MEDINILLA ERYTHROPHYLLA. 
(Reddish-leaved Medinilla.) 
Class. 
DECANDRIA. 
Order, 
MONOGYNIA, 
Natural Order. 
MELASTOMACEiE. 
Generic Charactek.— T^<&e of calyx ovate or obovate, 
ribless, adhering to the ovary ; limb truncate or ob- 
soletely four or five toothed, rarely cleft irregularly, con- 
tinuous with the tube. Petals four or five, ovate or 
obovate, obtuse or obliquely truncate, rather fleshy. 
Stamens eight to ten, equal, or the alternate ones are 
smaller; anthers oblong-linear, arched, beaked, and 
opening by one pore at the apex ; the connectives two- 
lobed or bifid in front, but spur-formed behind, and 
confluent with the anthers. Ovary glabrous at the 
apex, rarely downy. Style subulate, tumid at the base, 
crowned by a small obtuse stigma. Berry ovate-oblong, 
or ovate-globose, crowned by the limb of the calyx, 
four or five celled. Seeds oval, smoothish. 
Specific Character. — Plant an evergreen shrub, 
growing from two to three feet in height. Leaves oppo- 
site, shortly petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 
three-nerved. Cymes axillary,or on the lower and bare 
parts of the branches. Flowers regular, deep pink. 
Calyx truncate. 
For tlie introduction of this handsome shrub, our cultivators are indebted to 
His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, whose collector, Mr. J. Gibson, found it on the 
Khoseea hills, which constitute a part of the Himalayan range in the East Indies, 
and brought it to Chatsworth in 1837. It flowered there in the following season, 
and the specimen then bloomed formed the subject of our plate. 
Being a free-growing plant, which is readily multiplied, it has been so dis- 
tributed since that period, that it is now in most of the principal nurseries, and in 
many private gardens. Its chief characteristics are an extreme healthiness of 
aspect, very ample and finely-formed foliage, an abundant production of flowers, a 
considerable robustness of habit, and a capacity of thriving well either in a green- 
house or stove. The blossoms are borne about the months of June or July, and 
last a very long time. They appear in clusters on the lower and naked portions 
of the stem or branches, and are not much unlike that of the Peach, but less 
spreading or cup-shaped, and with difi'erently arranged stamens, which stand out 
rather prominently, and have curved filaments. When young, the leaves have a 
reddish tinge, from which the specific name is derived. Afterwards, they become 
purely though pale green. 
Noticing it in the Miscellaneous matter of the Botanical Register, Dr. Lindley 
says that " it is apparently very near M. ruhicunda^ a Sumatra plant, with the 
