TILIACEJl. 95 



teral, with the stigma usually peniceUate. Pericarp bivalved, monosperm. Embryo straight, 

 enclosed by endosperm : cotyledons foUaceous. — Shrubs or herbs ; flowers glomerate : clus- 

 ters mostly axillary, pedtincled or sessile. ■ 



16. W. americana, L. Velvety-iomentose (rarely glabresceqt) ; leaves ovate, oblong 

 pr lanceolate-oblong, plicate, crenate or toothed ; clusters usually peduneled ; calyx and 

 ovary lanuginose ; column entire, half the length of the spathulate petals. — Oav. JDiss. i. 170, 

 171. — W. indica, l.: the form with sessile flower-clusters. W. arborescens, ovata, eUiptica, 

 microphylla, Cav. W. angustifolia, Kth. — A suffrutescent or shrubby plant, 4'-6' high, 

 polymorphous in the shape of the leaves, the size of the flower-clusters, and their arrange- 

 ment ; 'clusters compound ; calyx nearly equalling the involucel : lobes subulate : petals yel- 

 low. — Hab. Jamaica I, Disi., Al., Wils., March, common in pastures and thickets ; Baha- 

 mas I, S. Vincent !, Guild.; Trinidad I, LocM., Gr.; [all tropical countries of the globe, and 

 beyond their northern limits, viz. Cuba ! and Mexico ! to Brazil !, Canary Islands! to tropical 

 Africa !, Madagascar' ! to East Indies ! and China !, northern Australia !, ISfew Caledonia !, 

 Sandwich Islands !]. 



W. glabra, Poir., is hitherto confined to Guadeloupe!, distinguished by general glabrons- 

 iiess, and by the column divided almost to the middle into distinct filaments : its synonyms 

 are Biedleia Berteriana, DC. (Deless. Ic. 3. t. 23), and Walth. lavis, Schrk. (H. Monac. 

 t. 55), a form with cUiate calyx-lobes. -p^^fAjj^^ 



Of the tribe of Bombeyacea, fmtmpesphm^ea, L., an East Indian annual, has been 

 introduced into Jamaica 1, March. 



XXIX. TILIACE^. 



CaXyx valvate, usually deciduous. Stamens hypogynous, mostly distinct and indefinite : 

 anthers bilocular. Pistil syncarpous : earpids definite ; seeds albuminous. — Leaves stipulate. 



In their properties they accord with MahacetB, being as well mucUagiuous as fibrous 

 plants : thus Triumfetta semitriloba and Corchorus yield good fibres in Jamaica. Corchorus 

 olitorius is a pot-herb, affording a substitute for Spinach. The seeds of the same plant and 

 the bark of Muntingia {Guaseni) are drastic drugs. Among the timber-trees, Sloanea jamai- 

 censis (Iron-wood, or Break-axe-wood) is remarkable for its toughness. S. Massoni is also 

 used. 



T-RIBE I. GBEWIEM. — Sepals distinct. Anthers ovoid or roundish, dehiscent 

 by longitudinal fissures : connective not produced. 



1. TKIUMFETTA, L. 



Sepals 5, usually apiculate below the top. Petals 5 (-0), opposite to as many hyposte- 

 monal glands. Stamens (5-)10-30, surrounded at the base by a short cupule. Ovary 2-5- 

 celled: cells biovulate and partitioned by a spurious dissepiment: style simple, with the 

 stigma-divisions minute or obsolete. Achenium glochidiate ; embryo straight : cotyddons 

 foliaceous. — Suffrutescent herbs or shrubs; peduncles opposite to the leaf, or superior race- 

 mpse : pedicels fascicled, at length cernuous ; flowers yellow, with the calyx coloured. 



The descriptions in this genus, as given by older authors, are incomplete ; the species how- 

 ever are mmierous, though nearly related, and most variable in the shape of the leaf. 



1. T. Iiappnla, L. . Sufjrutescent, velvety with stellate down; leaves roundish or 

 lobed, unequally toothed: lowest teeth heteromorphous, transformed into blunt glands; 

 flowers racemose: pedicels equalling the iiuit; sepals hairy, apiculate; petals 0; stamens 

 10; stigma bifid ; achenium globose, bilocular, glabrous: glochides hairy, equalling its dia- 

 meter.— Plum, t. 255 ; Besc. El. 2. t. 101.— Stem 2'-5' high ; calyx 14'" long, yeUowish j 

 achenium (without the glochides) 2'" diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, Jfccf., a common weed; S. 

 Vincent!, Guild.; [Guadeloupe !, Martinique ; Mexico !, Panama ! ; Cape Verde Islands !]. 



2. T. macrophylla, Vahl. Suffrutescent, velvety with stellate down ; leaves ovate- 

 roundish, pointleted, unequally toothed: lowest teeth heteromorphous, transformed into 

 blunt glands ; flowers shortly racemose : pedicels exceeded in length by the calyx ; sepals pu- 

 bescent, w!\<soSsA&; petals oilong ; stamens 15; stigma 4-fid; ovary 4>-locular; achenium 



.—Leaves 5"-3"^diam.; calyx 3'" long, equalling the petals.— Hab. Tnnidadl, Or.; 

 [Guiana]. 



