April— june, 1857.] New Cinghalese Plants. 105 



imperfect to permit me either to affirm or deny this, and I have seen 

 no specimens; but all the species with which I am acquainted, 

 either by specimens or figures, are furnished with thorns and smooth 

 leaves, except the original species (Trophis aspera) : in all, except 

 it, the ovary undergoes an unequal development, the side to which 

 the ovule is attached enlarging more rapidly than the opposite one ; 

 so that the style, which at first is at the apparent as well as real 

 apex of the ovary, appears at length lateral, and the ovule becomes 

 more elevated than the base of the style. 



The original and genuine species of Epicarpurus scarcely exhi- 

 bits any tendency to this kind of resupination, and has no spines. 

 To the spinous section I refer Trophis spinosa, Roxb. Fl. Ind. vol. 

 iii. p. 762 (T. taxiformis, Hook, et Am. in Bot. Beech. Voy. p. 215, 

 or T. taxoides, Roxb. in E. I. C. Mus. tab. 120, and in Roth, Nov. 

 Sp. p. 368), Epicarpurus Timore?isis, Dene., which scarcely differs 

 as a species, unless characters not alluded to in the description and 

 figure can be derived from the specimens, and a Ceylon species, 

 from Mr. Thwaites, lately submitted to my inspection, in which the 

 perianth of the female flower does not seem to enlarge with and at 

 length conceal the fruit, in that respect resembling more the ge- 

 nuine Epicarpurus, while the foliage and fruit are those of the spu- 

 rious group. All these have the female flowers solitary or nearly 

 so, and the males in globular heads or very short nearly globular 

 racemes ; but if there be no mistake in Blume's work, his Trophis 

 spinosa has the flowers spicate (at least his generic character indi- 

 cates this), and his short description of Urtica spinosa seems to in- 

 dicate the same structure. 



Epicarpurus microphyllus, Raoul in Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 3. vol. ii. 

 p. 117, and Choix de PI. Nouv. Zelande, p. 14. t. 8, has the male 

 flowers in bracteated spike3 or rather catkins, and the female as in 

 Epicarpurus orientalis, but the embryo is described " cotyledonibus 

 conduplicatis cequalibus plicatis foliaceis." Raoul adds, " Notre 

 Epicarpurus microphallus appartient bien au genre ou je l'ai classe 

 par forme de ses cotyledons : les Trophis ont les cotyledons charnus 

 et tres inegaux, tandis que dans la plante qui nous occupe ils sont 

 chiffonn.es et foliaces." Were the only difference between Trophis 



