T E T 



^ E T 



fi;et high, with a head of round knotty branches, downy 

 when young. Leaves about the ends of the branches, 

 alternate, on downy ilalks, an inch long, obovatc, coria- 

 ceous, entire, light green, fmooth and Hiining, except a 

 flio-ht pubefcence on the rib and veins ; their length about 

 five inches. Floiver-Jtalhs lateral, fcattercd, below the 

 leaves, umbellate, about two inches long, each bearing from 

 two to h\e Jloiuers, whofe involucnim is pale green, corolla 

 white; their fhort partial ftalks (within the involucrum) 

 hairy, as well as the Jlamens. Berries red, globofe, the fize 

 of a currant. Jacquin fays nothing of the dioecious nature 

 of thejlowers, but he appears to defcribc one with an im- 

 perfedt pi/lil. His fruit perhaps was of exotic grciwth. 



3. T. apetala. Apetalous Tetranthera. Roxb. Coro- 

 mand. v. 2. 2J. t. 147. Brown n. i. (Laurns involucrata; 

 Retz. Obf. fafc. 6. 27 ?) — Stamens about fifteen. Leaves 

 elliptical, obtufe, fingle-ribbed, fmooth. Corolla abrupt, 

 undivided, bearing the ftamens on its margin. — Native of 

 the mountainous parts of the circars of Hindooilan, flower- 

 ing in June. Roxburgh. Mr. Brown met with the fame in 

 the tropical part of New Holland. This is faid to be a 

 middle-fized tree, with round fmooth branches, leafy towards 

 the ends. The /eaves are ftalked, three or four inches long, 

 and two, or two and a half, wide, entire, bright green. 

 Fh'wer-JlalLs ufually three-flowered, much like thofe of the 

 laft, to which this fpecies is nearly akin ; but the want of 

 a limb to the corolla, and the oval violet-coloured berry, fuf- 

 ficlently diftinguilh it. 



4. T. monopetala. Monopetalous Tetranthera. Roxb. 

 Corom. V. 2. 26. t. 148. — Stamens about nine. Leaves 

 elliptic-oblong, acute, fingle-ribbed ; fomewhat downy 

 beneath. Flowers cluftered. Limb of the corolla half five- 

 cleft. — Native of the vallies of Hindooilan, flowering in the 

 hot feafon. Dr. Roxburgh fays the imod is white, tole- 

 rably hard ; and that the bark is ufed by the inhabitants of 

 the hills, to cure diarrhoeas, being given in fubfl;ance. Its 

 tafte is mildly aftringent, with much balfamic fweetnefs. 

 The leaves ai'e longer, narrower, and more acute than in 

 the former. Floiuers in fliort, axillary, denfe, partly umbel- 

 late, clufl^ers, with five leaves to the involucrum, and as many 

 fegments to the greenilh tubular corolla. Berries ovate, of 

 a violet black. 



5. T. ferrugiMa. Rufty Tetranthera. Brown n. 2. 

 ( Hexanthus umbellatus ; Loureir. Cochinch. 196. Litfea 

 hexantha ; Jufi". n. 4. ) — Stamens about nine. Leaves el- 

 liptic-oblong, acute, fingle-ribbed ; downy beneath, as well 

 as the branches. Corolla in fix deep fegments. — Native of 

 Cochinchina, as well as of the tropical part of New 

 Holland. A tree of a moderate fize, whofe timber is 

 ufed in building. The leaves are large, entire, with many 

 tranfverfe veins. Floiuers pale green, in fmall axillary 

 umbels. 



6. T. dealhata. White-leaved Tetranthera. Brown 

 n. 3. — " Stamens fix. Leaves broadly elliptical, pointed, 

 iriple-ribbcd, fmooth ; whitened beneath. Footllalks and 

 branches downy. CoroUa deeply four-cleft, hairy. Invo- 

 lucrum villous." — Native of the neighbourhood of Port 

 Jackfon, New South Wales. Mr. Brown thinks Laurus 

 Myrrha, Loureir. Cochinch. 251, which is perhaps not 

 fpecifically different from Laurus involucrata, Roxb. Coro- 

 mand. v. 2. 46. t. 187, is very nearly related to the prcfcnt 

 fpecies, though differing in having fmaller leaves, a fome- 

 what filky involucrum on a fliort ftalk, and nearly fmooth 

 corolla. We cannot but obferve that Roxburgh's t. 187. 

 by no means exhibits the peculiar anthers or neBary of a 

 Tetranthera. His plant however fliould feem to be the 

 Litfea trinervia of Juffieu, which the latter takes for Laurus 



involucrata of Retzius, but that fliould have fingle-ribbed 

 leaves. See our third fpecies. 



