diverge parallel primary veins, somewhat 
coriaceous, dark green with a few paler blotches, but no perforations 
(as is the case in some specimens) ; petioles channelled, sheathing and 
terminating upwards in two lobes or auricles somewhat affecting the 
appearance of a ligule. The limb of the leaf at the base of some 
_ flower stalks is abortive, whilst the petiole is still complete. SpaTues 
three or four, axillary, six inches long, on short peduncles, pale green, 
convoluted in the lower portion, pinched in the middle, and open 
above. Spapix very little shorter than the spathe, to which it is 
united along one side throughout that portion of the lower half on 
which the fertile flowers are seated, but free in the upper portion 
which bears the barren flowers. MALE FLOWERS completely covering 
the upper half of the spadix, each composed normally of three two- 
celled anthers, these are agglutinated together, and by mutual pressure 
each becomes an hexagonal peltate stamen with six anther cells ranged 
vertically round a thick common connective. It is possible that the 
process of agglutination is still more complete in some cases, and the 
stamens of different flowers becoming united, the resulting stamen 
has occasionally four instead of three anthers; and also that the 
anthers (as stated in the generic character) may discharge their pollen 
through a common pore. But in the present example, each anther- 
cell bursts above by a separate and large triangular pore. Towards 
the middle of the spadix, a few male flowers are scattered in a de- 
tached manner, and have an evident tendency to develope their 
stamens free, and one of them, has even produced a pistil, thus form- 
ing a truly hermaphrodite flower, and affording a complete proof 
(if any were wanting) that each solitary stamen, and each solitary 
ovarium in other diclinous genera of Aracew are to be considered 
