270 A Report on New and Rare Plants, §c. 



bright green alternate leaves, with linear subulate pale-green 

 deciduous stipulae. One of them flowered within a few 

 weeks after its arrival ; its blossoms grew in numerous axillary 

 pendulous simple racemes, about the length of the leaves, 

 and were of a pale yellowish-white colour, emitting a fragrant 

 odour. They consisted of a perianthium jointed with its 

 pedicel, having a limb divided into sixteen stellate beautifully 

 fringed segments, and an half inferior, one-celled ovarium with 

 four parietal placentae, each bearing two pendulous ovules. 

 The stamens were eight, inserted at the line of separation 

 between the ovarium and perianthium, opposite to the seg- 

 ments of which they were placed. Opposite to each of 

 those divisions of the perianthium not furnished with a 

 stamen, was inserted a small square compressed hairy gland. 

 The styles were four and spreading. It was therefore obvious 

 that it was referable to the natural order of Homalineae, 

 from which its stellate, many-parted perianthium, in which 

 no distinction was shewn between calyx and corolla; the 

 glands alternating with the stamens, and the half-superior, 

 many- styled, one-celled ovarium, with parietal placentae, ren- 

 dered it impossible that it could be separated. Upon com- 

 paring it with the few genera, yet referred to that order, it 

 appeared not to be distinguishable from Black wellia of CoM- 

 merson, the characters of which have been amply described 

 by Jussieu; and it therefore became a question whether 

 the plant was distinct from the AstrantJius Cochinchinensis 

 of Loureiro, which has long since been determined by Mr. 

 Brown to be of the same genus as Blackwellia. But that 

 plant being described by its discoverer as having woolly 

 leaves, and an ovarium absolutely superior, can scarcely be 



