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HELICONIA BRAZILIENSIS. 
Brazilian Heliconia. 
PENTANDRIA (v. potius HEXANDRIA) MONOGYNIA— Nat. Ord. 
M USAGES. 
Gen. CnxTn.'—Spathce universales et partiales. Perianthium 6-partitum ; 
segmenta tria; interiora fere ad apicera unita convoluta. Filatnentum 
sextum abortum squamifbrme. Capsula infera, trilocularis, trivalvis. 
Semina solitaria. 
Heliconia hrazilknsis ; foliis ovato-lanceolatis, acutis, basi cordatis, 
spathis universaKbus patentibus paucis subdjstantibus distichis (coc- 
cineis.) 
Plant everywhere glabrous, about 7 or 8 feet high, with a short stem, which 
is clothed with the long sheathing bases of the petiols. Leaf-stalks 2-3 
feet long, cylindrical, shining. Leaves, the lowermost ones 2 feet, the 
upper ones 8-10 inches in length ; all of them ovato- or oblongo-lan- 
ceolate, cordate at the base, very acute, scarcely acuminate at the ex- 
tremity, marked with several parallel and obliquely transverse nerves, 
with numerous smaller ones between them : above of a deep and almost 
velvety green, paler beneath. 
Fhwering-stem scarcely so high as the leaves, terminated above by a few (5-6) 
distichous, spreading, elongated, cymbiform and acuminated deep reddish 
spathas, attached to a zig-zag rachis. The lower spatha is lengthened 
out into a greenish leafy extremity, and is abortive ; the rest include in 
their swollen base a fascicle of sessile green flowers, 7-8 in number, 
each subtended by an ovato-lanceolate, concave, reddish bracteS or in- 
ner spatha, about half its length. Perianth of 6 linear-lanceolate, acute, 
segments, of which the three outer are erecto-patent, curved, the in- 
ner, or that next the rachis, being the largest, carinate at the back, 
embracing with its base the lower part of the two smaller and narrower 
ones, and which are flattened on the back, and compressed on the sides, 
so as to be triquetrous. The 3 jnner segments are united together for 
nearly the whole length (the points alone being free), and convolute, 
and embracing the stamens and style. Stamens : of these 5 are perfect, 
rather longer than the perianth, and inserted at the base of its united 
inner segments : the sixth is opposite to these, and has no attachment 
to the inner segment of the perianth, but is inclosed within its convo- 
lute base ; it is abortive, and forms an erect, whitish, oblong scale, 
VOL. III. 
