LOKANTHACE^. 313 



Sect. 4. ORiCTANTUUS.— Flowers small, spicate, sunk in excavations of the rhachis : 

 braetlets minute, 3, entire, concealed in their bottom, or abortive. Petals and stameris 

 of Dendropemon. 



10. la. occideutalis, L. {ex SI.), Sm. (nan Icefl.). BrancHets cylindrical, farfura- 

 ceous ; leaves ovate, blunt, with the principal veins separating from the midrib near its 

 base : petiole short, complicate ; spikes axillary, tetrastichous, often gemihate-temate, shortly 

 peduncled, usually thrice shorter than the leaves : flowers approximate : braetlets 8, rouiid- 

 a«/j, persistent ; corolla purple, shortly oblong and blunt in the bud: petals 6, lanceolate 

 (I'" long) ; fertile anthers roundish, mucronate ; beiTy ovoid-oblong.— 5/. t. 200. /. 2.— L. 

 immersus, Betiih. L. spicatus, Hb. Bks. : but L. spicatus, Jacq., is a distinct species, 

 which approaches (or is identical with) L. aheolatus, Kth. (Spruce, Lor. 13)!— Leaves 3"-l" 

 long ; Uowers half-exserted : braetlets whoUy concealed ; style cjiindrical ; berry 2'" long. 

 — Hab. Jamaica!, Uacf, Dist., Al., WuUsckl.; [New Granada !, Guiana!]. 



2. PHORADENDRON, Nutt. 



Flowers dioecious, apetalous. Calyx-limb 3(rarely 2-4)-lohed. Anthers sessile, trans- 

 versely 2-locular : each cell opening with a pore or slit. Stigma sessile, blunt. Berry 

 closed at the top by the connivent calyx-limb. — Siem jointed at the nodes; leaves opposite; 

 spikes axillary, jointed : flowers sunk in excavations of the rhachis : rhachis-pieces S2ip- 

 ported by a truncate-bifid involueel. 



Though aU the numerous specimens in our collection prove female, from the following ar- 

 guments I confidently refer the leafy West Indian Visca (as well as most species of tropical 

 America) to Fhoradendron. 



1. In Ph. rubrum and Berterianum, 3 distinct or sessile anthers have been observed by 

 Macfadyen. 



2. In all specimens the calyx-limb is 3-lobed : the 4 lobes, figured in his Viscum rubrum 

 by Catesby, and "rarely" seen in his F.flavens by Macfadyen, are to be regarded as mon- 

 . strosities. 



3. In the peculiar structure of the rhachis, their bifid involucels, and the jointed stem, 

 their analogy with the North American species is perfect. 



The term calyx in Phoradendron alludes to its green colour and its being persistent on 

 the fiTiit. But the usual. discrimination of the outer flower-whorls according to their posi- 

 tion is not applicable to Loranthacees ; for here there are homologous organs, the petals of 

 Loranthus (corresponding to those of OlacinetB), the calyx-divisions of Phoradendron, and 

 the naked stamens of Tiscum (usually called sepals with adnate stamens). 



* Leaves broad and large, 2"-6" long. 



11. Ph. flavens, Gr. Branchlets subcompressed, at length cylindrical ; leaves ovate, 

 with a bluntish point ; primary veins 4 (2-6), united near or at the base of the midrib, 

 prominulous ; spikes 1-3 in the axil, usually nearly half as long as the leaves : joints several, ^ 

 distant : furrows hexastichous ; berry ovoid-globose. — Viscum, Sw. (exclus. syn. Plum.). 

 V. macrophyllum, Maif. 1 {non Spreng.). Ph. chrysocladon. As. Gr. : the form with 3-B- 

 plinerved leaves, passing in Jamaica into 5-nerved ones. — Branches golden-yellow (while in 

 the following species they are brownish) ; leaves 4"-2i" long, 2"-l" broad, tinged with 

 yellowish, which colour is preserved in drying. — ^ab. 3&m&\ca,\, Macf, Pd. ; Dominical, 

 Jmr., S. Vincent !, Guild. ; [Mexico ! to Brazil]. 



12. Ph. hezastichum, Qr. Branchlets compressed-tetragonal, at length subcylin- 

 drical ; leaves ovate or elliptical, obtusate, contracted at the base : primary veins inserted i 

 along the midrib ; spikes 1-3 in the axils, 4 times or more exceeded by the leaf : joints > 

 several, distant : furrows hexastichous ; berry globose. — Plum. Md. Burm. t. 258./. 4. — 

 Viscimi, DC. — Leaves 5"-3" long, 2"-l" broad, black in drying. — Hab. S. Vincent I, Guild. ; 

 [Cuba!, Mexico !]. 



13. Ph. Berterianum, Gr. Branchlets compressed, at length cylindrical; leaves 

 oblique, semiovate-oblong or lanceolate-oblong, blunt, tapermg into the petiole : primary 

 veins inserted along the midrib, distant, delicate ; spikes subsolitary in the axils, 2-4 times 

 exceeded by the leaf; joints 5-4: furrows tetrastichous; berry globose, — Viscum, DC. 



