BARRINGTONIA SPECIOSA. 
(Showy Barringtonia.) 
Class. 
MONADELPHIA. 
Order. 
POLYANDRIA. 
Natural Order. 
MYRTACE^E. 
Generic Character. — Tube of Calyx ovate ; limb 
two or rarely three-parted; lobes oval, obtuse, concave, 
permanent. Petals four, large, coriaceous. Stamens 
numerous, in many series ; filaments filiform, long, 
free, but jointed together into a short ring at the base ; 
anthers roundish. Style filiform, the length of the sta- 
mens ; stigma simple. Urceolus rising from the top of 
the ovarium, and sheathing the base of the style. Ova- 
rium four-celled ; cells two-ovuled. Berry large, ven- 
tricose at the base, pyramidal and tetragonal upwards, 
crowned by the limb of the calyx, one celled when 
mature'; cells obversely pear-shaped, fibrous. Seeds 
ovate-globose, pendulous, attenuated upwards. Em- 
bryo exalbuminous, elliptic-globose, having its radicle 
superior, and confused with the cotyledons, which are 
conferruminated, and the embryo is therefore pseudo- 
monocotyledonous — Don's Gard. and Botany. 
Specific Character.— Plant a small tree, evergreen. 
Leaves cuneately oblong, obtuse, shining. Flowers 
arranged in an upright thyrse. Fruit acutely tetrago- 
nal, pyramidal. 
Synonvme. — Butonica speciosa. 
Cultivators will be pleased to find that this noble plant, which is chiefly 
known in our stoves for its very handsome foliage, and for the alleged difficulty of 
growing it well, has produced its remarkable inflorescence in the stove of Colonel 
Baker, at Salisbury. To this gentleman we are under obligation for the speci- 
mens from which our figure was made ; and we are also indebted to Miss 
Greenly, a daughter of the Rev. J. Greenly, of the Close, Salisbury, for two 
excellent drawings of the plant. 
From Mr. Dodds, gardener to Colonel Baker, we have received the following 
account of the species, kindly furnished by the Ilev. J. Greenly : — " It is a stately 
tree, which grows plentifully towards the coast of many of the islands in the 
Southern or Pacific Ocean, as well as in the various parts of India, China, and the 
Indian Islands. The bark is ash-coloured. The branches are numerous and 
spreading. The leaves are often more than a foot in length, of a strong and firm 
texture, with & lucid surface, and of a beautiful bright green. The flowers are 
numerous, large, and white, with a vast number of stamens of a deep sanguineous 
purple. They are produced from the upper parts of the branches, and blow 
chiefly in the evening, falling off the next morning, and are followed in succession 
by others. The tree continues in flowers for a considerable time." 
Mr. Dodds has likewise favoured us with some interesting facts regarding his 
treatment of the plant. He says : — " We have had it about thirteen years. It is a 
vol. x. — no. cxix. I I 
