82 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



dinally. Seeds smooth ; testa crustaceous, arillate to hilum ; coty- 

 ledons of albuminous embryo elliptical or obovate. — Small trees or 

 shrubs, sometimes spinescent ; leaves opposite or generally alter- 

 nate, entire or dentate, penninerved or 3-plinerved at base, glabrous 

 or somewhat scaly or canescent tomentose beneath, petiolate ; 

 stipules small, caducous ; flowers ^ in corymbs or racemes terminal and 

 axillary to uppermost leaves of twigs, densely ramose, cymiferous or 

 glomefuliferous, umbelliform or elongate thyrsoid. {Temp, and trop. 

 west, regions of hoih Americas.^) 



16. Ventilago G^etn.^ — Flowers hermaphrodite or more rarely 

 polygamous; receptacle shortly obconical or broadly cupular, lined 

 with a thick annular or obtusely 5-gonal disk flat or depressed above. 

 Sepals 5, valvate, carinate within. Petals same in number deflexed 

 cucuUate, entire or 2-lobed at apex. Stamens equal in number; 

 filaments free or adnate to petals at base ; anthers introrse or laterally 

 rimose ; connective sometimes excurrent. Germen immersed in 

 centre of disk, 2-locular ; style very short compressed, stigmatose at 

 apex, shortly or very shortly 2-lobed, afterwards accrescent. Fruit 

 dry, indehiscent, subglobular, girt at the base or to a greater or less 

 height with the cupular receptacle apiculate to style accrescent and 

 dilated on both sides to an erect linear membranous or coriaceous 

 veined wing. Seed 1, exalbuminous ; cotyledons of fleshy embryo 

 thick ; radicle inferior short. — Scandent or sometimes subprostrate 

 shrubs, glabrous or pubescent; leaves alternate ovate or oblong, 

 oftener oblique at base, petiolate ; stipules minute, caducous ; flowers 

 in terminal or axillary more or less compound ramose cymiferous 

 racemes, bracteolate. ( Warm Asia, Africa and Oceania}) 



17. Smythea Seem.^— Flowers of Ventilago. Fruit ^ ovate much 



1 White, yellow or azure ; pedicels and calyx « Rumph. Eerb. Atnboin. v. t. 12, — (i?«M« 

 often coloured. vimirialis). -Rosi^. Ft. Oorom. i. 35, t. 76 ; Fl. 



2 Spec. 20-25. H. B. K. Nm. Gen. et Spec. vii. Ind. ii. 413.— Bl. Bydr. 1 144.— Wight and Akn. 

 t. 615.— Hook. Ji. 3o?-.-^»wr. t. 45.— Tore and Prodr. i. 164.— Wight, Icon. t. 163.— Benth. 

 Gbat, m. N.-Amer. i. 264.— A. Gray, Man. ed. Fl. Austral, i. 411 ; Journ. Linn Sac. v 77 — 

 6, 115.-CHAPM. Fl. S. Unit. St. U.-Bot. S^em. Fl. Vit. il.-A. G^y, A.ner.' Fxpl. Fxp. 

 Mag. t. 4660, 4664, 4806, 4810, 4815, 6127, Bot. i. 274.-TcL. Ann. So. Nat. s&. 4, yiii. 

 6165, 5177.— Walp. Ann. ii. 267; iv. 434; 120. — Onv. Fl. Trap. Afr. i. 378.— H. Bn. 

 ■^- ®^^- Adansonia, xi. 268.— Walp. Ann. vii. 886. 



= Fruct. 1. 233, t. 49.— Pom. Diet. vui. 451. 5 Bonplandia (1861), a56 ; Fl. Fit 41, t 11. 



-BO. Prodr. ii. 38.-Ad. Br. Bhamn. 60, t. 1. -B. H. Gen. 375, 998, n. 2.-HooK Fl. Ind i. 



— Enbl. Gen. n. 5716.— B. H, Qen. 375, n. 1.— 632. 



Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 630. c 'uather large, downy. 



