VentUago.'] iihamnace.e. 67 



oblong flat wing, and seated upon or surrounded by the persistent base of the 

 ealyx, its edge usually indicated by a more or less prominent ring. Seed 

 without albumen. — Tall woody climbers. Leaves alternate, elegantly marked 

 with transverse veinlets between the principal pinnate veins. Mowers in small 

 axillaiy cymes or terminal panicles. 



A small genus, confined to the tropical regions of the Old World. 



1. v. leiocarpa, Benih. in Journ. Soc. Linn. Land. v. 77. A glabrous 

 woody climber. Leaves shortly stalked, from ovate to oblong, acuminate, entire 

 or slightly waved at the margin, 2 to 3 in. long. Flowers small, in small axillary 

 clusters or cymes, the upper ones rarely forming a short leafless simple panicle, 

 the pedicels seldom above a line long. Nut 3 or 3 lines diameter, marked 

 round the middle by a prominent ring indicating the remains of the calyx ; 

 the terminal wing smooth and shining, 1^ to 3 in. long, about 4 lines broad. 

 — V. maderaspatana, Beuth. in Kew Journ. Bot. iii. 42 ; not of Gssrtner. 



In ravines, Champicm and others ; also Malacca and western tropical Africa. 



8. BEBCHEMIA, Neck. 



Petals and stamens 5 . Ovary half-immersed in the disk, 2-celled, with 1 

 ovule in each cell borne on a long erect funiculus. Fruit a small, ovoid or 

 oblong, 2-celled berry or drupe, inserted on the persistent but not enlarged 

 base of the calyx. Seeds with little or no albumen. — Shrubs or woody climb- 

 ers. Leaves alternate, elegantly marked underneath with parallel veins di- 

 verging from the midrib, and small, transverse, often indistinct veinlets. 

 Flowers in small fascicles or cymes, usually fonning terminal racemes or 

 panicles. 



A small genus, dispersed over tropical and subtropical Asia and the warmer parts of North 

 America. 

 Blowers pedicellate. Veins of the leaves numerous. 



Leaves 1 to 1^ in. long or more. Flower-clusters in racemes, 



forming terminal panicles 1. JS. racemoaa. 



Leaves seldom above i in. long. Flower-clusters mostly axillary . 2. 3. liueata. 

 Flowers sessile, axillary. Veins of tbe leaves few %. B.? sesdliflora. 



1. B. racemosa, Sieb. and Zucc. M. Jap. Fam. Nat. part I. p. 39. A 

 woody climber. Leaves on rather long petioles, ovate, somewhat acute, or 

 rai^y obtuse, 1 to 1^ or rarely 2 in. long, white or hoary underneath between 

 the veins. Flowers 2 or 3 together, in clusters, arranged in racemes of 2 or 

 3 in., which again form lai-ge terminal panicles. Pedieels 1 line, or in fruit 

 li lines long. Calyx-lobes about 1 Kne. Fruit oblong, but little succulent, 

 about 4 lines long.— 5. lineata, Benth. in Kew Journ. Bot. iv. 42 ; not of DO. 



Hongkou" Champioa and others ; also on the adjacent continent and in Japan. It is 

 nearly aUied°to the Himalayan B. multiflora, bnt that has larger leaves, smaller flowers in 

 closer clusters, etc. 



2 B. lineata, DO. Prod. ii. 25 ; Hoak. and Am. Bot. Beech, t. 37. A 

 half-climbing shrub. Leaves on very short petioles, ovate or orbicular, and 

 obtuse, much smaller than in the last species, seldom attammg i m. in lengtft, 

 pale or whitish underneath. Flowers nearly twice as large as in B. raeemosa, 

 2 to 4 together on pedicels of 2 or 3 lines, either in the axils of the kaves or 



