ON SOUTH-AMEEIOAN APOCTNACE^. 13 



the name of Mangaba, aflfords a material like india-rubber, which is likely to become an 

 article of commerce. 



The Sancornia Jloribunda, figured by Poppig, is a species of Zshokkea ; and the San- 

 cornia laxa, A. DC, belongs to Ambellania. 



The analysis of the fruit and seed of Sancornia speciosa is shown in Plate 1 A. 



Ambellania. 



A genus well described and figured by Aublet upon a single Guiana species : to this 

 Dr. Miiller added five others from Brazil, two of which must be excluded, as indicated 

 below. The genus is easily distinguished from Couma, Sancornia, and Zschokkea by the 

 segments of the corolla, which are linear-oblong, obtuse, membranaceous, simply con- 

 voluted sinistrorsely in aestivation, afterwards expanded, and by other characters. The 

 fruit differs from those of the above genera in its fleshy envelope divided into 2 cells by 

 a very thick fleshy placentiferous dissepiment, in which numerous small seeds are half 

 imbedded ; these seeds are oval, subcompressed, and peltately attached by a ventral hilum. 



7. Ambellania cttcumerina, Spruce in Hook. Kew Journ. v. 185 et 243 : arbores('ens, undique lactes- 

 cens : foliis ovato-otlongis, imo rotuudatis, apice sensim apiculatis, integris, marginibus subre- 

 volutis, tenuiter chartaceis, supra viridibus, opacis, subtus pallidioribus, valde opacis, sub lente 

 minute granulatis, nervis numerosis tenuibus crebre parallelis recte divergentibus prope marginem 

 arcuatis, venis vix ullis, costa supra sulcata^ subtus prominula ; petiolo tenui, canaliculato, limbo 

 40p]o breviore : racemo brevi, axillari, pedunoulo petiolum sequante, floribus subcongestis ; pedicellis 

 brevissimis ; sepalis brevibus, ovatis ; corollae tubo eylindrico, glabro, superne sensim latiore, calyce 

 quadruplo longiorCj intus lineis 5 lanato-piloso, segmentis subsequilongis, lineari-oblongis, obtusulis, 

 sestivatione simpliciter sinistrorsum convolutis, demum expansis; staminibus infra medium tubi 

 insertis, filamentis brevissimis, antheris acuminatis, imo emarginatis ; stylo brevi, valido, apice 

 indusiatim concavo ; stigmatibus 2, globosis, indusio nidulantibus : drupa ovato-oblonga utrinque 

 obtusa, costatim pentagona, pericarpio crassissimo, carnoso, extus (modo cucumeri) muricato- 

 tuberculato, 2-Ioculari, dissepimento crasso carnoso seminigeroj seminibus plurimis, ovatis, plano- 

 convexis ; testa tenui, dura, hilo parvo supra medium peltatim afiixa ; embryone m albumine sub- 

 corneo subsequilongo incluso, cotyledonibus anguste semiteretibus radicnla ad imum spectante triplo 

 longioribus. In Brasilia: v. pi. sice, in hb. Hook., fractus in Mus. Kew., Panure, Rio Negro 

 (Spruce 2413). 



A slender branching tree, 15-30 feet high, yielding an abundant milky juice; its 

 opposite leaves are 4^-5^ in. long, 1|-2J in. broad, on petioles about 1^ line long, 

 havinc about 30 pairs of parallel nerves, with others shorter and intermediate; the 

 small black dots mentioned by Spruce are merely superficial, and in no way resemble 

 the pellucid dots of the Myrtacem ; the imbricated pruinose sepals are 3 lines long ; the 

 tube of the corolla 5 lines long, its segments 4 lines long. The fruit, called " Pepino do 

 matto " (wild cucumber), is 3^ in. long. If in. broad, the angles alternate with the sepals ; 

 the pericarp, of firm texture, is edible, sweet-tasted, with the odour of a ripe apple, and 

 4-3 lines thick, the dissepiment between the 2 narrow cells being 3 lines thick, bearing 

 about 60 oval compressed fleshy seeds 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, covered by a hard 

 o-reenish scabrid testa, marked by a small hilum in the middle, by which it is attached 



