MYRTACEjE. 



327 



to^ The petals. Its summit, nearly flat, is surmounted by a long style 

 with an obtuse or slightly enlarged stigmatiferous extremity, and its 

 base is surrounded by a circular collar, springing from the epigynous 



Barringtonia {Stravadium) raeemosa. 



Fig 315. Long. sect, of flower. Fig. 316. Gynseoium, with ovary open {^). 



and more or less prominent disk. The placenta, which occupies the 

 internal angle of each cell, supports two parallel series of transverse 

 or obliquely descending ovules with their raphes facing each other. 

 There are from one to four in each series, and besides a descending 

 ovule is often found below, on the middle line; with micropyle 

 superior and interior.' The fruit, fleshy and more or less fibrous, 

 indehiscent, oblong or pyramidal, surmounted by a persistent calyx, 

 usually contains only one seed, without albumen,' with a fleshy 

 embryo, thick and undivided.^ Barringtonia comprises fine trees of 

 the tropical regions of the old world. They have alternate leaves, 

 collected near the summit of the branches, simple, entire or dentelate, 

 penninerved, without stipules and without glandular punctuations. 

 The flowers ^ are in spikes or clusters, often elongate and pendent, 

 terminal or lateral. A score of species have been distinguished.* 



' They have a double envelope, and their 

 exostome gives passage to a long cylindrical 

 process. 



' On the structure of the seeds, see Thoms. 

 Journ. Zinn. Soe. ii. 47. The embryo, fleshy at 

 the centre^ is at the periphery cortical ligneous. 



' White, pink or red. 



* Bi. Bijdr. 1096. — Wight and Arn. ^rodr. 

 i. ?33.— Gaubich. Toy. Freycin. Bot. 483, t. 107. 



— Bl. loc. cit. 23, t. 654. — Wight and Arn. 

 Frodr. i. 333.— Wight, Icon. t. 152, .547.— A. 

 Gray, Unit. St. Expl. Fxp. Bot. i. 508.— Benth. 

 Fl. Austral, iii. 287.— Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. ii. 

 438.— Thw. ^«Mm. PI. Zeyl. 119.— Harv. and 

 SoND. Fl. Cap. ii. 523.— Mia. Fl. Ind.-Bai.i. p. 

 i. 485.— Walp. Bep. ii. 192 ; v. 156 ; Am. ii. 

 641 ; iv. 850.— Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 580. 



