80 
MEDINILLA ERYTHROPHYLLA. 
leaves obtuse at the base. One of the principal features in the genus Medinilla^ 
namely, the spur at the back of the anther, is so nearly wanting here, that it only 
appears in the form of a very small lobe, quite at the base of the anther, opposite 
the anterior auricles. The species is quite a Medinilla in habit." 
It is a plant of easy culture^ growing freely in a mixture of turfy loam and 
heath-mould, with some pieces of broken freestone or potsherds interspersed 
throughout the soil. A large pot seems to be unnecessary for it, as it does not 
throw out many fibrous roots ; drawing a great part of its nourishment from the 
larger tuber-like callosities which form at the base of the stem. These, in its wild 
state, become nearly drained of moisture and shrivel up in the dry season ; recruit- 
ing themselves again during the rains. Cuttings of almost any size will root easily 
in loam and sand, if covered with a glass. 
Although we have remarked that it succeeds in either a greenhouse or a stove 
heat, it flourishes best when treated as a greenhouse plant throughout the summer, 
and kept, during winter, in a house with a temperature intermediate between that 
of the stove and the greenhouse. It should be watered rather profusely in the 
warmer months. 
The woodcut below exhibits the growth of the plant. 
