178 



CHINA. 



[Homalinece. 



linearibus, erectis. Petala cuneato-oblonga, convoluta, apice emarginata. Stamina 5, longitudine corollas, 

 petalis inclusa: filamenta subulata: antherm ovatae biloculares. Discus carnosus planus, fundum calycis 

 tegens. Germen ovatum disco semi-immersum, at tamen ei non adherens, biloculare : stylus filiformis petala 

 aequans, teres : stigma capitatum. " Drupa parva, oblongo-ovata, scabra, rubra ; nucula oblonga, bisulca, 

 bilocularis." Lour. 



The above description, together with the accompanying figure, will, we trust, reclaim this beautiful species 

 from obscurity. There cannot be the smallest doubt of its being the plant intended by Linnaeus, and we 

 think there is as little of its being that of Loureiro, notwithstanding the many little discrepancies between 

 his account of it and ours. Loureiro states that his plant is furnished " aculeis multis, sparsis, solitariis, 

 rectis, brevibus ;" this distinction is, however, omitted by De Caudolle, who says of Loureiro's plant, " ramis 

 inermibus," and rightly, too, for it appears that Loureiro drew up this part of his character to suit Pluck- 

 net's Phyt. t. 122. f. 4, which he quotes as a synonym, but which is an East Indian, not a Chinese plant, 

 and more allied to Zizyphus, if indeed it has any thing to do with this natural order. Again, Loureiro 

 says, " folia subcrenata," which is not correct, although the leaves, from the strong nerves beneath, do 

 exhibit a somewhat undulated margin. His " calyx 5-dentatus, minimus," is obviously a mistake for the 

 small hcmispha?rical tube; while his "petala 10 lanceolata aequalia erecta," comprehend both the calycine 

 segments and the petals, the latter being his " iuteriora quinque amplecteutia stamina." The remainder of 

 his description coincides with our plant. We ourselves have not seen the fruit. — We now come to Poiret's 

 Rhamnus lineatus, which De Candolle makes distinct: on consulting his description, all he says of the 

 thorns is, " les stipules forment, a la base des petioles, de petites epines tres-courtes et aigues:" and these, 

 although we agree with Linnaeus in not calling them thorns, are precisely what we have seen. He 

 describes the flowers as solitary — " solitaires et laterales dans l'aisselle des feuilles," and we have occasionally 

 observed the racemes reduced to one flower ; but we rather suspect that part of his character to be made 

 merely to accord with Burm. Zeyl. t. 88, which he cites ; and in this we are confirmed by what follows the 

 above extract — " cependant vers l'extremite des branches elles forment souvent une petite grappe presque 

 terminale," as in our specimens. It is obvious to any one who is in the habit of consulting the Encyclopedic 

 Methodique, that Poiret and Lamarck, when they had not sufficient materials of their own, borrowed from 

 other authors without acknowledgment : and, in the present instance, not only is this true with regard to the 

 solitary flowers, but also as to the fruit, the description of which, " une petite baie arrondie," is evidently 

 taken from Burman's figure just quoted. Poiret's analysis of the flower, and description of the leaves, even 

 to the little terminal bristle or mucro, exactly agree with what is now before us. Thus, we trust, we have 

 made out satisfactorily, that the Rhamnus lineatus of Linnaeus, of Loureiro, and of Poiret, are all one and 

 the same plant. Of the older synonyms quoted by these authors, there can be no doubt of Plukn. t. 408. f. 

 3, which comes from China; but, as we have already stated, we cannot refer here to Plukn. t. 122. f. 4. As 

 to Burm. Zeyl. t. 88, the Berchemia JBurmanniana of De Candolle, and Rhamnus Vitis-idcea of Burm. Fl. 

 Ind., it has nothing to do with this tribe of plants. Bronguiart, in his Memoir on the Rhamnece, has 

 proposed to make it a new genus, near to Andrachne. Moon, in his Catalogue of Ceylon Plants, refers it 

 to Phyllanthus rhamnoidcs. Dr. Wight and Mr. Arnott (Flora Penins. Indiae Orient.) consider it identical 

 with Plukn. Phyt. C9. f. 3, and both as referable to Phyllanthus multiflorus of Klein's Herbarium, and 

 consequently of Willdenow. Perhaps Plukn. t. 122. f. 4, is a bad representation of the same plant. — Messrs. 

 Vachell and Millett find this plant about Macao and the ad jacent islands. 



Tab. XXXVII. Berchemia lineata. Fig. 1, Flower; fig. 2, Section of do.; fig. 3, Petal and stamen. 



The Rhamnus theezans, Linn. (Sageretia, Brongn.) we have received from Mr. Millett; and also the 



Ceanothus Asiaticus. 



Ord. XXVII. HOMALINEiE. Brown. 

 1. Blackwellia fagifoUa; foliis elliptico-lanceolatis serrulatis supra glaberrimis subtus 

 puberulis brevissime petiolatis, racemis simplicibus spiciformibus axillaribus nutantibus 

 folium subsequantibus, floribus 6-8-andris 2-4-gynis, perianthii laciniis 12-16 subbiseri- 



