Buttnera. pentandria monocynia. 385 



Common receptacle no other than the above mentioned axis, which 

 sends forth from its middle five vertical, oblong, yellowish placen- 

 tas. Seeds five (one in each cell or separate capsule) ovate-oblong, 

 axi-oendulous, nearly perpendicular, two-thirds of an inch long, obtuse, 

 rather narrower upwards, at least four times smaller than their cells. 

 — Integuments two ; exterior rather fleshy, brown, smooth, dotted 

 with minute, shining black specks ; interior leathery, thicker than 

 the former, glaucous, bearing along its inner or ventral side a linear 

 raphis, which ascends and descends from the central umbilicus and 

 ends at each extremity of the peiisperm in a slightly knobbed 

 c/talaza. Ferisperm fleshy, wliite, thin, surrounding completely 

 the embryo, which is inverted, oblong, somewhat truncate at both 

 ends, greenish-white, straight. Cotyledons very large, broad-cordate, 

 deeply divided into two obtuse lobes, many-nerved, twisted longitudi- 

 nally and spirally round each other. Plumula inconspicuous. Ra- 

 dicle superior, cylindric, clavate, nearly as ling as the cotyledons, 

 concealed by them except at the base, which is a little prominent 

 above the top of the embryo. 



Obs. This is probably the largest species known. The fruit re- 

 sembles that of a Datura, whence its Bengalee name Climbing Dhoo- 

 tura ; its internal structure is extiemely elegant. It comes very near 

 to B. catalpifolia, which also attains a very large size, and with which 

 I have compared it in all stages. They may, however, be easily dis- 

 tinguished by attending to the following points. The leaves in Jacqiun's 

 plants are tapering from the base upwards, their sinus is broad; while 

 young they are lanceolate, with an entire, rounded base ; in mine they 

 are always broad-cordate, their margins rounded and their apex obtuse 

 or refuse, with a short acumen; the sinus at the base is deeper. and 

 narrower; in that plant the petiol is nearly as long as the leaf, in 

 mine one-half shorter. The fruit differs widely, being ony one-half 

 the size of that of B. aspera, and tie thorns much more numerous 

 and dense, and far less robust.— N. \V. 



