Bef ucjiuin Botanicum .] 
[Sejjtember, 1870. 
TAB. 230. 
Natural Order Pi^erace^. 
Genus Piper, Lin7i, 
Section Pothomoephe (Miquel). Stamina 2 vel 3 quorum 1 posticum, 
antheris articulatis. Flores liermaphroditi vel unisexuales. x\menta 
axillaria, solitaria vel ad apicem ramuli axillaris umbeliata. — 
Cas. D. C. in D. C. Prodr. xvi. 331. 
P. UMBELLATUM [Linn. S]-). Plant, p. 43). Foliis longe petiolatis rotun- 
datis profunde cordatis membranaceis supra viridibus glabris infra 
pallidioribus ad venas griseo-puberulis, venis utrinque costam 5 — 6 
ex apice petioli et 1 ex costa ipsa radiantibus, amentis 2 — (5 in 
umbella breviter pedunculata dispositis, pedicellis brevibus gra- 
cilibus, bractese limbo serailunari ciliato, ovario turbinate. — Potho- 
rnorjjJie umbeliata, Miquel, Piper, p. 208. 
Widely spread in Tropical America. 
Stems attaining a length iof several feet, three to four lines 
thick, scarcely woody, terete, multisulcate, finely gray-downy 
upwards. Petioles of lower leaves six to nine inches long, 
stout, finely downy, hollowed out vertically at the base, with 
a fleshy wing on each side. Leaves round, deeply cordate, 
attaining more than a foot in breadth each way, cuspidate, entire, 
membranous and flaccid in texture, green and glabrous above, 
paler and inconspicuously downy beneath ; the midrib distinct 
from the base to the apex ; five or six main veins on each side, 
radiating from the apex of the petiole, and generally only one on 
each side branching from the midrib above the base. Peduncles 
stout, an inch or less long. Spikes on short slender pedicels, 
two to six in an umbel, three to four inches long ; the flowers 
very dense ; the limb of the bracts ciliated ; the ovary turbinate, 
glabrous. 
Tab. 230. — 1, portion of flower-spike ; 2, bract, with pistil : both mag- 
nified.— J. G. B. 
I received this fine species of Piper from Vera Cruz with 
a consignment of Orchids. "When grown freely in a moist shady 
stove it makes a fine effect by its large, bright green, cordate 
leaves, which are abundantly produced. It delights in plenty of 
water, and should be potted in turfy loam and peat, with good 
drainage below. It is increased by cuttings and seeds. — 
W. W. S. 
