CONC-] 



&l)z Creature oi SSotang. 



324 



green trees of the Myrsine family, found in 

 the tropical parts of South America. The 

 species have alternate stalked entire leaves 

 of a leathery texture and full of dots, oblong 

 or elliptical in form, and varying from 

 three to seven inches in length. The small 

 white or green flowers are borne on short 

 stiff racemes, and have a calyx of four 

 divisions ; a funnel-shaped corolla with a 

 four-parted border, enclosing four stamens : 

 and a one-celled ovary, which is crowned 

 with a short style. The fruit is a berry 

 about the size of a pea, and contains few 

 seeds. [A. A. B.] 



CONOPHOLIS. A genus of Orobanchacecs, 

 containing a single species, a native of 

 South America. It is a singular plant grow- 

 ing in clusters among fallen leaves, in oak 

 woods. The stem is crowded with scales, 

 which are at first fleshy, then dry and hard. 

 The upper scales form bracts to the flow- 

 ers, the lower are closely and regularly im- 

 bricated. The flowers are in a thick scaly 

 spike, and have an unequally four to five 

 cleft calyx, a bilabiate slightly curved 

 corolla swollen at the base, protruded sta- 

 mens, and a depressed stigma. The fruit 

 is an ovoid pod, with four placenta? ap- 

 proximated in the middle of each valve. 

 The genus is nearly related to Orobanche, 

 differing chiefly in having a bibracteolate 

 calyx, and exserted stamens. [W. C] 



CONOPSIDIUM. Platanthera. 



CONOSPERMUM. A genus of Proteacece, 

 containing about forty species. It is dis- 

 tinguished by having a tubular four-cleft 

 calyx, one of the segments of which is oc- 

 casionally much larger than the others. 

 There are four stamens on short fila- 

 ments (one of which is sterile), inserted 

 at the base of the calyx segments : the 

 three anthers cohere together; style fili- 

 form, with a free oblique stigma. The fruit 

 is a nut, containing a single silky seed. The 

 inflorescence is either in spikes or panicles. 

 The habit of the different species varies 

 considerably; some are tall erect shrubs, 

 while others are of much humbler growth. 

 The foliage is very variable : in C. imbrica- 

 tum the leaves are oval, scarcely a quarter 

 of an inch in length ; in C. filiforme and 

 C. ericifolium they are narrow and sharp- 

 pointed ; in C. cceruleum they are spathu- 

 late, on very long footstalks ; in C. longifo- 

 lium and C. flexaosum they are nearly a 

 foot in length, and not more than a quarter 

 of an inch in width; while in C. tereti 'fo- 

 lium and C. tenuifolium they are filiform, 

 and a foot in length. A few species, as C. 

 ephedra ides, C. polycephalum, are nearly 

 leafless. This genus is confined to the 

 extra-tropical portions of Australia : one 

 species (C. taxifolium) is likewise found in 

 Tasmania, [R. H.] 



CONOSTEPHirM. A genus of Epacri- 

 dacece, containing a single New Holland 

 species, a branched erect shrub, with scat- 

 tered leaves, and solitary recurved axillary 

 flowers. The calyx is five-parted, and is 

 surrounded with four or more bracts ; the 

 corolla is five-toothed ; the oblong anthers 



are included ; the ovary is five-celled, with 

 a single pendulous ovule in each cell. The 

 hard indehi scent drupe is one-celled from 

 the abortion of the other cells. [W. C] 



CONOSTYLIS. A genus of New Holland 

 Hcemodoracece, consisting of perennial herbs 

 with distichous ensiform radical leaves, par- 

 tially sheathing and equitant at the base,and 

 corymbose or subspicate heads of flowers at 

 the top of a simple scape. The perianth is 

 lanately woolly outside, its tube connate 

 with the ovary, and the limb regular, per- 

 sistent, and half- expanded in a bell-shaped 

 form ; it has six stamens with short erect 

 filaments, and a conically dilated hollow 

 persistent tripartible style. There are about 

 half-a-dozen described species. [T. MJ 



CONOTHAMNUS. A myrtaceous shrub, 

 native of the Swan River Colony, having 

 linear lance-shaped leaves, and flowers in 

 heads, surrounded by ovate hairy bracts. 

 The calyx is hairy and four-toothed at the 

 margin : the stamens are numerous, uni- 

 ted into five parcels, opposite to the petals ; 

 ovary three-celled; fruit a capsule in- 

 cluded within the tube of the calyx united 

 at the base with the branch, and contain- 

 ing one seed in each of its three compart- 

 ments. [M. T. MJ 



CONRADIA. A genus of Gesneracece, 

 containing several species of shrubs or her- 

 baceous plants, natives of the West Indies, 

 and reaching into the southern districts of 

 North America, They are shrubs, or rarely 

 herbs, with petiolate generally dentate 

 leaves, and axillary peduncles with a single 

 flower or sometimes with many-flowered 

 cymes. The calyx tube is adherent to 

 the ovary, the limb five-cleft, or more or 

 less deeply five-parted ; the corolla is tubu- 

 lar or campanulate, and its limb nearly 

 equally five-cleft. There are four didyna- 

 mous stamens, with the rudiment of a fifth, 

 but neither hypogynous disc nor gland. 

 The capsule is two-valved, and has two- 

 parietal placenta? with numerous minute 

 seeds. This genus can readily be separated 

 from its allies, by the absence of disc or 

 glands around the ovary. [W. C.] 



CONSOLEA. A name proposed for a 

 genus of Cactacece. in honour of M. Michel- 

 Angelo Console, assistant-director of the 

 Botanic Garden at Palermo, by whom the 

 peculiar feature which serves to distinguish 

 it from Opuntia was first observed in 

 1860-61. This peculiarity consists in the 

 presence of a cupuliform disk at the sum- 

 mit of the ovary, within which the substi- 

 pitate base of the style is inserted. The 

 species, which include both unarmed and 

 prickly plants, are shrubby, with tall simple 

 continuous and inarticulated stems.bearing 

 a few lateral-apical branches, which fall off 

 as the stem increases in height. The 

 flowers resemble those of Opuntia, and are 

 produced near the apices of the branches ; 

 they are succeeded by oblong compressed 

 berries. C. rubescens is an example of the 

 unarmed species ; and C. ferox and spino- 

 sissima of the aculeate series. [T. M.] 



