A  January Pi8t5.m'}    The  Apocy?iacece  in  Materia  Medica.  37 
are  whitish,  silky,  brilliant,  often  5^-6  centimetres  or  more  long, 
always  easily  broken.  They  spread  quite  well  without  becoming 
entirely  horizontal.  The  naked  part  of  the  shaft  is  more  resistant 
than  that  of  the  hispidus.  It  is  sinuous  and  of  a  pale  yellow  color. 
The  albumen  and  the  embryo  are  very  similar  to  those  of  hispidus. 
The  radicle  is  quite  long  and  the  cotyledons  very  thick.  The  hairs 
retain  so  much  air  that  the  seed  floats  a  long  time  in  water. 
We  may  distinguish  three  varieties  based  upon  the  anatomical 
structure,  and  in  these  may  exist  yet  others.  The  first  variety  is  the 
largest  and  possesses  a  longitudinal  projection  on  the  ventral  face, 
quite  sharp,  with  the  thin  borders  folded  and  the  dorsal  face  quite 
convex,  turned  over  at  times  like  a  tuft  of  moss. 
The  second  variety  is  more  attenuated  towards  the  base,  the 
point,  ordinarily  asymmetrical,  shows  an  abrupt  depression  upon 
the  dorsal  face ;  the  hairs  are  longer  and  changeable. 
The  third  variety  is  less  lanceolate,  more  sharply  attenuated  at 
both  extremities ;  the  ventral  face  much  less  flat ;  the  tufted  part  a 
slender  filament  that  becomes  spread  about  the  middle  of  the  ventral 
face.  It  seems  that  the  anatomy  differentiates  these  forms  not  yet 
referable  to  definite  species.  In  the  external  layer  the  thickenings 
are  quite  varied  in  the  forms.  The  second  tegumentary  layer  with 
the  flattened  cells  more  or  less  dilated  between  the  depressions  of 
the  tegmen  ;  in  the  albumen,  the  cell  walls  vary  in  thickness  and 
aspect.  In  none  of  these  are  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate.  The  action 
of  sulphuric  acid  is  the  more  remarkable  upon  this  seed  so  rich  in 
Strophanthine :  scarcely  is  the  section  placed  in  the  reaction  than 
an  intense  green  coloration  is  revealed  in  the  entire  thickness  of  the 
albumen ;  then  rapidly  likewise,  but  less,  about  the  tip  and  its  im- 
mediate neighborhood ;  the  coloration  shows  in  the  embryo,  occa- 
sionally, with  a  bluish  tint ;  the  color  is  always  less  bright  than  in 
the  albumen.  Shortly  the  aspect  changes  :  the  albumen  becomes 
greenish  yellow,  while  the  embryo  passes  to  an  intense  blue. 
Finally,  it  gradually  assumes  a  reddish  or  even  greenish  tint  with 
here  and  there  a  few  red  streaks. 
STROPHANTHUS  PAROISSEI. 
5.  Paroissei  Franch.  an  African  species,  inhabiting  French 
Guinea  to  south  of  the  Senegal.  The  plant  is  but  little  known, 
bears  the  indigenous  name  of  Bini-bande,  and  presents  branches 
