98 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



■wHcli causes them soon to become exserted. In others, as S. 

 speciosa, the tube is also very long, but the staminal filaments are so 

 short that the anthers remain enclosed. Thus the former species 

 are united gradually to S. acuta, rupestris, etc., of which a genus 

 Brachysiphon has been made and of which, the stamens being also 

 enclosed, the tube of the perianth remains relatively shorter. 



Endonema, formerly classed with SarcocoUa, is distinguished by 

 each of the ovarian cells enclosing two pairs of, instead of two, 

 ovules. Those of the upper pair are ascending with inferior mi- 

 cropyle ; those of the lower pair, descending, with superior micro- 

 pyle. All have a dorsal raphe. Sometimes .the lobes of the 

 perianth are valvate, as in the true Endonema, and sometimes they 

 are reduplicate, as in the section GlyschrocoUa. The stamens are 

 shorter or longer than the perianth. Endonema is from the same 

 country as SarcocoUa whose organs of vegetation it has. 



This small family, according to Lindlet i was verbally established 

 by him in 1820. Jusstetj had left Pencea among the Genera of un- 

 certain place? In 1830, KuNTH^ divided the old genus Pencea of 

 LiNN^us and Thukbeeg into three genera ; Pencea, SarcocoUa and 

 GeissolomecB. But Endlichee,* in 1841, placed the Geissolomece in 

 a small distinct group, following the Penceacece, which consequently, 

 according to him, contained only Pencea and SarcocoUa. In 1846, 

 A. de Jussieit, in a note on the family of Penceacece,^ added to the 

 preceding genera Stylapterus and Brachysiphon, which we cannot 

 retain, and the genus Endonema, to which should be added one of the 

 three species of SarcocoUa admitted by him, and of which A. de 

 Candolle, in 1867,^ made a genus GlyschrocoUa, proposed by End- 

 lichee''' as a section of SarcocoUa. Summing up, the Penceacece with 

 us number only three genera, comprising some twenty species, all 

 natives of the Cape, all frutescent or suflfrutescent,^ with opposite 

 persistent leaves, regular apetalous isostemonous flowers, gyneecium, 



1 Intnd. 71 ; Veg. Kingd. (1846), 577, Ord. rally tas a square or lozenge shape, in aocord- 

 209.— Sweet, Sort. Srit. (1827), 488. ance with the arrangement of the leaves. In 



2 Gen. (1789), 419. the medullary cellules and in those of the ver- 



3 Lirmtea, v. (1830), 676. tioal parenchyma is found a yellowish or 

 ■1 Bnchirid. 213, Ord. 112; Gen. 335. brownish resinous suhstance.in appearance much 



5 Ann. 8c. Nat. eer. 3, vi. 16. resemhling the gum-resins of the Bursem, aad 



6 Frodr. xiv. 483, Ord. 165. also certain SarcocoU, probably spurious, found 

 ' <?e». Suppl. iv. 73. here and there in commerce. 



' The transverse section of the wood gene- 



