LORANTHACEJ!. 811 



XCII. LOllANTHACE^. 



Cctlyx-Umb reduced. Corolla epigyaous, valvate, or none. Stamens opposite to, and 

 mostly inserted into the petaU. Ovary simple, solid : ovules 3-1, erect, reduced to simple 

 embryo-sacs, adhering to the ovary. Pencarf baccate. Embryo mostly small, enclosed In 

 endosperm. — G,xesia^\:!Qi, mostly parasites on, the branches of woody plants ; lenvea ttszially 

 opposite, thicHsh-leathery, quite entire. 



The bark and berry contains a viscid sap. Several Zoranthi are used in Colonial medicine. 



1. lORANTHUS, L. 



Calyx-limb entire or minutely denticulate. Petals 6-4-8, distinct or combined. Anthers 

 3-looiilar, introrse, longitudinaEy dehiscent. — Mowers \-%-bracteolate. 



All the West Indian species are glabrous parasites, their flowers hermaphrodite, the calyx- 

 limb truncate entire, and by their continuous (not jointed) branches they are easily to be 

 distinguished from the following genera. 



Sect. 1. PsiTTACANTHUS. — Flowers large, usually corymbose, supported by a cucalliform 

 braotlet. Petals combined into a slender tube. Filaments long, inserted into the co- 

 rolla-throat : anthers oblong, usually dorsally incumbent. Style filiform : stigma ca- 



1. Ii. americanus, Jacq. Branchlets cylindrical; leaves ovate or oval, obscurely 

 veiny : principal veins separating from the midrib below the middle ; flowers corymbose : 

 pedicels ternate, thrice as long as the calyx ; cupule and calyx-limb entire ; corolla crimson, QA 

 cylindrical in the bud or slightly thickened at the top, incurved, &-fid almost to the middle' 

 (2" long) : lobes linear, recurved, exceeding a little the incumbent anthers and the style ; 

 filaments as long as the anthers ; berry "ovoid." — Jacq. Amer. Pict. t. 98 ; Besc. Fl. 6. i. 

 390. — L. Jacquini, SO. L. Plumieri, Cham. Schl. ex Plum. Ed. Burm. t. 166./. 1, which 

 appears to be a rough figm-e of our plant. — Leaves variable, as generally in the genus. — Hab. 

 Dominica 1, Imr. ; [Guadeloupe I ; Mexico I to Brazil !]. 



3. I>. cla-viceps, Gr. Branchlets cylindrical, subcompressed ; leaves broadly oval, 

 rounded at both ends, veiny : principal veins separating from the midrib below the middle ; 

 flowers corymbose : pedicels ternate, thrice as long as the calyx ; cupule and calyx-limb re- 

 paud-entire ; corolla " yellow, tinged with red," clavate at the top in the bud, straightish, 

 &-fid to one-fourthr-one-third (3"-2" long) : lobes elliptical-linear, recurved, exceeding a 

 little the incumbent anthers- and the style ; filaments as long as the anthers ; berry ovoid- 

 oblong. — Jj. americanus, Sie., Macf. {non Jacq.). — Stouter than the preceding ; leaves 4"-3" 

 long, 34"-2" broad, black in drying; calyx 8'", cupule l"'long; corolla-limb (before ex- 

 pansion) 2'" diam. : lobes 1'" broad, tapering towards the base and the bluntish top ; berry 

 6'" long.— Hab. Jamaica !, Macf, M'Nab, Pd., Wullschl., on trees along the coast and in 

 the mountains. 



Sect. 2. Stkvjthanthds. — Flowers small, racemose, ternutely glomerate on the pedicel, 

 each supported by a subulate bractlet. Petals distinct. Filaments broad, inserted below 

 the middle of the petals: anthers erect or dorsalh/ incumbent. Style bluntish. 

 3. Ii. lepidobotrys, Gr. (n. sp.). Branchlets tetraquetrous, rusty^furfiiraceous or 

 squamulose on the angles and chiefly on the axis of the racemes ; leaves broadly Ovate, point-, 

 leted : petiole complicate ; racemes simple, single in the axib, exceeded by the leaves ; pedi' 

 eels thiokish, as long as the ternately sessile flowers ; calyx truncate, thrice as long as the 

 ovate, pointed bractlet ; corolla ellipsoidal in the bud : petals 6, linear-oblong, bluntish 

 (Ii'" long) tvrice as long as the stamens; anthers erect, hastate-deltoid, pointed; berry ob- 

 long.— leaves 8^"-2" long, 2" (-li"-8") broad, obsciu-ely veined, smooth, rounded at the 

 base ■ petiole 8'" long ; racemes shortly peduncled, 3" long : pedicels distant, opposite, 3 

 long: bractlets concave; calyx 1'" long ; petals incm-ved; anther-cells disunited from the 

 middle, shortly oblong ; style shorter than the petals, thickened at the middle; stigma in- 

 conspicuous ; berry (immature) 2"' long.— Hab. Jamaica !, Al. 



i. Ii. orinocensis, Spreng. Branchlets tetragonal, at length cylindrical, rooting; 



