150 BOTANY OP CONGO. 



only two species have hitherto been pubUshed as belonging 

 to the west coast : the first, supposed to be Piper Cubeba, 

 and certainly very nearly related to it, is noticed by Clusius -^ 

 the second is imperfectly described by Adanson in his 

 account of Senegal. A third species of Piper, however, 

 occurs in Sir Joseph Banks's herbarium, from Sierra Leone : 

 and we know that at least one species of this genus and 

 several of Peperomia, exist at the Cape of Good Hope. 



The extensive genus Begonia, which it is perhaps expe- 

 dient to divide, may be considered as forming a natural 

 order, wliose place, however, among the Dicotyledonous 

 families, is not satisfactorily determined. Of Begoniacem"' 

 no species has yet been observed on the continent of Africa, 

 though several have been found in Madagascar 'and the 

 Isles of Prance and Bourbon, and one in the Island of 

 Johanna. 



No genus of Laiirince, is known to exist in any part of 

 the continent of Africa, except the paradoxical Cassytha, of 

 wliich the only species in the Congo collection can hardly 

 be distinguished from that of the West Indies, or from C. 

 pubescens of New Holland. The absence of Laurinse on 

 the continent of Africa is more remarkable, as several species 

 of Laurus have been found both in Tencriffe and Madeira, 

 and certain other genera belonging to this family exist in 

 Madagascar and in the Isles of Prance and Bourbon. 



Passiflorece. A few remarkable plants of this order have 

 been observed on the different parts of the west coast of 

 Africa, especially Modecca of the Hortus Malabaricus and 

 Smeathmania, an unpublished genus already mentioned in 

 treating of Homalinae. 



MyrsinecB. No species of any division of this order, has 

 been met with in equinoctial Africa, though several of the 

 405] first section, or Myrsinese, properly so called, exist both 

 at the Cape of Good Hope and in the Canary Islands.* 



^ Piper ex Guinea, Chis. exot. p. 184, wlio considers it as not different from 

 the Piper caudatum, figured on the same page, and wliicli is no doubt Piper 

 Cubeba of tl\c Malayan Arcliipelago. = Bonplaiid Malmais, 151. 



2 To tliR first section belong M^rsbie, Ardisia, and Bladhia. Tlie second 

 including Emhelia, and perhaps also Othera of Thunberg, differs from tlie first 

 inerfly in its corolla being poljpetalous, /Egiceras may be considered as 



