691 
of Edinburgh , Session 1871 - 72 . 
has been known under various names :— Gynanclium Ipecacuanha , 
Willd.; Asclepias asthmatica, Roxb. FI. Ind.; Gynanclium vomitorium, 
Lam. Dr Roxburgh and Dr Anderson used the plant for dysentery 
in India with great success. 
There are some peculiar features in the plant now under culti¬ 
vation which require investigation, and I am not able to give a 
full paper on the whole subject until further cultivation. The 
plant which has been long in the garden has flowered regularly. 
Even the young cuttings have sent forth their flowers. The plant, 
on the other hand, sent from Rio Janeiro, although treated in the 
same way as the other, has not flowered.* 
The former, although flowering freely, has not produced perfect 
fruit until the present year. The plants were carefully fertilised 
by the application of the pollen of one flower to the stigma of 
another. By this means we have secured a number of fruiting 
specimens, and I now exhibit fruiting plants with drawings of the 
fruit and sections. 
The fruit is drupaceous, of a dark purple colour, shining and 
glossy on the outside. It is about the size of a large currant, and 
when ripe it falls off easily. Each fruit contains two seeds. These 
are seen in the section of the fruit. The albumen of the seed is 
very hard. I have not seen any figure of the fruit in botanical 
works containing plates of the plant. There is a resemblance 
between it and that of Psychotria emetica. 
We expect that some of the seeds will ripen, and that we shall 
then be able to propagate the plant from seed. 
The following Gentlemen were elected Fellows of the 
Society:— 
George Seton, M.A. Oxon., Advocate. 
Captain Charles Hunter. 
* Since tliis communication was made the plant lias flowered, and lias 
shown peculiarities in the relative length of the stamen and pistil. July 1872. 
