MELASTOMACBiE. 243 



sessile. Pmcarp drupaceous. — Along-leaved tree: iremches none or short; flowers la- 

 teral, large, white," 



55. G. cauliflora, L.—Sl. t. 217. /. 1. 2.— "Stem 30'-50' higt; leaves lanceolate, 

 acuminate, glabrous, 2'-3i' long, 10'" broad ; peduncles very short, many-flowered." — Hab. 

 Jamaica (Al.), in damp thickets, common in certain districts. 



Several other Lecythidea are cultivated, and some indigenous, but of none specimens were 

 sent. A Lecythis is mentioned by Crueger as a Trinidad tree ; fruits exist in the economic 

 Kew Museum, from the same island, of Bertholletia excelsa ; and from S. Vincent of a Le- 

 cythis (stated to be L. coriaria, DC), of Couroitpita guianensis, Aubl. (Tubs. M. 2. t. 10. 

 11 i Desc. ri. 5. t. 840), and of a Gustavia. 



Tmbe III. MEMECTLEM.— Stamens 10-8, distinct : anthers produced helow, bursting 

 with short clefts or poreS, Pericarp iaccate.— Leaves opposite, quite entire. 



16. MOURrKIA, Aull. 



, Calyx 5(-4)-dentate: tube produced beyond the ovary. Petals 5 (-4). Stamens 10 

 (-8) : anthers oblong, biporoae at the top. Ovary 5-2-celled ; cells few-ovulate. Berry 

 1-few-pyrenoua. Cotyledons flat-convex. — Leaves opaque, glabrous ; inflorescence axillary : 

 pedicels jointed and bibracteolate about the middle. 



56. M. myrtilloides, Pair. Branchlets tetragonal ; /eaw* ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 

 veiuless : petiole very short or none ; pedicels 1-3, exceeding the petiole, bibracteolate at 

 the middle : bracteoles subulate; calyx-tube campanulate : teeth 5, ddtoid-roundish ; anther- 

 cells as long as the conical, connectival spur : pores roundish ; berry " globose, l(-2)-seeded." 

 —SI. t. 187./. 3.— Petaloma, Sw. !—&. low tree or shrub ; leaves 2i"-14" long, 12"'-6"' 

 broad ; pedicels 2'" long ; flowers 4'" long, white : stamens exserted. — Hab. Jamaica !, Al., 

 Wils., March, in woods, at 1000' alt. ; [Haiti !]. 



, 67. M. domingensis, Walp. Branchlets tetragonal, at length cylindrical ; leaves 

 chartaceous, ovate-oiblong, pointed, petioled : veins distant, slightly prominulous beneath ; 

 corymbs or fascicles 3-5-flowered; pedicels .exceeding the petiole, minutely bibracteolate be- 

 low the middle ; calyx-tube turbinate, at length campanulate : teeth 5, broad, subtruncate ; 

 anther-cells as long as the recurved, conical, connectival spur : pores oval ; berry globose, 

 4-1 -seeded.— ywfs. Fl. 3. t. 37. — Petaloma, Ihiss. — Allied to M. guianensis, Aubl., in which 

 the leaves are leathery, and the pedicels bibracteolate at the middle. Leaves 3i"-24" long, 

 li"-l" broad: -petiole 3"'-2"' long; pedicels 3'" long ; flowers 3"'-4"' long, rosy.— Hab. 

 Antogua!, Wullschl.; [Haiti]. 



Olisbea rhizophorifolia, DC. {Guildingin psidioides^ Hook. Bot. Misc. 1. t. 30), is a cul- 

 tivated tree of S. Vincent, though indigenous in^Martinique, approaching Mouriria, 



LXVIII. MELASTOMACE^. 



Stamens deflnite, mostly twice as many as the twisted petals, inserted into the valvate 

 calyx, inflexed in aestivation, viz. bent downwards towards either the ovary or the bottom of 

 the calyx, and ascending on the opening of the flower : the anthers anterior and adnate to 

 the connective, bursting usually by terminal pores. Ovary inferior, or adhering to the calyx- 

 tube by longitudinal lines, which separate from each other the special holes for the reception 

 of the anthers in the bud, and often disappear during development, or in some instances en- 

 tirely free from the calyx : cells several, with the ovijes'mostly indefinite and usually attached 

 to the axis of the cells. Seeds exalbuminons, mostly co. — Leaves curve-ribbed,* opposite, 

 undivided, dotless, exstipulate. 



The uses and properties of the Melastomacea are of no importance. The berries, if suc- 

 culent, are eatable, as those of Blakea, Bellucia, and others, the Bellucia having on that 



* In the following descriptions only the prinoip^ ribs of the leaves are numbered, viz. 

 those that equal the midrib in strength, without regard to those weaker branches which 

 run near the margin and ai-e sometimes wanting. 



E 3 



