1836.] 



the Gamboge of Commerce. 



303 



ciently attended to in the construction of these genera, giving rise, in 

 consequence, to much confusion and uncertainty as to the species that 

 ought respectively to belong to them. 



In 1737, Linnseus published his genus Garcinia, formed from Rum- 

 phius' Mangostana, assigning as its essential character 16 stamens (Dode~ 

 candria) and an eight-seeded berry. In 1748, he published, in his Flora 

 Zeylanica, Cambogia> assigning to it numerous stamens (Polyandria) 

 and a pomacious, eight-celled and eight-seede.d fruit. Pomum 8-I0- 

 culare, semina (i. e. in each cell,) solitaria. In 1789, Professor Murray of 

 Gottingen published his genus Stalagmitis, assigning to it a quaternary 

 proportion of sepals and petals, pentadelphous stamens, and a one-cell- 

 ed, three-seeded berry. In 1791, Gcertner attempted, from an examina- 

 tion of the fruit of three species, to reform the Linnean genera, and, on 

 carpological characters, united Garcinia and Cambogia under Rum- 

 phius' name Mangostana, assigning to his new genus, a quaternary 

 proportion of parts, indefinite stamina, and a four to eight-seeded berry. 

 This genus, with the exception of the name, has been adopted by all 

 succeeding writers. In 1798, Roxburgh published his X ant hochymus 

 (Cor. PI.), well distinguished from the former by its quinary proportion 

 of parts ; five sepals ,five petals, five fascicles of (pentadelphous) stamens 

 and an unequal (three to five) seeded berry* The characters of all these 

 genera, it maybe observed, are, with the exception of the last, incomplete, 

 owing to the authors having overlooked their polygamous inflores- 

 cence, and neglected to avail themselves of the peculiarities of the male 

 flower; an imperfection not felt, so long as every plant of the order 9 

 with a quaternary proportion of organs, was referred to Garcinia, but 

 to which, now that a new genus is added, agreeing in that particular, 

 it is necessary to attend: the more so, as some of the species of Garcinia 

 approach the new genus by having their stamens united into a head, 

 while others approach Xanthochymus by having theirs fascicled and 

 are only to be distinguished by their proportion of parts. It is of great 

 importance to attend to proportion in this tribe, as we are thus enabled 

 to discover what Murray's Stalagmitis really is. "We have seen that 

 Roxburgh's Xanthochymus has a quinary proportion of parts, penta- 

 delphous stamens, and an unequal (3-5) seeded fruit. In Garcinia 

 the quaternary proportion prevails with an equal (4-8-12) seeded fruit. 

 In Stalagmitis both are said to be combined, an union, which all must 

 acknowledge to be most improbable.* Petals and sepals are deciduous, or 

 may be carelessly examined ; not so the fascicles of stamens, they are 

 small, and must be examined carefully if to be seen at all, and the num- 



* Since writing the above I find that Roxburgh describes the flowers of Xanthochymus 

 ovalifolhis, as having occasionally four sepals and four petals, which identifies it with 

 Murray's Stalagmitis Cambogiohks, the Ceylon Gamboge plant of that author. 



