6 
DORSTENIA arifolia. 
Arum-leaved Dorstenia. 
MONOECIA DIANDRIA— Nat. Ord. URTICEM. 
Gen. Char. — Receptaculum camosum^ dilatatum, patens, supeme papillosum, 
papillis intus florigeris. Cal. 0. Cor. 0. Styli duo. Pericarpia solita- 
ria, receptaculo immersa, monosperma. 
Dorstenia ari/blia; foliis profunda quinquefidis digitato-palmatis, laci- 
niis lanceolatis, (junioribus cordato-sagittatis integris), receptaculo 
elliptico-quadrato inclinato lateral! ter pedunculo affixo. 
D. arifolia. Lam. Encycl Illustr. t. iii. f. 2. (mala); Diet. v. ii. p. 317- 
Root rather large, somewhat knotted, and covered with numerous thickly 
entangled downy roots, with several clusters of ovate, acute, green, re- 
curved concave scales or stipules at the top, from which the leaves and 
stalks of the receptacle arise. Leaves 8-10 inches long, all radical, 2 feet 
high when fully grown ; the early ones, according to Mr Shepherd, 
cordato-sagittate, dentate, and quite undivided, afterwards deeply cleft 
into 5 long, spreading, lanceolate, nearly entire, acuminated segments, 
with broad and rounded sinuses, the lowermost ones divaricated, and 
often again bipartite ; their colour is a very deep shining green, paler 
beneath, nerved, with the nerves prominent. Petioles about twice the 
length of the leaf, cylindrical, rather broader at the base. 
From the top of the root, and in the centre of the leaves, arises the cylindri- 
cal stalk, shorter than the petioles, erect, and supporting the elliptical- 
quadrate, flatly compressed, nearly erect, green receptacle, with the stalk 
united near the lower margin, at the back ; its disk expanded, plane, pa- 
pillose, and slightly downy ; its margin with numerous small, incurved, 
teeth-like processes. The papillce bear either male or female flowers, 
mixed indiscriminately. The male is composed of 2 stamens, without 
either calyx or corolla, at first entirely concealed within the papillae, af- 
terwards protruded through a transverse cleft. Filaments shortish, white. 
Anthers didymous, yellow. The female flowers are imbedded deep into 
the fleshy part of the receptacle, each cell covered by a papilla like that 
of the male flower. Germen solitary, without calyx or corolla, ovate, 
acuminated, terminating in two short styles, which are just protruded 
above the cleft of the papilla. There is a singularly broad and thicken- 
ed margin, running down one side of the pistil. 
Few persons, on the first inspection of this plant, would sus- 
pect it to be the Dorstenia arifolia, figured in Lamarck's 
VOL. I. B 
