V 



MELASTOMACE.E.' 01 



1. Harrera gerascanthoides. Showy Har- 

 rera. 



Arborescent, branchlcts slightly compressed 

 furfuraceo-tomentose wi'h minute stellated hairs, 

 leaves elliptico-lanceolate attenuato-acuminate 

 3-nerved sub-entire, glabrous above, minutely 

 stellato-tomentose and paler beneath, panicle 

 cymose terminal, stamens 10, berry 3-celled. 



H A B. Port Royal Mountains. Salt Hill.— Near Dove 

 Hall, Dr. Alexander. 

 F L. September. 



A tree nearly 20 feet in height : branches spreading, 

 terete, ash-coloured, towards the extremity minutely fur- 

 furaceo-tomentose. Leaves opposite" sometimes alter- 

 nate, petiolate, ovato-lanceolate, attenuato-acuminate, 

 rounded at the base, entire, 3-nerved besides an obscure 

 marginal pair, glabrous and green above, albido- 

 stellato-tomentulose and farinose beneath, 3^ to 4j 

 inches in length, and an inch and a half in breadth : 

 petiole terete, nearly an inch in length. Racemes cymose, 

 terminal, erect: peduncle compressed, tetragonal, mi- 

 nutely stellato-puberulous : divisions opposite, decussating. 

 Flowers large, white, showy, shortly pedicelled. Calyx 

 externally stellato-puberulous : tube produced, funnel- 

 shaped ; limb spreading, with 5-4 indistinct and blunt 

 green teeth placed on the outside.; throat furnished with 

 a membrane, on which the petals and stamens are in- 

 serted, forming as it were a pentangular disk with the 

 centre open. Petals 5, rarely 4, somewhat contorted, 

 obovate, rounded at the apex. Stamens 10, decimate in a 

 direction opposite to that of the style : anthers lanceolate, 

 acute, one-pored, slightly auriculated at the base. Ovary 

 umbilicated : style tinged with crimson, longer than the 

 stamens, declinate and somewhat curved. Berry size of 

 a large pea, black, crowned with the calyx, 3-celIed ; 

 seeds wedge-shaped, angular, marked with a crimson line 

 (the hilum) on one side. 



The flowers of this species bearing some resemblance 

 at a distance to those of the Spanish Elm, cordia geras- 

 canthoides, has induced to apply to this its specific de- 

 signation. As in it, the corolla is marescent ; and the 



