58 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



38. Osssea DC.'i — Mowers nearly of Hemettea ; receptacle tubular 

 or campanulate, dilated above to a truncate or lobed calyx, externally 

 costate or furnisHed with subulate accessory appendages (Octopleura^). 

 Petals 4, 5, generally acute or acuminate, sometimes coherent in a 

 cone, contorted. Stamens 8-10, 2-seriate, subequal; anthers gene- 

 rally curved, connective not or scarcely produced at base, very rarely 

 with obtuse posterior spur. Germen for a large part adnate to recep- 

 tacle, enlarged or intruded at apex, 4, 5-celled; style generally slender. 

 Fruit baccate, often globular, sometimes 8-10-costate ; seeds sub.- 

 globular, obovoid or obpyramidal; raphe lateral hollowed. — Shrubs 

 orundershrubs; leaves membr9,nous, 3-7 -nerved, entire or denticulate; 

 flowers ' in axillary or rarely terminal, sometimes 1 -lateral scorpioid 

 (Diclemia*) cymes, bracteate or ebracteate. (Both trop. Americas, ^) 



89? Mecranium Hook, f.* — Flowers nearly of Ossea, 4, 5-merous; 

 receptacle obovoid or hemispherical glabrous. Sepals obtuse. Petals, 

 obtuse or retuse ; sometimes terminated at apex with a hair. Stamens 

 8-10, subequal ; anthers short, dehiscing by 1, 2 pores ; connective 

 not produced at base, articulated at top of filament not appendiculate. 

 Germen adnate to receptacle inferior, 3-5-celled, subplane at vertex, 

 slightly prominent or sulcate ; style generally rather short, at apex 

 stigmatose truncate or capitellate. Fruit small baccate ; seeds oblong, 

 dimidiately obovoid, sometimes curved or subcochleate. — Glabrous 

 shrubs or small trees ; branches terete or sometimes sub-4-gonal ; 

 leaves petiolate, entire or crenate, 3-nerved ; flowers' in axillary or 

 infra-axillary ramosely compound racemes; pedicels minutely bracte- 

 olate.' (Antilles.^) 



stoma).— Sssa. ^er. 124 (Sffyraa).— GRiSEB.i?;. Fl. BHt. W.-Ind. 248 {Clidemia), 265 [Davya) ; 



Brit. fF.-Ind. 245 (iorsz/a).— Walp. Sep. ii. Cat. PI. Cub. 95 [Oalymgonium, Sagreea).— 



145 ; V. 716 ; Ann. ii. 609 ; iv. 777, 778 {Hen- Walp. Rev. ii. 142 ; Ann. iv. 754. 



riettella), 809. 6 g«„. 757^ n. ns.—Tm. Melast. 139. 



1 Prodr. iii. 168 (not J^aud.). — Bndl. Gen. u. 7 Small or very small. 



6242.— B. H. Gen. 770, n. 126.— Tki. Melast. ^ Gen. hence very near Cj-ema«i«m and Ossea ,• 



U6.—Sagma Naud. Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 3, xviii. differing from Clidemia by its anthers, thence 



92 (not DC). closely allied to Lorej/a among the Blakeeee. 



2 GftisBB. PI. Brit. jr.-Iud. 260.— B. H. Gen. a Spec. 6, 6. B. Melast. t. 36, 37.— Sw. Fl. Ind. 

 769, n. 125.— Tri. Melast. 145. Oce. 804, 816 (JI*sZss<omo).— Naud. Ann. Sc. Nat. 



3 Small or very smaU. ser. 3, xvii. 336-337 (Osscea).— Desrx. Lamk. 

 * Naud. loe. cit. xviii. 102. Diet. iv. 35 {Melastoma). —Kacf. Fl. Jam. ii. 49 

 ' Spec, about 45. B. Melast. t. 38, 59 [Mela- (OM«ffi).— Grisee. Fl. Brit. W.-Ind. 261 {Ore- 



«<OTM«).— Benth. Sulph. 94 («(&mi«) .—Griseb,^ maidum) ; Cat. PI. Cub. 102 {Cretnanium). 



