149 



HIBISCUS CAMERONI. 



{Mr. Cameron's Hibiscus.) 



NATURAL ORDER. 



MALVACEAE. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 

 Hibiscus (Lind.) Calyx cinctus involucello saepius polyphyllo, rarius foliolis paucis aut inter 

 se coalitis. Petala hinc non auriculata. Stigmata 5. Carpella in capsulam 5 locularem coalita, 

 valvis intus medio septiferis. Loculis polyspermis aut rarius 1-spermis. — Decandolle Prod. 

 vol. i. p. 446. 



Calyx surrounded by a partial involucrum, most frequently many-leaved, rarely few-leaved, 

 or joined together. Petals not auricled. Stigmata 5. Carpels joined into a 5-celled capsule, 

 the valves in the interior bearing septa in the middle. Cells many-seeded, or rarely 1-seeded. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Cameroni ; fruticosus foliosus fpubescens; foliis qninquepartitis, partibus dentatis; 

 petalis ovatis obtusis marginibus undulatis ; involucettis minutis. 



Shrub leafy, pubescent ; leaves 5-parted, parts toothed ; petals ovate, obtuse, margin wavy ; 

 involucellum minute. 



Descr. — Shrub ; stem about one foot high, pubescent, and leafy. Leaves petiolate ; in the • 

 lower part of the stem heart-shaped and notched ; the upper ones 5-lobed ; lobes unequal in 

 size ; the three anterior lobes lanceolate, acute, and notched ; the posterior ones roundish, much 

 smaller than the others, and bluntly notched. Stipules none. Flower solitary. Corolla 

 expanded, somewhat revolute. Petals ovate, obtuse, having a wavy margin of a dull buff colour, 

 tinted with rose, and strongly veined with a deep morone. Claws of the petals (forming the eye), 

 of a bright buff, surrounded with a rich and beautifully-radiated deep morone colour. Calyx 5- 

 parted, divisions acuminate. Involucellum about 10-leaved, minute. Filaments combined. 

 Style 1. Stigmas 5, ciliated. Seeds ? 



This new species of Hibiscus belongs to the frutesoent division of the sixth 

 section (Abelmoschus) of Decandolle. 



We have described this plant as only a foot high, and unbranched, which is 

 the fact ; but in all probability it will become much taller, and, as it increases in 

 size, may become branched. 



It was raised from seeds collected in the island of Madagascar by the British 

 Missionaries, by them transmitted to the Rev. J. A. James of Birmingham, in 

 the year 1837, and by that gentleman presented to the Birmingham Horticultural 

 Society, at which establishment our description and drawing were made. 



LINNEAN SYSTEM. 



MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. 



