Blame's Flora Java;. 709 



flower, fully blown, was discovered in a jungle, growing close 

 to the ground under the bushes, with a swarm of flies hovering 

 over the nectary, and apparently laying their eggs in its 

 substance. 



Before noticing Raffles/a Patma Blume, we should remark 

 that Dr. Blume, in 1 825, founded an order to receive this and 

 allied plants, and devised for it the name Rhizanthese ; from 

 rkize, a root, and anthos, a flower ; in expression of the remark- 

 able habit in their vegetation of their being flowers parasitically 

 sustained on the roots of other plants. As M. Brongniart 

 had, in 1824, a year previous, applied the term Cytineee to 

 plants of the same kind, Dr. Blume's name is superseded by 

 the priority ofM. Brongniart's. Dr. Blume, however, in his 

 work before us, published in 1828, retains his own name of 

 Rhizanthese, and under it developes, in considerable detail, its 

 characters, before he proceeds to the contradistinction, de- 

 scription, and illustration of the plants, which, in this work, 

 he has occasion to consider under it. These are, Raffles/a 

 Patma Blume, R. Arnold// Brown, and Brugmans/a Zippel/Z 

 Blume. R. Arnold//, above spoken of, Dr. Blume only notices 

 for the purpose of distinguishing his R. Patina from it ; and we 

 now give some of his remarks on the latter, and on his Brug- 

 mans/a Zippel//. 



To Raffles/a Patma Dr. Blume applies the epithet Patma 

 in expression of its place of growth. This species has the 

 perianth smooth within, while R.Arnold// {fig. 149.) has this 

 part rough with filiform excrescences ; R. Patma has the pro- 

 cesses of the column straightish, R. Arnold// bears the 

 processes in the disk of the column more crowdedly and con- 

 fusedly, and of unequal length, and here and there somewhat 

 divided and twisted; R. Arnold// is perhaps still farther 

 distinguished from R. Patma, in the former having dioecious 

 flowers. 



R. Patma Blume grows in shady places of the little island 

 of Nusa Kambangan, near to the south of Java, upon the 

 roots of Cissus scariosa Blume, which plant delights exceed- 

 ingly in moist soil, and where the diameter of the expanded 

 perianth of the Rafnes/a Patma not rarely exceeds 2 Dutch 

 feet (five of which are equal to four English), but in less 

 favourable situations its diameter is scarcely 14 to 16 Dutch 

 inches. 



Accurate examination convinced Dr. Blume that the RaffleszVz 

 Patma had no connection whatever with the woody layers of 

 the root of the Cissus scariosa, but that its connection was 

 only with the substance of the bark of the root. It is quite 

 remarkable that the growing bark, having its continuity inter- 



z z 3 



