pach] 



Cfje SErea^urg of 330tani?. 



834 



I They are well characterised by their sta- 

 mensbeing never more than ten, with thick- 

 ened ovoid filaments, very much resem- 

 bling in shape the carpels of the ovary, and 

 accompanied by two inner staminodia or 

 barren stamens, which are still more like 

 the carpels. To these has been added, as 

 a section, the Huttia of Harvey, a West 

 | Australian species with the same rush-like 

 l stems, leafless except two or three small 

 divided leaves at the base, and with larger 

 flowers and the filaments broadly flattened 

 instead of being ovoid. 



PACHYNEURUM. A genus of Cruciferce 

 from the Altai, containing Braba grandi- 

 flora, which has the two outer sepals bulg- 

 ing at the base, and the pod linear-com- 

 pressed, the valves with a thick nerve and 

 prominent veins, and the seeds numerous, 

 in two rows. [J. T. S.] 



PACHYNOCARPUS. A lofty Borneo 

 tree, with alternate entire coriaceous-leaves, 

 and deliciously fragrant flowers, in axillary 

 and terminal panicles, forming a genus of 

 Bipterocarpacece, closely allied to Vatica, 

 but differing in the fruit. When ripe the 

 calyx-lobes wear away, and theadnate tube 

 enlarges and becomes thickened, almost 

 enclosing the fruit, to which it closely ad- 

 heres ; whilst in Vatica the tube remains 

 small, and the persistent lobes arereflexed 

 under the fruit. 



PACHYPHYLLUM. Epiphytal orchids 

 of the tribe Vanclece, allied to and with 

 much of the habit of Fernandezia, having 

 thick fleshy leaves arranged in two ranks, 

 and overlapping each other. They bear 

 axillary spikes of inconspicuous bifariously 

 disposed flowers, which have a conniving- 

 perianth, with free equal sepals and pet- '3, 

 a free undivided sessile lip having a single 

 tubercle at its base and two at its apex, a 

 petaloid column, and two pollen-masses. 

 All the species, about six in number, belong 

 to tropical Western America. [A. SJ 



PACHYPLEURUM. A genus of umbelli- 

 fers, distinguished by having the petals 

 in different flowers of the umbel of diffe- 

 rent shape ; and each half of the fruit with 

 five prominent thick ribs, the two lateral 

 broader than the others. P. alpinum is the 

 only species, a native of the Alpine parts 

 of Europe. The name comes from Greek 

 words indicating the thickened form of the 

 ribs on the fruit. [G. D.] 



PACHYPODIUM. A genus of dogbanes 

 distinguished by having the calyx in five 

 deep divisions, the corolla salver-shaped 

 with its tube curved and five-angled, and 

 the stamens inserted in the middle of the 

 tube. The species are fleshy and spiny 

 shrubs, with scattered leaves and milky 

 juice. They are natives of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. [G. D.] 



The same name has been given to a genus 

 of Cruciferce, not sufficiently distinct from 

 Sisymbrium, from which it differs only in 

 the very long pods, cylindrical through- 

 out, with a spongy partition destitute of a 

 nerve. The species occur in Central Europe 



and in the Mediterranean region. Sisym- 

 brium Columnce and S. pannonicum of 

 authors belong to this group. [J. T. S.] 



PACHYPTERA. A doubtful genus of 

 Bignoniacece, the flowers of which are un- 

 known. The fruit is an elongated flat cap- 

 sule, divided into two cells by a partition 

 placed parallel with the valves. The half- 

 dozen species comprised in the genus are 

 all South American shrubs, furnished with 

 conjugate leaves, and climbing by means 

 of tendrils. [B. S.j 



PACHYRHIZUS. A genus of Legumino- 

 sce : one species is common in the tropics of 

 both hemispheres, another is confined to 

 Japan, and two to Southern China. They are 

 shrubby plants, with twining stems rising 

 from large tuberous roots, and having 

 j leaves formed of three usually angular 

 I stalked leaflets, and racemes composed of 

 I clusters of violet-blue flowers on large 

 I glandular knobs. Each flower has two 

 j small bracts which soon fall off, a pitcher-' 

 I shaped four-lobed calyx, a pea-like corolla, 

 ten stamens (one of which is free) alter- 

 nately shorter, and straight narrow flat- 

 tened pods containing from seven to 

 twelve roundish seeds. 



P. angulatus is found in many parts of 

 the tropics, such as tropical America, both 

 the East and West Indies, Mauritius, Fee- 

 jee Islands, &c. It has angular sharp-tooth- 

 ed leaflets, and long racemes of flowers. 

 The roots generally run in a horizontal 

 direction underground, and frequently at- 

 tain six or eight feet in length and the 

 thickness of a man's thigh. They are used 

 for food in times of scarcity, and when 

 cooked are of a dirty-white hue, and rather 

 insipid. The Feejeans, who call the plant 

 Yakaor Wayaka, obtain a tough fibre from 

 the twining stems, with which they make 

 their fishing-nets. [A. S.] 



PACHYSTEMON. A genus of Evphor- 

 biacecc, consisting of one or two Javanese 

 trees, with the large peltate three-lobed 

 leaves as well as most of the characters of 

 aMappa ; but the male flowers have only a 

 single stamen consisting of a three-celled 

 anther, sessile on a thick column ; and in 

 the females the ovary is five-celled, with a 

 hollow cylindrical five-lobed style. 



PACHYSTICHOUS. Thick-sided; ap- 

 plied to cells only. 



PACHYSTIGMA. The name. of a small 

 Natal shrub, constituting a genus of Cin- 

 chonacece. It is described as having a red- 

 dish bark, and axillary cymes of reddish 

 flowers ; a calyx-limb divided into four or 

 five linear segments ; a bell-shaped corolla 

 with a somewhat globular tube, hairy in the 

 interior, the limb divided into four or five 

 lance-shaped segments ; five stamens pro- 

 truding from the corolla ; and a five-celled 

 ovary surmounted by a fleshy disk, the 

 style terminated by a thick fleshy stigma — 

 whence the name. [M. T. M.] 



PACKMAN-RICH. A Scottish name for 

 six-rowed barley. 



