OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 299 



into his ' Species Plantarum/ and referred to Hypoxis, 

 solely on the authority of the figure published in Dr. 

 Russell's 'History of Aleppo.' In the Banksian Herbarium 

 I have examined part of the original specimen of this species, 

 found by Dr. Alexander Russell, and figured by Ehret in 

 the work referred to, as well as more perfect specimens 

 collected by Dr. Paitrick Russell ; and am satisfied that its 

 ovarium is not in any degree adherent to the tube of the 

 perianthiura. I find also that Hypoxis fascicularis differs 

 from Colchicum merely in having a simple unilocular 

 ovarium, with a single parietal placenta and an undivided 

 style, instead of the compound trilocular ovarium, with dis- 

 tinct or partially united styles, common to all the other 

 sections of that genus. 



A reduction, as in this case, to the solitary simple pistil- 

 lum,' though existing in all Graminese and in certain 

 genera of several other families of Monocotyledones, is yet 

 comparatively rare in that primary division of phaenogamous 

 plants, and in the great class Liliacese, the present species 

 of Colchicum off'ers, I believe, the only known example. [2« 

 Yet this remarkable character is here so little influential, 

 if I may so speak, that Hypoxis fascicularis very closely 

 resembles some states of Colchicum Ritchii, and in the 

 Banksian herbarium has actually been confounded with 

 another species of the first or trigynous section of the 

 genus. 



To the first section, which includes Colchicum Bitchii, 



' The late celebrated M. Richard, in his excellent ' Analyse du Fruit,' in 

 pointing out the distinctions between a simple and compound perioarpium, 

 produces that of Melanthaceas as an example of the compound, in opposition 

 to that of Commelineae or of Juncese, which, though equally multilooular, he 

 considers as simple. A knowledge of the structure of Colchicum Monocaryum 

 would, no doubt, have confirmed him in his opinion respecting Melanthacese. 



It has always appeared to me surprising that a carpologist so profound as 

 M. Richard, and whose notions"of the composition of true dissepiments, and 

 even of the analogy in placentation between multilocular and unilocular peri- 

 carpia, were, in a great degree, equally correct and original, should never have 

 arrived at the knowledge of the common type of the organ or simple pistillum, 

 to which all fruits, whether unilocular or multilocular, were reducible; and 

 that he should, in the instance now cited, have attempted to distinguish into 

 simple and compound two modifications of the latter so manifestly analogous, 

 and which differ from each other only in the degree of coalescence of theiy 

 component parta, 



