(i NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



biovulate cells. Maytems, which inhabits the tropical and sub-tropical 

 regions of South America, has been hitherto generically separated 

 from Celastrus, and it was formerly distinguished from it especially, 

 for sometimes having uniovulate ovarian cells. But ovules often 

 occurring to the number of two, ascendent, and with micropyle 

 exterior, it is impossible to retain this as a distinct genus ; it can only 

 form a section of the genus Celastrus. 



Schcefferia may be considered as Maytenus diminished, inasmuch as 

 the tetramerous flowers are unisexual, dioecious, and the two cells. of 

 the ovary enclose only one ascending ovule in each. The short style is 

 dilated in two stigmatiferous lobes, themselves bilobed, and the fruit 

 is drupaceous, slightly fleshy, with two monospermous stones. They 

 are bushes of the Antilles and of the southern parts of North 

 America ; the inflorescence is axillary, Wimmeria^ Mexican shrubs, 

 resembling by their organs of vegetation certain species of Celastrus 

 of the section Putterlickia^ have also pluriovulate ovarian cells. But 

 the-fruit is indehiscent and provided with large membranous wings. 

 In Folycardia, very curious shrubs of Madagascar, the flowers are 

 also those of Celastrus, with an ovary basally imbedded in the 

 receptacle, and with biovulate cells; the fruit is a loculicidal cap- 

 sule, with three, four, or five valves; but the flowers, united in 

 small glomerules, are raised to the middle or even to the summit of 

 the upper surface of the principal nervure of the axillate leaf. In 

 Pterocelastrus, bushes of Southern Africa and New Caledonia, the 

 inflorescence, independent of the leaves, is formed of compound 

 cymes, terminal or axillate, and the flowers are nearly those of 

 Polycardia. But the fruit is a loculicidal capsule, with three or six 

 vertical wings, the seed of which is, either surrounded by an aril, or 

 bordered by a marginal wing. Kurrimia, trees of tropical Asia, have 

 a dry fruit, with one or two cells dehiscent or indehiscent. Their 

 ovary is surmounted by a style of two long and slender branches, 

 each terminated by a small capitate stigma. Perrottetia, bushes of 

 Mexico, Columbia, and tropical Oceania, with slender inflorescence, 

 and generally much ramified, have nearly valvate or slightly imbri- 

 cated triangular petals, and an ovary with two cells more or less 

 mcomplete, biovulate, often incompletely divided into two half cells 

 by a false partition interposed between the ascending ovules. The fruit 

 is dry or little fleshy, nearly globular, indehiscent. Framko/era, a 



