682 PHANEROGAMIA. 



5, imo calyci inserta, eodem mnajore, oblo?iga, cestivatione valvata, 

 acumine r/iflexo, decidua. Stamina 10, cum petalis inserta: fila- 

 menta crassa subulata: antherce ovatce, biloculares, longitudinaliter 

 dehiscentes. Pistillum fere floris foeminei nisi stigma imperfectum, 

 ovula abortiva. Foem. — Calyx tubo ovoideo cum ovario connato, 

 limbo quinquedentato supero vel semisupero, persistente. Petala parva, 

 squamceformia, persistentia. Stamina nulla? Ovarium ovoideum, 

 qui?iquel ocular e ; placental crassce, e loculorum angulo centrali (ubi 

 vix coalitce) porrectoB, bipartite, multiovidatce. Stylus brevis vel sub- 

 nullus: stigma crassum, radiato-quinquelobum. Fructus baccatus, 

 pleiospermus. Semina 7iorizo7italia, oblonga, anatropa; testa mem- 

 branacea parce striato-reticulata nucleo conformi. Embryo in axi 

 albuminis carnosi cylindricus, eodem dimidio brevior; cotyledonibus 

 brevissimis. — Arbusculm Sandwicenses ; ramis validis ; foliis oppositis 

 seu verticillatis exstipulatis oblong is calloso-serratis, petiolis basi incras- 

 satis; cymis terminalibus sessilibus multifloris. 



Broussaisia, Gaud. Bot. Voy. Freyc. p. 479, t. 69 (pi. masc. tantnm); DC. Prodr 

 4, p. 17. 



The materials in the present collection fortunately enable me 

 nearly to complete the characters of this interesting Hydrangeaceous 

 genus, and to demonstrate its real relationship to Adamia of Java 

 and Nepaul; which appeared very doubtful while Broussaisia was 

 supposed to have hypogynous stamens as well as a free ovary. But 

 what Gaudichaud, and subsequently Hooker and Arnott (the only 

 botanists who have hitherto examined Broussaisia) took for herma- 

 phrodite flowers are in fact male flowers ; the ovary, although seem- 

 ingly well-formed, containing only abortive ovules. Figure 7 of 

 Gaudichaud's plate, above-cited, does indeed represent a great number 

 of apparently good ovules in each cell; but his character, "ovula 1 

 vel 6 (constanter 6 ?) in quolibet hcido," shows that in the flowers he 

 examined, as in our own, the ovules were for the most part rudimen- 

 tary. Those few even that are somewhat developed are doubtless 

 infertile. Moreover, the stamens and petals are perigynous, the base 

 of the calyx being adnate to the very base of the ovary. The actual 

 female flowers, indeed, are still desiderata: but we possess very 

 young fruit still bearing apparently all the organs of the flower 

 (unless there were stamens which have fallen away, leaving no 



