8 
CHILI. 
{Polygalea. 
Ord. VL POLYGALE^. Juss. 
1. KRAMERIA. Loejl. 
Sepala 4, rarius 5, extus sericea, intus colorata. Petala 3-5, quorum 2 suborbicularia 
sessilia, castera unguiculata. Stam. 3-4, 2 inferioribus longioribus, antheris bilocularibus 
et duplici poro dehiscentibus. Pructus globosus, indehiscens, setoso-aculeatus, 1-locu- 
laris, 1-spermus. Embryo rectus. Albumen nullum. .Radicula supera. — Frutices mul- 
ticaules. Folia alterna. Flores axillares solitarii in supremis ramulormn foliis, et ita sub- 
raceniosi, pedicellati. 
1. K.cistoidea; caule fruticoso ramoso, foliis oblongis mucronatis sericeis, pedicellis 
folio longioribus bibracteatis racemum brevem efformantibus, sepalis petalisque 5, stamini- 
bus 4. (Tab. V.) 
Frutex parvus, ramosus, rigidus; ramis erectis, adpresse sericeo-pubescentibus. Folia alterna, subsemiun- 
ciam longa, erecto-patentia, rigida, sericeo-pubescentia, oblonga, basi attenuata, sessilia, apice acuto atque 
breviter mucronato, enervia. Flores pedunculati, solitarii, e foliis sensim minoribus in supremam partem 
ramulorum, et ita quasi racemosi atque multibracteati. Pedunculi semiunciam longi, curvati, sericei, basi 
unibracteati, bracteis 2 medium versus, oppositis, linearibus, sericeis. Sepala 5, patentia, lato-lanceolata, 
concava, extus valde sericea, intus purpurea. Corolla pentapetala. Petala 2 inferiora remota, parva, 
suborbiculata, apice subrevoluta, truncata, carnosa: 3 superiora arete disposita, sed basi libera, lon- 
giora, spathulata, acutissima, submembranacea, purpurea. Stamina 4, didynama, sursum curvata, 2 lon- 
giora lateralia; 2 breviora superiora cum petalo intermedio (trium superiorum) alternantia. Filamenta 
crassa, carnosa. Anthera ovatse, terminales, supra medium constrictae, biloculares, apice poro duplici dehi- 
scentes. Pistillum : Germen ovato-globosum, dense sericeo-hirsutum, pilis glandulis clavatis carnosis immix- 
tis, uniloculare. Ovula 2, e summo loculo pendentia. Stylus subfiliformis, crassus, glaber, sursum curvatus. 
Stigma obtusum. Fructus nobis ignotus. 
Had. Coquimbo. — Of the six species of Krameria described by De Candolle, and the three by St. 
Hilaire, not one can be said accurately to correspond with the present ; which is, moreover, a native of 
Chili ; whereas all the others are inhabitants of Cumana and St. Domingo, of Mexico, of Peru, or Brazil. 
Assuredly, in general habit, our K. cistoidea comes near to the Peruvian K. triandra; but that has vastly 
larger flowers, according to the figure {FI. Per. t. 93), and only 4 sepals, 3 stamens, and 4 petals : whilst 
in our plant, (and we have examined specimens gathered also at Coquimbo by Mr. Cruckshanks and Mr. 
Macrae,) there are constantly 5 sepals, 4 stamens, and 5 petals ; on which account, and taking the different 
countries they respectively inhabit, we have thought it safer to distinguish the Chilian plant specifically 
from that of Peru. In the number of the parts of the flower, our species agrees with the K. grandiflora 
and K. niscifolia of St. Hilaire, both of which, from Brazil, have also 5 sepals and petals, and 4 stamina ; but 
in these the stems are simple, or nearly so, and the flowers almost spicate, having very short pedicels,’ while 
in ours the stem is much branched, and the flowers distinctly racemose. K. cytisoides has also the same 
number of parts, but the central of the upper petals appears to be longer than the two others, and nearly 
filiform, and the leaves are ternate. K. tomentosa, St. HU., has 4 sepals and stamina, and 5 petals. In K. 
Ixina and K. glabra, Spr., 4 sepals, petals, and stamens have been observed, a peculiarity caused by the dis- 
appearance of the upper unguiculate petal. K. linearis. Pair, and D C., {K. pentapetala, R. P.) has 5 sepals, 
4 stamina, and 3 petals, of which the upper solitary unguiculate one is 3-lobed, indicating its triple origin. 
In K. triandra, as we have already observed, there are only 3 stamens ; but it is probable that the upper one 
is double, or formed by the union of two, or that the anther contains four cells. Of K. pauciflora and 
semndiflora, from Mexico, nothing is known of the structure of the flower. But if we are at a loss to 
determine satisfactorily the species of this plant, our difficulty is greater in ascertaining the order in which 
it should be placed. Jussieu, in the 1st vol. of the Memoires du Mus. p. 390, has arranged it with the 
