20 BIXINEiE. 



Berry glebese, — Slirabs ; leaves entire ; peduncles one-flowered, axillary, cemuous, and 

 together with the calyx covered with orange-coloured tubercles. 



23. S. elliptica, Spr. Leaves cuneate-oblong or elliptical, mucronate, pubescent be- 

 neath, longer than the petiole. — Stephania, DC. — A shrub, 6' high; leaves about 3" loug, 

 shining above ; calyx campanulate, bifid by rupture, 6'" long : the posterior lobe broader, 

 ovate, blunt ; petals spathulate, 8'" long, exceeded' by the stamens. — Hab. Trinidad 1, Schach, 

 dr.; [Cumanal]. 



XIV. BIXINE^. 



fFlacourtianese. Samydese.] 



Stamens inserted on a hypogynous or perigyuous disc. Pistil paracarpous. Embryo in- 

 cluded in the axis of the fleshy endosperm : cotyledons foliaceous. — Woody plants ; leaves 

 not divided; stigmas deciduous. 



The Bixineie have in most cases dotted leaves, and possess accordingly aromatic proper- 

 ties, of which no particular use is made. From the testa of the Arnotta-tree {Boueou of 

 the French) the celebrated red dye of that name is extracted : it is a resinous substance 

 with stomachic properties. 



Tribe I. BIXEJS. — Capsule dry : valves bearing the placentas on their middle line. 



Stamens hypogynous, indefinite. 



1. BIXA, L. 



Sepals 5, distinct, imbricate, deciduous, alternating with exterior glands. Petals 5. 

 Arithers reflexed ; the descendent part adherent to the ascending : cells dehiscent vertically 

 at the bend by an abbreviate fissure. Ovary unilocular, with two placentas ; style simple ; 

 stigma bilobed. Capsule bivalved : seeds indefinite, turbinate. — Trees ; leaves entire, long- 

 petioled, doited ; flowers large, rosy (or white), arranged in a terminal corymb. 



1. B. Orellana, L. Leaves glabrous, cordate or ovate, pointed. — SI. t. 181. f. 1 ; 

 Tuss. PL 3. t. 30 ; Desc. PI. 1. t. 4. — B. platycarpa, R. P., Clos : a foi-m with the capsule 

 less cordate. — A low tree, 10'-12' high. — Hab. Jamaica, S. Lucia !, on the bants of rivers ; 

 [the whole of tropical America ; naturalized in the Eait Indies and Africa]. 



Tkibe IL PLACOUETIANB.^. — Pericarp fleshy. Stamens inserted upon a free disc. 



2. L^TIA, L. 



Sepals 4-5, distinct, imbricate, biserial, all or partly corolline, at length deciduous. Pe- 

 tals (-5). Stamens indefinite ; anthers erect, roundish. Ovary unilocular, with 3-5 

 placentas : style simple ; stigma capitate. Pericarp drupaceous, dehiscent : seeds indefinite, 

 arillate. — Trees or shrubs ; leaves dotted; flowers arranged in axillary corymbs. 



3. Ii. Thamnia, Sw. Leaves elliptical or elliptical-lanceolate, blunt, crenulate or sub- 

 entire, petiole'd, glabrous j corymbs peduncled ; sepals 4, all corolline, 3 interior ciliate ; pe- 

 tals none ; fruit velutine, globose; placentas i-6, — Br. Jam. t. 25./. 3. — A shrub or low 

 tree, very fragrant ; leaves 3" long, subcoriaceous, dotted with pellncid lines and points; 

 corymbs 3-9-fiowered, exceeded by the leaves ; sepals 2'" loug, rosy-white (the interior ra- 

 ther paler), roundish, somewhat puberulous ; pericarp in the younger state with a thick, 

 woody layer, which narrows the cell, but at length dehiscent. — Hab. Jamaica!, Macf., Pdl, 

 Alex., March, Wils., common in the southern districts on limestone ; [Haiti !], 



Sepals 3, distinct, valvar, marcescent. Petals Q. Stamens ejlnserted upon a cup-like 

 disc, alteniating with its simple teeth ; anthers erect, oblong,8ilttrorse. Ovary unilocular, 



with 3'placentas : style shortly trifid. Pericarp — A tree ; leaves obsoletety dotted, 



ovate, pointleted, entire, glabrous, palmatinerved : 3 ribs stronger, and separating usually 

 a little above the base ; racemes elongated, drooping, lateral or axillary, fascicled at the 

 end of the branches : pedicels short, scattered, articulated at the base; sepals roundish, 

 concave, membranaceous. 



3. Xi. racemosa, ffooi. — Ifoo&. in Lond. Journ. of Bot. 3. p. 317. t. 11, 12. A fo- 



