SPICILEGIUM NEILGHERRENSE OR A SELECTION NEILGHERRY PLANTS. DRAWN AND COLOURED FROM NATURE, WITH BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH ; SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON THE GEOGRAPHY AND AFFINITIES OF NATURAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS, AND OCCASIONAL NOTICES OF THEIR ° ECONOMICAL PROPERTIES AND USES. BY ROBERT WIGHT, M.D., F.LS, ° aaa MEME, IMP. ACAD, NATUR, CURIOS.; ROYAL RATISBON BOT. SOC,: EDINR, BOT. SOC.: CORR, MEMB, HoRT.Ms00, = SURGEON MADRAS ESTABLISHMENT. VOL. I. MADRAS : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY FRANCK & CO., MADRAS ; AND OSTELL, LEPAGE & CO., CALEUTTA, ———<—$<$—$$_—__—. SPECTATOR PRESS* AMbelmoschus cH. .) Angulosus lea Ampelidez - “Anemone Wightiana (Wall) - DAraliacee. a a ‘Neiigherrensis (W.& A. ) es aes min - = Balsam. Tribe. - - 33 alsam. - - 34 jandikai - - 16 arberry . - edstraw. - - ¥ Berberidez z — Mt a) Leschenaulti Cal 6 eon um ramosissimum (W.&A. 56 d ‘cheung ciamaaes arhgeenete: W.) 2 3 a Butter cup. - 4 hae -Tribe. - 7 Canthum aga R. Wo = ti -Caprifoliacee. - 73 Cardamine choca (Persoon). meg Caryophyliac - 14 Gcaatince: - 38 Chickweed-Tribe. - - 14 ampany. - ee | Cinchonacee. - 76 Citrus Limetta Fake 23 —— Vulgaris — - 23 TS. - 84 ons Gouriana (Roxb -) 2 ——- Wi plane anche - 2 ‘Cleyera Gymnanthera(W.andA.) 19 -Clypea 7 Sappho ak mee 5 Coffea alpestris (R. - 83 a Paietoides (it W.) - 84 Coffee Cotoneaster buxifolia (Wall List. )- 53 - 63 rion Barba ( (Graham). - 45 pean a(Graham) - 45 emia Wallchisas od and A. ) 45 de dog 3 Crue ifer 7 Desmodium sare (D.C - 47 ——— strangulatum W. and A. ) 47 Droserace: ‘ ba Burmanni (Vahl) - 12 Eleo Eugenia (S. ) Arnottiana R. W. - 60 sabe itgiifotis R. Ww. 61 apenas eileen (Wall.) - 39 rasa tianeze Flemingia Segal (R. W.) Hage elatio ae = 0] Ind laos s). m Requenianun(W. andA. ) 85 Gari papilla (R. W.) 26 Gom andes poly ormphe(RW)Well21 1 Gordonia obtu Gouania leptostachya (D. C.) - 22 Grass 0 - 12 Grape-vine - 31 Grumelia clone (R. - 81 gesta (Ww. sana.) - 82 a Roi = 74 Gutti = 264 Rete 0 (P.) oboentl R. W.) - 69 INDEX, Hedera (P.) racemosa (R. W. H ) edyotis Laws wsonie (W. and A = (oe verticellaris ( Wall.) s Wal ae ana 7 di Hippoer Honeysuckle “Tribe . Eien pigete R “ah ine s (Va posal beg polycephala Ww. - A. Hymenco el . Hypericum. Ss ae OE Or ea eee Giana WE A. Impatiens racic a (D. C.) See Aer vous a (Heyne) Indigofera pete (Ww. “aed A ella (W. and A.) Tadlies x Tro — wood tke - Kala oe grandiflora (Wall. ; Ladies Castenthax Teaclasak R. W. eae Lonicera 8) ligustrina (Wall) Lora Loranthns s Neilgherresis (W.& A. Magno Mallow: Tribe. te Malvec : Malva Neilgherrensis R. W.) Michelin Nilagitica (Zenker) Microtropis microcarpa (R. W.) ovalifolia (R. W.) —T? WwW) Melastomacee, a Milk-wort Tribe - Milk-wort. Millingtoniac Millingtonia pungens (Wall } Mistl Mistictoe. Trt ibe. —— Munroii R. W. M ae Puibe. Myrtus communis, spectabiles. mentosa -Tr = range Lime &e. Osbeckia Gaptabrem. wee oo Wight ort Age) MPR 00 RR a aS tha nas Np oo = ites wer wed assiflor ass hen “Leschenautit So C. assion Flower-Tribe. assion Flo ower Pastinaca rigens (R. W ) oe Notoniana ee ) 5 ittos aa tetr raspermum (W.&A.): ones Leschenaultii (D. C, ) Si Acorang arillata (Ham ) a Leschenaultiana ALend he - sychotri = isuleata (W. -{ a (Caleb) - 54 ace iw Ww ihe MT ed Wallichinus (W. & A. ) cham Aaaane hirsute (W. and A.) thodomyrtus ee WwW. 0 . .ose- Tribe. - aa ww o hw co cea Jus alacia uskocjnel R, W.) ndwort. Sanicula — ag )- a chmidelia Theedei (R. Ww. ) apin ans ‘planda (Wall,) sensitiva htintn ?, — emosa - —— paniculata Sonerila sites (R. W,) ——— gra ndiflora(R. W.) — speciosa (Zenker.) Saphons glauca Sgozae Spindle Tre - Stemakures: " fetidus . W.) Stonecrop Tribe. UT haa RI OAaHY wk ROR ea aN Seonannevwvoo oS - ee Ce ORY toa iy os ' 1’ ' 1 ' pt > et ee RD mh ' CSOonn m densiflorum (Wall. Te faeieitaten Travellers Joy. Turpenia Act npg ww all) Tutsian Umbelli foe iburnum acuminata (Wall. ) — latum (W. and A. anthum (W. and A. os Wigitiennie see & A. BS Gs Vislaiien V — Tribe vi oii Viole eh eer (Wall.) Virgin Bower. - Viscum orbiculatum fee W.) monitiforme (Blume) moniliforme 8 = ) ) “IAT Vitis. (A) Neilgherrensis (R. W 5: ba eage iv “eee (Wall ) Wind Flo ' “10 , 1 ao Son NHNNKSCOSCUUM AH PREFACE. Tuts work was undertaken partly to gratify the taste and wishes of some friends who had an opportunity of examining the original drawings and who, thinking it would be a pity to throw away so much labour and skill of the painter by publishing them as uncoloured outlines, urged the propriety of at least publishing a few coloured sets, in case any of the purchasers of the Icones should wish to colour their copies. The force of their arguments backed per- haps by the promptings of an anticipated ready sale for the work, induced me so far to depart from my original plan as to have 100 extra copies struck off and coloured: the great expense of colouring preventing my incurring the cost of a larger impression. Having gone so far it then became necessary to endeavour to add to their usefulness and interest by combining, in as popular a form as I could, some ac- count of the Botanical families to which they belong and their connection with Alpine vegetation generally. This I soon found a more difficult,task to execute than I anticipated and, I greatly fear, the descriptive matter has become more scientific than was consis- tent with my first intentions or than is quite suitable to the tastes and previous information of many of my readers. Ido not know that this need be a subject for regret, as possibly the perusal of the following pages may prove the means of inclining some persons to desire a deeper knowledge of the mysteries of the vegetable organization and economy than they supply, and induce them to have recourse to some of the more elementary works on Botany, written expressly for the elucidation of such matters. Should such prove the case, I can, as the result of a good deal of experience, promise them a most enduring “ feast of reason and flow of soul” of the purest and, in the right direction, most elevating kind! For who can study the won- derful and mysterious operations of life and endless adaptations of organization for the preservation, not merely of the individual, but of the species without having his soul elevated and purified, by being led through creation, to the con- templation of the wisdom and ss of the Almighty Creator of all things animate and inanimate. - Grand and sublime as are the objects brought within the comprehension of ii man by the powers of the Telescope, not less perfect and wonderful to the re- flecting mind are those brought to light by the Microscope. In either case all is perfection, with this difference, that in the former we witness his perfections on a scale of grandeur far too magnificent for the comprehension of our limited fa- culties, while with the other we are easily enabled to detect organic structure in objects so inconceivably minute as to be almost invisible to the naked eye. With the aid of the former the motions through space of the heavenly bodies, distant many millions of miles, can be measured with such extreme accuracy as to show that in the course of thousands of years their rates of progression has not altered even a second of time, while by the latter we are enabled to trace evidences of complex structure and organization in the filmy dust of the moth’s wing, or the equally minute particle of matter constituting a grain of pollen, Nay further, we learn from its use, that so infinitely varied and so. constant are the forms of these minute objects that, in many cases, the practised observer can, by marking their differences, detect the families to which they belong, and can even tell, by the shape of the red globules ina drop of blood, whether it was drawn from the veins of a man or a lower animal. 