ET INSULARUM MARIS PACIFICI. 20 ( J 



most remarkable. This first joint bears already fructification ; whereby 

 it appears as if tliere was a circle of seeds and antheridia in the 

 ground of the wborl. Another différence, important but difficult 

 to observe, consists in the construction of the covering of the leaves. 

 In Ch. fragilis the nurnber of séries of covering cells is double that of 

 the foliola ; in Ch. brachypus triple, which is accompanied in the latter 

 species by a finer striation of the leaves. In this character Ch. brachypus 

 agrées with Ch. polyphylla, which in many forms indeed is deceivingly 

 near it. But in Ch. polyphylla the first joint of the leaf is not only 

 uncoloured, but also uncovered, and therefore not striated. 

 "Co^cènring the^ name, I hâve not adopted that of setosa, not only 

 because it is unsuited, but also because even the authors of it did not 

 know exactly their own species, and confounded them with Ch. poly- 

 phylla, var. Ceylonica, as can be seen by comparing Willdenow's herba- 

 rium. The paper of Klein, coutaining at the same time a diagnosis, 

 shows that Klein called his new species Ch. setigera (not setosa), a name 

 which refers to the narrow bractese surrounding the seeds. " Flores 

 fœm. setis 4, flore longioribus obvallati." But thèse bractese in 

 Ch. brachypus are somewhat shorter than the seed, or, at the most, of 

 the same length, while they generally are longer in Ch. Ceylonica. This 

 indicates a confusion of both species, which is confirmed by com- 

 paring the spécimens communicated by Klein to Willdenow. The 

 spécimens of both species are now and then infested by young Con- 

 fervœ, which Willdenow regarded as hairs belonging to the plant. 

 Therefore he says, in his diagnosis, " ramulis apice subpilosis." Thèse 

 hairs are also represented by him in his figure of Ch. brachypus. 



The length of the whole seed of Ch. brachypus is 8 y^%° m. ; that of 

 the nut 6 -fèV\ 



** gymnopodes. 

 11. Ch. polyphylla, monoica, plus minusve incrustata ; caule seriebus 

 tubulorum numéro foliorum triplis corticato, aculeis angustis acutis 

 armato ; foliis verticillorum 8-15, articulis 8-13, infimo brevissimo 

 ecorticato hyalino, sequentibus corticatis, ultimo brevissimo ecorticato 

 mucronem terminalem formante, raiïus pluribus superioribus ecorti- 

 catis ; foliolis in omnibus geniculis verticillatis, anterioribus longi- 

 oribus plerumque semina superantibus ; stipulis coronam duplicem 

 formantibus, seriei superioris longioribus foliorum articulum infimum 



2 q 2 



