OF THE HERBARIUM AMBOINENSE. 303 
M. Desrousseaux (Enc. Meth. iv. 18.) considered the 
Myrtus Ambomensis as the Melaleuca virgata, which has 
terminal umbels, while the flowers of the M, Amhoinensis 
are solitary. Besides, there are only ten stamina in the 
M. virgata (Smith, Lin. Trans, iii. S64), while there are 
from twenty to twenty-five in the M. amhoinensis. Will- 
denow, however, continued to quote the M. Amhoinensis 
for the Leptospermum virgatum of Forster, which is the 
same with the Melaleuca virgata of Linn^us. 
Sir J. E. Smith (Lin. Trans, iii. rejected this sup- 
position, and proposed, with doubt, the Myrtus Amhoi- 
fiensis montana for his Leptospermum lanigerum. I see 
no reason for this supposition, as the leaves in the figure 
are by no means obovato-lanceolata, nor are the divisions 
of the calyx persistent, as my worthy friend mentions in 
his specific character of the L. lanigerum ; besides, he 
seems to have overlooked a circumstance, which appears to 
me to mark the Myrtus Amhoinensis as not belonging to 
the genus Leptospermum, as Sir J. E. Smith defines it, 
relying chiefly on the form of the stigma capitatum ; but 
Rumphius says, " in staminum centro erigitur pistillum 
erectum acuminatum,'' But, farther, its seeds are not an- 
gular, as in the genus Leptospermum ; for Bumphius says, 
" semen-paleaceum instar fili dissecti."" On the whole, I 
am inchned to think that this plant has not been seen by 
recent botanists, and that it cannot be reduced to any of the 
genera of the order of Myrti described by Sir J. E. Smith ; 
but belongs to a genus which may be defined : — Calyx 
quinquefidus laciniis deciduis ; petala quinque staminibus 
distinctis longiora ; capsula supera, lateribus dehis- 
cens, quinquelocularis ; semina paleacea, filiformia. 
