las cornacEjE. [Betithtcmia. 



1. B. japottica, Sieb. and Zuee. M, Jem, i. 38, t. 16. A tree. Leaves 

 stalked, oval-eUiptical or oblong, shortly and obtusely acuminate, H to 3 m. 

 long, i to 1 in. broad, of a pale green, glabrous and somewhat shining above, 

 ■lasUdlly minutely, pubescent underneath. Peduncles about 2. in. long, flower- 

 heads globular, about 5 Hues diameter, surrounded by 4 white bracts about 

 1 in. long, Calyx-border truncate and quite entire. Petals greenish, ovate, 

 scarcely 1 line long. Fruit globular, about i in. diameter, rdd, 



Iq the Happy Valley woods, rare. Champion. One of the very few species common to 

 Japan and Hongkong, without extending (as far as hitherto known) further to the south or 

 the west. The entire border of the calyx very readily distinguishes it from the B.fragifera 

 of our gSrdenS,. a native of the Himalaya. 



2. MARLEA, Koxb. ^ 



Flowers distinct. Calyx-border minutely toothed. Petals 6 to 10, linear, 

 valvate in the bud. Stamens as many ; filaments short, adhering at the base 

 to the petals ; anthers long and linear. Ovary adhering to above the middle, 

 2-ceUed, with 1 pendulous ovule in each cell. Style fififonn, with a 4-lobed 

 stigma. Di-upe often reduced to 1 cell and seed. — Trees or shmbs. Leaves 

 alternate, entire or angTilarly lobed. Flowers in axillary cymes. 



A genus of very few species from tropical or eastern subtropical Asia. 



1. M. begonisefolia, Uoxh. PI. Corom. i. 288 ; DO. Prod. iv. 267 ; Sot. 

 Meg. 1838, t. 61. A tree, either perfectly glabrous or with a slight tomentum 

 on the veins of the leaves, petioles, and young branches. Leaves varying 

 from ovate-acuminate, about 4 in. long and 2 broad, to broadly and very ob- 

 liquely cordate, attaining 6 in. in length and 5 in breadth, and then often 

 broadly and angularly lobed, the petioles from -j to 1 in. long. Cymes but 

 Httle longer than the petioles, loosely 4- to 10-flowered in the Hongkong 

 specimens. Calyx very short, minutely but distinctly toothed. Stamens and 

 style veiy hairy, nearly as long as the corolla. — JDiacescarpmm, rotundifolium, 

 Hassk. in Bonplandia, vii. 172. 



In the Happy Valley, Champion and others. Widely spread over northern and eastern 

 India and the Archipelagd. In the Hongkong variety the leaves are perfectly glabrous, the 

 petals usually 6, rarely 7 or 8, and about 9 lines long. In Fortune's Amoy specimens the 

 leaves have tufts of hairs in the axils of the principal veins on the under side^ and the flowers 

 are scarcely more than 4 lines long, with the calyx-border entire. . The more common North 

 Indian and Archipelago forms are more like the Hongkong one, but the leaves are seldom so 

 glabrous, especiaEy on the principal veins underneath, the flowers not quite bo large, and the 

 stamens much less hairy, but our specimens, do. not warrant our considering any of them as 

 distinct species. 



3. AtlCUBA, Linn. 



Flowers dioecious. Calyx-border 4-toothed. Petals 4, valvate in the bud. 

 Stamens 4. Anthers short. Ovary adherent, 1-ceUed, with 1 pendulous 

 ■ovule. Style short, with a thick peltate stigma. Berry 1-seeded: — Shrubs. 

 Leaves opposite, coriaceous. Flowers paniculate, in the upper axils. 



The genus comprises only one species from Japan, besides the following. 



: 1. A. chinensis, Benth., n. sp. Probably a shrub, like the A.japonica of 

 .om- gardens, perfectly glabrous except the bracts, and drying black. Leaves 

 oblong-eUiptical, coarsely toothed, attaining 8 in. in length, 1 of each pair 