7. T. chincnfis. Chinefe Tetranthera. ( Litfea diinenfis ; 

 Lamarck Dift. v. 3. 574. Jufl". n. 5.) — Stamens nume- 

 rous, polyadelphous. Leaves elliptical, obtufe, fmooth. 

 Footftalks, branches, and involucrum downy. Corolla 

 none. — Native of China ; cultivated in the ifland of Mauri- 

 tius, where its power of refifting the force of high winds, 

 renders this tree valuable for making tall hedges. The 

 leaves are four inches long, two broad ; pale beneath. 

 Flowers dioecious. Involucrum of four concave, fpreading, 

 downy leaves. Stamens united into from five to nine downy 

 bundles. Germen furrounded with abortive ftamens. Berry 

 fphcrical, fmooth, tlie fize of a fmall cherry, with a flavour 

 of camplior and ivy, which renders it difagrceable, and only 

 fit food for birds. Lamarck. This fpecies is faid to have 

 been brought alive to Europe, and was in 1789 cultivated 

 in the Parifian garden ; but we have neither heard nor feen 

 any thing of it in England. 



8. T.febifera. Tallow Tetranthera. (Tomex febifera ; 

 Willd. n. 3, excluding the fynonym of Retzius. Scbiferaglu- 

 tinofa ; Loureir. Cochinch. 638.) — Stamens from twelve to 

 fifteen. Leaves ovate-oblong, bluntifli, fingle-ribbed, fmooth. 

 Flower-ftalks umbellate, downy as well as the involucrum. 

 Corolla none — For a further account of this fpecies, fee 

 Sebifera, under which article Loureiro's faulty generic 

 charafter, and efpecially his defcription of the fl:aniens, pre- 

 vented our recognizing the plant as already defcribed by 

 Willdenow. 



9. T. piperita. Pepper Tetranthera. ( Litfea piperita ; 

 .luff. n. 7. Laurus Cubeba ; Loureir. Cochinch. 252.) — 

 Stamens fix. Leaves lanceolate, without rib or vein. Stalks 

 fingle -flowered. Corolla in fix roundifli unequal fegments. 

 — Native of Cochinchina, and perhaps alfo of China. In the 

 former country it is frequently cultivated, for the fake of the 

 cordial and tonic qualities of its berries and bark. A decoc- 

 tion of one or the other, the latter being weakeft, is given in 

 hyfteric, paralytic, and melanchohc dilorders. The recent 

 fruit is ufed as a feafoning for fifli. The fcent is fragrant ; 

 tafte aromatic and pungent. Each berry refembles a grain 

 of black pepper, with a long flender ftalk. Loureiro fuf- 

 peftedittobethe trueCubeb, but erroneoufly. (See Piper.) 

 The tree is of a moderate fize, much branched. Leaves 

 alternate, ftalked, two inches long, entire, flat, fliining, and, 

 we prefume, fmooth. Flowers white, on crowded, lateral, 

 fimple ftalks. Involucrum of four roundifli, concave, co- 

 loured, deciduous leaves, containing five flowers. Style none. 

 Berry globofe, very fmall, black. — Such is Loureiro's ac- 

 count, from which, having feen no fpecimcn, we have ex- 

 trafted the fpecific charafter. 



TETRANTHUS, fo called by profeffor Swartz, in his 

 Prodromus, p. 1 1 J, from xt-r^a and a»9o;, on account of the 

 four flowers in one com.mon calyx. — Sclireb. Gen. 592. 

 Willd. Sp. Pl. V. 3. 2402. Mart. Mill. Dift. v. 4. Swartz 



Ind. Occ. 1385. t. 27 Clafs and order, Syngenefia Poly- 



gamia-Jcgi-egata. Nat. Ord. Compojita capitate, Linn. 

 Corymbijeree, .luff. 



Gen. Cli. Common Calyx of five fmall, linear, fringed leaves, 

 at firft reflexed, then creft, containing four flowers : partial 

 of one leaf, tubular, niucli longer than the former ; tapering 

 and fomewhat compreffed at the bafe ; obhque, acute and 

 fringed at the fununit ; containing one floret. Cor. of each 

 floret tubular ; its hmb in five unequal fegments, the three 

 lowermoft longeft, and moft reflexed. Stam. in each floret. 

 Filaments five, capillary ; anthers united into a cylindrical 

 tube, rather ftiorter than the tube of the corolla. P'ift. Ger- 

 men fuperior, in the tube of the partial calyx, oblong ; ftyle 

 3 G 2 thread- 



