230 ON SOTJTH-AMEEICAJSr APOCTNACE^. 



Both were equally wrong in adopting as its synonym the Nerium sarmentosum of P. 

 Browne, which is Mesechites myrtifolivm, Swartz, who well described Jacquin's plant, 

 avoided this mistake, consideriag that the drawing of the latter better represented the 

 species than that of Browne. 



It is a subscandent plant, with an abundant lactescent juice ; its branches are very 

 slender, smooth, bifid towards the summit, with axils 1^-2^ in. apart ; the opposite leaves 

 are patent, oblong, narrowing towards the base, acute and mucronulate at the apex, 

 opake-green above, with about 8 pairs of diverging nerves, sulcate on the reticulated 

 veins, pale glaucous beneath, opake, midrib pale and prominulent, with immersed 

 nerves, 1-2 in. long, 4-7 lines broad, on scabridulous petioles 1^ line long ; raceme axil- 

 lary, very short, on a peduncle 2 lines long, bearing 3 to 6 alternate smallish flowers on 

 capillary pedicels 2^ lines long; sepals sharply acuminate, subreflexed at the apex, 

 glabrous, 2 lines long, | line broad ; tube of corolla slender, a little swollen in the middle, 

 6 lines long ; segments broadly dolabriform, rotate, with dextrorse convolution, 4 lines 

 long, 3 lines broad, of a pale rubescent colour ; follicles 2, erect, terete, acuminate, toru- 

 lose, with small oblong comose seeds. 



3. Mesechites lanceolata, nob. : Nerium foliis lanceolatis, Plum. Amer. i. p. 20, tab. 27. fig. 1 : 



Echites repens, A. DC. in parte (non Jacq.), I. c. p. 449. In America tropica : non vidi. 



A twining species, extremely difiFerent from M. repens : it has terete, very flexuose 

 slender branches, with axils lj-1^ in. apart ; leaves very patently opposite, lanceolately 

 oblong, roundish at the base, subobtusely narrowed at the summit, with about 8 pairs of 

 divergently ascendirig nerves curvingly connected near the margin, 2-2j in. long, 6-&J 

 lines broad, on petioles 2 lines long ; raceme lateral, on a peduncle IJ in. long, bearing 

 on its summit 3-4 subapproximate flowers on pedicels 2 lines long ; sepals small, sub- 

 acute; tube of corolla slender, 8 lines long; segments dolabriform, 4 lines long and broad, 

 rotately expanded, with dextrorse convolution ; foUicles 2, pendulous, slender, subarcuate, 

 very torose, 7 in. long ; seeds smallish, with an apical coma 6 lines long. 



This species difliers from M. torulosa in its long, simple, flexuose branches, larger and 

 less acute leaves, and a raceme upon a lengthened peduncle, and longer flowers. 



4. Mesechites angustipolia, nob. : Echites angustifolia, Poir. (non Benth.) Diet. Suppl. ii. p. 537 ; 



A. DC. /. c. p. 449 ; Schl. Linn. xxvi. p. 665. In Antillis ad San Domingo : non vidi. 



The very slender twining branches are glabrous and lactescent ; the opposite leaves 

 are long and extremely narrow, glabrous, entire, almost sessile, linear, rounded at the 

 base, acute at the summit, marked by a midrib and 2 simple parallel nerves, more than 

 3 in. long, 2 lines broad ; inflorescence axillary, very short, on a slender, bifid, 2-flowered 

 puberulous peduncle ; flowers small, white ; follicles 2, very slender, torulose, compressed, 

 glabrous, 6-8 in. long. 



5. Mesechites linearifolia, nob. : Echites linearifolia, Ham. Prodr. PI. Ind. Occid. p. 31 ; A. DC. I. c. 



p. 449. In Hispaniola, Cap. Henrici : non vidi. 



A lactescent species near the preceding, differing principally in its white flowers. Its 



