752 
" SCHIZOPETALON Walker. 
Mr. Walker’s Schizopetalon. 
= 
TETRADYNAMIA SILIQUOSA. — 
Nat. ord. CRuCIFERE. Juss. gen. 237. Decand. regn. veg. 139. 
SCHIZOPETALON. Calyx clausus. Petala pinnatifida! Siliqua 
torosa, seminibus uniseriatis. Cotyledones quatuor! separatim contortu- 
plicate ! : in ; 
“Herba annua alternifolia, pube tenui ramosa. Folia sinuato-pinnatifida.- Ra- 
cemus foliaceo-bracteatus. Th 
Calyx pubescens foliolis albo-marginatis, lateralibus altius descendenti- 
bus. Petala alba, unguibus culycem paulo superantibus, laminis circum- 
scriptione ovatis, pinnatifidis, laciniis linearibus siccitate (et forsan estiva- 
tione) involutis. Stamina 6, filamentis subequalibus, edentulis, antheris 
uniformibus, sagittato-linearibus, introrsis. Glandule hypogyne quatuor, 
lineares, erecte, petalis subopposite, geminatim bastbus dilatatis confluentibus 
filamenta lateralia stipantes. Stylus brevissimus. Stigmata papulosa, con- 
nato-approximata,' in stylum decurrentia, basibus solutis, unicum quasi sub- 
extinctoriiforme efformantibus.' Siliqua. sessilis, bilocularis, angusto-linea- 
ris, pube ramosa brevi conspersa, valvis venosis. Semina spherico-lenticu- 
laria. Embryo viridis. Radicula albicans, arcuata, semine paulo longior. 
Cotyledones verticillate, equales, elongate, angustate, semiteretes, separatim 
_ subspiraliter involute. . a, : 
Obs. In ordine Cruciferarum genus nulli cognito affine, et equidem ob nume- 
rum, figuram, et vernationem cotyledon meee pinnatifida, stigmatis struc- 
turam, et stamina subzqualia tribus distinct initium eflormare videtur. Brown 
MBS!) a se icin 
war 
: Curt. mag. 2379, ' 
For the elaborate character which we hav given above, 
we are entirely indebted to Mr. Brown, who alone, in this 
country, was capable of defining the limits and of fully ap- 
preciating the peculiarities of this truly singular plant. It 
adds another instance to the curious anomalies already 
ywnin the cotyledonar structure of dicotyledonous plants: 
nust unquestionably be considered as the type of a 
tribe of cruciferous plants; others of which may pos- 
exist in the almost unexplored regions of which this is 
ative. ot 
It is unnecessary for us to expatiate upon the value to 
Science of such a communication as the above; especially 
when it is remembered that the first, and indeed the only 
original attempt at forming philosophical characters for 
VOL. IX. ie . 
