466 On tivo new Ceylon plants related 



the stamina are withered they are nearly obliterated by the 

 growth of the ovaries, and the styles are so compressed by 

 the same cause as to appear like a point between the ovaries, 

 showing only the multifid stigma. The utriculi of Aphylleia 

 remain much longer on their receptacle, without bursting, 

 than those of Hyalisma ; they dry without bursting, whereas 

 if the fruit of Hyalisma is nearly ripe, the utriculi always 

 open upon being dried. Having found specimens of Aphylleia 

 in which all the flowers bore fruit, I feel pretty certain that I 

 am right in considering it to be an hermaphrodite genus. 

 The stamina of Aphylleia entirely disappear when the fruit is 

 ripe. With respect to the structure of the stem of Hyalisma, 

 it consists of cellular tissue without pith or concentric zones, 

 and the skin is so slight that the stem is perfectly hyaline and 

 the cells are distinctly visible with a small magnifying power: 

 they are elongate and occasionally contain raphides. This 

 cellular structure is to be expected in such a minute herbace- 

 ous plant. Having had abundance of opportunity of seeing 

 these plants, in their different stages, I am certain that at no 

 season of the year is a stem developed bearing leaves; 

 the plants always consist of scapes which wither after fructi- 

 fication. Neither are they parasitic plants, but are found 

 in rather moist soils in hilly places, under the shade of trees. 



Hyalisma. Genus Novum. 



(Plate IV.) 



Flores monoici — Perigonium 8-partitum, lobis divergenti- 

 bus — Fl. masc. Stamina 4, laciniis perigonii alternis adnata 

 et opposita : filamenta brevia : antherce peltatae bilamellatae, 

 lamellis toto ambitu solutis apertee. Ovarii rudimentum 

 nullum — Fl. ¥mm. Stamina nulla. Ovaria plurima, re- 

 ceptaculo sub-convexo imposita. Stylus lateralis, obliquus, 

 linearis: stigmate acuto. Utriculi plurimi, basi verticaliter 



