RHAMNAOE^. 86 



II. GOTJANIJE. 



21. Gouania L. — Flowers hermaphrodite or polygamous ; recep- 

 tacle concave obconical or urceolate. Sepals 5, inserted at mouth 

 of receptacle, valvate. Petals same in number alternate cucuUate. 

 Stamens 5, oppositipetalous, inserted with perianth and superior. 

 Disk epigynous interior to perianth and stamens, 5-gonal or 5-lobed ; 

 lobes sometimes very prominent produced to horns or layers more or 

 less connate internally at the base with the sepals. Germen inferior 

 and adnate to concavity of receptacle, 3-locular ; style central 

 divided more or less deeply into 3 branches stigmatose at apex. 

 Ovule in cells 1, suberect (of Rhamnus). Fruit inferior coriaceous, 

 crowned with sepals and disk, vertically 3-alate ; wings wide rotund ; 

 cocci of endocarp 3, woody or submenibranous, finally separate from 

 6-partite columella and indehiscent, externally alate at margin. 

 Seeds obovate compressed or plano-convex ; testa hard nitid ; coty- 

 ledons of sparsely albuminous embryo somewhat flat ; radicle short 

 inferior. — Shrubs oftener scandent cirrhiferous, glabrous or tomen- 

 tose; leaves alternate, entire or dentate, penninerved or 3-plinerved 

 at base, petiolate ; stipules, oblong, sometimes large, deciduous ; 



. flowers in spikes or terminal ajid axillary glomeruliferous racemes ; 

 rachis often changed into a cirrhus. i^All trop. regions.) See p. 59. 



22. Reissekia Endl.i — Flowers of Gouania; germen inferior, 

 3-4:-locular. Fruit inferior, 3-4-goual coriaceous: lobes compressed 

 membranously alate; 3-4-eoccous within; wings finally 2-partite 

 and spongily reticulate ; cocci crustaceous, separate from 6-8-partible 

 columella. Seeds and all other characters of Gouania. — A scandent 

 much-branched cirrhiferous shrub ; branches slender angular ; leaves 

 alternate cordate serrulate, sub-3-nerved at base, petiolate ; stipules 

 minute; flowers^ in axillary compound umbelliform cymes; pedi- 

 cels long.^ {Brazil. *) 



1 Gm. n. S747.— B. H. Gen. 386, n. 37. — Reiss. Mart. M. Bras. Mamn. 112, t. 26, 40. 



' Small, golden. ^Gouania smilacina Sm. Rees Cyclop, xvi. n. 8. 



' A genus very near to ffoMcma, differing in its • — G. eordifolia Eadd. Mem. Soc. delta Sciem. 



fruit and also its inflorescence, which is quite Moden. xviii. 39 {l9,W).-^Celastrus umbellatiu 



that oiBelinm (differing in its apterous fruit). Velloz. Fl. Mum. 98 ; ii. t. 137. 



* Spec. 1. R, smilacina. — B. eordifolia SteCd. 



