ON 80UTH-AMEEI0AN APOCTNACE^. 115 



it. Its branches are brown, compressed, striate, glabrous, the younger branchlets 

 puberulous ; the axils are li in. apart ; leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, roundish at the 

 base, and subcordate, subacuminate, coriaceous, dark green above, corrugulate, gla- 

 brous, with slender immersed nerves, yellowish opake beneathi granulated midrib and 

 nerves prominulent and pubescent, without apparent veins, 2-2 J in. long, 1-1^ in. 

 broad, on stoutish pubescent petioles 2-3 lines long ; racemes short, axillary, | in. long, 

 on a very short peduncle, bearing 2-3 alternate approximate flowers; pedicels very 

 short, bracteolafced ; sepals obtusely oblong, pilose outside ; corolla with a short tube ; 

 segments spathulately oblong, longer than the tube, with simple dextrorse convolution ; 

 stamens inserted near the base of the tube; anthers acuminate, with 2 basaV aristate 

 prongs ; disk of 5 free, erect lobes, nearly as long as the 2 ovaries ; 2 erect, terete follicles,^ 

 pilose, 8^ in. long, the sutural margins introflexed and seminiferous ; seeds oblong, com- 

 pressed, with a small central hilum, furnished dorsally above the middle with dense 

 erect hairs extending far beyond the summit. 



A drawing of this species, with an analysis of its flower, fruit, and seeds,- is shown in 

 Plate XIV. A. 



2. Elytropits Chilensis, Miill. Bot. Zeit. 1860, p. 21, cum icone; Linn. xxx. 440: Echites 



A. DC. Prodr. viii. 468; G-ay, Chile, iv. 387. In Chile : v. s. in herb, meo (n. 20337) ; ad Chilian 

 (Germain, inflore etfructu). 



A climbing species, near the preceding, but easily distinguished by the very dilated 

 nodes of its branches, which are f in. (sometimes 2 in.) apart ; the branches are reddish 

 brown and softly pubescent ; leaves oblong-ovate, rounded at the base, gradually acute 

 above the middle, rigidly chartaceous, with revolute margins, pale green above, sulcate 

 along the nerves, the younger ones sparsely hirsute with hairs globose at the base, pallidly 

 flavid beneath, very opake, subrugulous, midrib and nerves very prominent, and patently 

 hirsute, 1^-2^ in. long, f-lj in. broad, on stoutish, recurved, rigidly hirsute petioles 

 2-4 lines long; fl^owers geminate or solitary in the axils on patently pilose pedicels 

 3 lines long, each bearing 3 alternate acute bracteoles ; sepals acute,^ pale green, pubes- 

 cent, 3 lines long, 1^ line broad; corolla glabrous, with a cylindrical tube 2 J lines long; 

 segments ovate, 4 lines long, 2^ lines broad, with simple dextrorse convolution; rest as 

 in the preceding species; 2 follicles, parallelly erect, linear, compressed, subtorulose, 

 flavidly pubescent, when not quite ripe 3 in. long, 1 J line broad, often conjoined at 

 the apex. 



3, Elytropus ptarmicus, nob. : Echites Chiiensis, Miill. (in parte) I. c. p. 440 : Echites ptarmica, Popp. 



Gen. iii. 69, tab. 278 : Vinca sternutatoria, Popp. MS. in herb. Chile australis, ad Antucc 

 (Poppig) : non vidi. 

 A low shrub, with several procumbent or scandent ramose hirsute branches, about 

 1 foot long ; the oval leaves, obtuse or slightly cordate at the base, obtusely acute at the 

 summit, pubescent beneath and hirsute along the midrib, are 2-3 J in. long, l-lfin. 

 broad, on petioles 2-3 lines long; 1 or 2 flowers on a short axillary peduncle, with 

 decussate oblong bractlets 1 line long; pedicels IJ line long; sepals acutely oblong,, 



q2 



