280 OBSERVATIONS ON PLANTS 



several octandrous species of which, belonging to the same 

 section, are abeady known. 



Another species of Capparis, also from Bornou, exists 

 in the herbarium. It appears to be undescribed, and to 

 belong to M. De Candolle's first section of the genus ; 

 but the specimen is too imperfect to be satisfactorily 

 determined. 



Both these species have aculei stipulares, and it may here 

 be remarked that all the plants belonging either to Cappa- 

 ris, or to any of the genera of the order whose fruit is a 

 berry, in which these aculei are found, are indigenous either 

 to Asia, Africa, or Europe ; while all the aculeated Cleomes, 

 with the exception of perhaps a single African species, are 

 natives of equinoctial America. 



M^RUA RiGiDA. This plant, of which flowering speci- 

 mens were collected at Adiedem, certainly belona-s to 

 Forskal's genus Mserua, adopted by Vahl and De Candolle ; 

 and I believe it to be a species distinct from the three 

 already published. It is very nearly related, however, to a 

 fourth species (M. Senegalensis nob.), of which I received a 

 specimen from M. Desfontaines. M. De Candolle has 

 placed the genus Meerua at the end of Capparidese, between 

 Avhich and Passiflorese he considers it intermediate. This 

 view of its relation to these two orders I cannot adopt. 

 To me it appears truly a Capparidea, having very little 

 affinity with Passiflorese, to which it seems to approach in 

 one point only, namely, the corona of the calyx. But of a 

 similar corona rudiments exist in several other African Cap- 

 paridese, and from some of these the genus Mserua is with 

 difficulty distinguished.^ 



1 MiERUA. 



Maerua. Tonic. Arab. p. 101. Vahl. Symb. \, p. 36. Be Cand. Prodi: 1, 

 p. 254. 



Chak. Gen. Caly.-c tubulosus : Umbo 4-partito, sestivatione simplici serie 

 valvata : corona fauois petaloidea. Fetala nulla. Stipes genitalium elongatus. 

 Stamina numcrosa. Pericarpium (siliqui forme ?) baooatum. 



Frutices inermes, pube, dum adsit, simplici. Folia simplicia coriacea : petiolo 

 cum denticulo rami articidato : stipulis minutissimis setuceis. 



M^ETJA rigida, corymbis terminalibus paucifloris, foliis obovatis crassis 

 I'igidis aveniis nerTOyobsoleto, corona lacero-multipartita. 

 ' Desc. Frutex ? Rami strioti teretes tenuissime pubescentes. Folia sparsa, 



