8 



CHILI. 



[Polygaleee. 



Ord. VI. POLYGALEiE. Juss. 

 1. KRAMERIA. Loefl. 



Sepala 4, rarius 5, extus sericea, intus colorata. Petala 3-5, quorum 2 suborbicularia 

 sessilia, caetera unguiculata. Stam. 3-4, 2 inferioribus longioribus, antheris bilocularibus 

 et duplici poro dehiscentibus. Fructus globosus, indehiscens, setoso-aculeatus, 1-locu- 

 laris, 1-spermus. Embryo rectus. Albumen nullum. Radicula supera. — Frutices mul- 

 ticaules. Folia alterna. Flores axillares solitarii in supremis ramulorum folds, et ita sub- 

 racemosi, pedicellati. 



1. K. cistoidea ; caule fruticoso ramoso, foliis oblongis mucronatis sericeis, pedicellis 

 folio longioribus bibracteatis racemum brevem efformantibus, sepalis petalisque 5, stamini- 

 bus 4. (Tab. V.) 



Frutex parvus, ramosus, rigidus; ramis erectis, adpresse sericeo-pubescentibus. Folia alterna, subsemiun- 

 ciam longa, erecto-patentia, rigida, sericeo-pubescentia, oblonga, basi attenuata, sessilia, apice acuto atque 

 breviter mucronato, enervia. Flores pedunculati, solitarii, e foliis sensim minoribus in supremam partem 

 l-amuloriini, et ita quasi racemosi atque multibracteati. Pedunculi semiunciam longi, curvati, sericei, basi 

 unibracteati, bracteis 2 medium versus, oppositis, linearibus, sericeis. Sepala 5, patentia, lato-lanceolata, 

 concava, extus valde sericea, intus purpurea. Corolla pentapetala. Petala 2 inferiora remota, parva, 

 suborbiculata, apice subrevoluta, truncata, carnosa: 3 superiora arete disposita. sed basi libera, lon- 

 giora, spathulata, acutissima, submembranacea, purpurea. Stamina 4, didynama, sursum curvata, 2 lon- 

 giora lateralia ; 2 breviora superiora cum petalo intermedio (trium superiorum) alternantia. Filamenta 

 crassa, carnosa. Ant/terce ovatse, terminales, supra medium constrictse, biloculares, apice poro duplici dehi- 

 scentes. Pistillum : Germen ovato-globosum, dense sericeo-hirsutum, pilis glandulis clavatis carnosis immix- 

 tis, uniloculare. Ovula 2, e summo loculo pendentia. Stylus subfiliformis, crassus, glaber, sursum curvatus. 

 Stigma obtusum. Fructus nobis ignotus. 



Hab. Coquimbo.-y— Of the six species of Krameria described by De Candolle, and the three by St. 

 Hilaire, not one can be said accurately to correspond with the present; which is, moreover, a native of 

 Chili ; whereas all the others are inhabitants of Cumana and St. Domingo, of Mexico, of Per i, or Brazil. 

 Assuredly, in general habit, our K. cistoidea comes near to the Peruvian K. triandra ; but that has vastly 

 larger flowers, according to the figure (Fl. Per. t. 93), and only 4 sepals, 3 stamens, and 4 petals : whilst 

 in our plant, (and we have examined specimens gathered also at Coquimbo by Mr. Cruckshanks and Mr. 

 Macrae,) there are constantly 5 sepals, 4 stamens, and 5 petals; on which account, and taking the different 

 countries they respectively inhabit, we have thought it safer to distinguish the Chilian plant specifically 

 from that of Peru. In the number of the parts of the flower, our species agrees with the K. grandijlora 

 and K. ruscifolia of St. Hilaire, both of which, from Brazil, have also 5 sepals and petals, and 4 stamina; but 

 in these the stems are simple, or nearly so, and the flowers almost spicate, having very short pedicels; while 

 in ours the stem is much branched, and the flowers distinctly racemose. K. cytisoides has also the same 

 number of parts, but the central of the upper petals appears to be longer than the two others, and nearly 

 filiform, and the leaves are ternate. K. tomentosa, St. Hil., has 4 sepals and stamina, and 5 petals. In K. 

 Irina and K. glabra, Spr., 4 sepals, petals, and stamens have been observed, a peculiarity caused by the dis- 

 appearance of the upper unguiculate petal. K. linearis, Poir. and DC, (K. pentapetala, R. P.) has 5 sepals, 

 4 stamina, and 3 petals, of which the upper solitary unguiculate one is 3-lobed, indicating its triple origin. 

 In K. triandra, as we have already observed, there are only 3 stamens; but it is probable that the upper one 

 is double, or formed by the union of two, or that the anther contains four cells. Of K. paucifiora and 

 secundifiora, from Mexico, nothing is known of the structure of the flower. But if we are at a loss to 

 determine satisfactorily the species of this plant, our difficulty is greater in ascertaining the order in which, 

 it should be placed. Jussieu, in the 1st vol. of the Memoires du Mus. p. 390, has arranged it with the 



