74 MAIVACE^. 



haves- short, oblong, nearly of tht same length as the petiole, serrate above the middle ; 

 stipules linear or spathulate, oiUate, eq;ualliug the petiole ; flowers axillaxy, sulsessile, glo- 

 merate or solitary ; calyx 5-fid, equaUing the red or yeUow petals, which are blotched at the 

 base; carpids 5-8, tubercled, glabrous, shortly bicuspidate. — SI. t. 137./. 2; Cav. Hiss. t. 

 3.y. 9. — S. involucrata. Rich. Oub.: a form with pointed leaves, which usually are blunt at 

 both ends. — Calyx-tube at length not angular. — Hab. Jamaica !, M'Nab, Al.; [Cuba ! to 

 Guadeloupe ! and Venezuela!]. 



9. S. jamaicensis, L. Suf&'utescent, velvety with stellate down ; leaves ovate. Hunt, 

 serrate-erenate above the base; stipules setaceous, eijualling the petiole; flowers axillary, 

 shortly stalked or subsesaile, subglomerate or solitary ; calyx 5-fid, equalling the white petals ; 

 carpids 5, reticulated, bimucronate, glabrous, and with a short down below. — Cav. Diss. t. 

 2.f. 5. — Easily recognized from all the preceding species by its velvety leaves. — Hab. Ja- 

 maica !, Bancr., AL, March; [S. Thomas !]. 



** Pedicels jointed above the middle, of various length. 



10. S. spinosa, L. Suffrutescent or shrubby, minutely pubescent ; leaves oblong-lan- 

 qeolate or lanceolate-Mnear, serrate above the base, pale beneath : base of the petiole with a 

 spinescent tubercle on the back ; flowers axillary, subsolitary : pedicel jointed above the 

 middle, nearly equalling the petiole ; calyx 5-fid, shortly exceeded hy ^ihe pale-yellow petals ; 

 carpids 5-8, birostrate or bidentate, glabrous, hairy above.' — Cav. Diss. t. l.f. 9. — S. alba, £., 

 ex specim. W. Am.! (non Cav.). S. minor, Wacf.! S. aH\uis, Schmidt! (Cape Verde). — 



J This species is equally variable with S. carpinifolia, L., and perhaps still more so, chiefly dis- 

 tinguished from it by having jointed pedicels and by the little spine of the petiole : in most 

 cases it may also be recognized by the stellate down of the calyx, the stem, and the under side 

 of the leaves. The variability affects the shape of the leaves, the length of the petioles and 

 pedicels, and the development of the carpid-beaks, which are in most of the forms half as 

 long as the carpid itself, but sometimes longer and hispid. 



a. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, tapering from the base towards the blimtish top, glabrescent 

 above ; carpids 5, shortly birostrate. — ^The above synonyms belong to this form. 



iS. a/ngnstifoUa, Lam. Leaves lanceolate-linear, or lanceolate, acuminate ; carpids 5-8 : 

 beaks of various length. — Cav. Diss. t. 3,/. 2. — S. erecta, Macf.l: a form with the pedi- 

 cels equalling the petiole, and long-beaked carpids. 



Hab. Jamaica! (a et |8), Baner„ M'Nab, Maqf., Pd., Wils.j Caribbean Islands, e.g. 

 Nevis ; [Pennsylvania ! to Texas !, Mexico I to Brazil ! and Montevideo !, Senegambia I, Cape 

 Verde Islands, Mascate !, Mauritius !, East Indies I]. 



11. S. rhoiubifolia, L. Shrubby or suffinitescent, minutely pubescent or glabrescent; 

 leaves rhomboid-lanceolate or lanceolate, serrate above the base, pale beneath ; flowers axil- 

 lary, subsolitary ; pedicel jointed above the middle, elongated, nearly equalling the leaf; 

 calyx 5 -fid, exceeded by the pale-yellow petals, which are blotched with red at the base ; car- 

 pids 8-10 (-5), birostrate, bidentate or unirostrate, glabrous, hairy on the beaks. — Cav. Diss, 

 t. 3./. 4, 8, 13, t. 131./. 3. — S. retnsa, Cav. S. alba, Cav. — Constantly distinguished 

 from the preceding series by the pedicels nearly 1" long. The variability of this species 



^affects the growth of the stem (either suffi-utescent, 1' high, or shrubby and branched, 1'- 

 3' high), the down (usually disappearing oj the upper side of the leaves), the shape of the 

 leaves (from rhomboid-lanceolate and ovate-lanceolate to elliptical-lanceolate, lanceolate, and 

 linear-oblong), and the remarkable discrepancies in the carpids, which I formerly believed 

 to be characteristic of several species (PI. Carib. p. 31). Whether the colour of the petals, 

 as mentioned above, is constant I have no means of ascertaining. Though I never saw in- 

 termediate forms between the birostrate and unirostrate carpids, the latter being perhaps the 

 consequence of casual symphysis, as there are no other constant differences, and especially as 

 among the allied species the carpid-beaks give no specific characters, I adopt now only a 

 single species with three varieties, of which and y ai-e joined by intermediate specimens. 



[a. Linmtsana (ear syn. SI.). Carpids glabrous, with a single beak of various length. S. 



rhombifolia, ITb. Canar., Rich. Cub. S. maderensis, Lowe. S. carpinifolia, Bourg. PI. 

 Canar. ! {nan, Wb.). — Canary Islands I, Cuba I, Mexico !, Pacific islands !, East Indies I] 



/3. canariensis, W. Carpids bidentate : teeth very short, glabrous. — ^S. rhomboidea, 

 Roxb. S. rhombifolia, Bourg. PI. Canar. /— S, rhombifolia, /3, As. Gr., who combines with 