7 These are no doubt extreme cases and demand an amount of skill in the use of the instruments not easily attained, but much, very much that is deeply interesting, can be learned from either by the merest novice, and each renewal of the attempt to interrogate nature by their means, adds to the skill of the ob- server. Such then are some of the dishes composing the endless intellectual feast which nature provides for her votarigs and of which she, most bountifully, invites all to become partakers, The magnified figures in the accompanying plates make no pretensions to such perfection in displaying the minutiz of organization, but even in them are exhibited points of structure which could not be made out by the naked eye, and for the most part show, on a sufficiently large scale to be easily followed, these more minute and intricate portions of the flower, seed vessel, and seed, em- ployed in tracing among plants their relationships to each other: a knowledge which forms the basis of our present Natural System and which if ever the true Natural System of Botanical classification, now so ardently sought for by all philosophical Botanists, is discovered, must stil] prove equally useful not to say indispensable towards its acquisition, As it is not improbable some of my readers may only know of “ Natural Systems” by name without having any very precise idea of what is meant by the term, I shall here digressa little to endeavour to convey some information re- garding what Naturalists understand by it. Imperfect the effort must necessa- rily be for, in truth, even the most learned and philosophical among them, seem not to know quite clearly what they are in search of and of course can searcely ‘be expected to inform others what they do not well understand themselves. For example, opinion is divided on the question of the existence or non-existence ofa Natural System, some maintaining that there really is one of nature’s own contrivance and others, that the, so called, “ Natural System” is neither more nor less than a human contrivance by which the most nearly related species are brought together and placed, as much as possible in juxta position. This last doctrine I for one reject as unphilosophical and utterly at variance with innu- merable facts and indications of wise design and contrivance which every divi- sion of nature presents for our consideration and instruction: without, however, . going so far as to deny that these who maintain the doctrine can adduce aed strong arguments in its support. Those who maintain the existence of a Natural System set out by showing the admirable symmetry and just proportion which all nature’s works, from the greatest to the least, present and bear to each other: and by tracing the delicate progression from group to group, family to family, and species to species, thence assume that there is not only a Natural System, but further, uphold the doctrine that there can be but one, justly observing, that it is impossible to suppose tha‘, Atmicuty Wispom, if he admitted system at all into his works of creation, would execute them so imperfectly as to admit irregularities, much less a medley of systems. The object then, of the philosophical naturalist is, they maintain, to approach as nearly as our finite faculties will permit towards the realization of this one grand and sublime idea, the discovery of The Natural System of or- ganized beings. Two methods are now in use for the attainment of this end or rather, limit- ing the statement to the vegetable kingdom, for the solution of the problem, what is the natural system of plants? These may be respectively called the Linear and Circular methods. The first, it is admitted on all hands, is essentially artificial and can never succeed in placing the most nearly related objects of creation in juxta position, thus, to some extent, virtually admitting the existence of a circular one and its ‘Superiority as being the more natural of the two. Necessity, therefore, not choice constrains its continued employment, rather as providing a convenient kind of cabinet or store room in which to store our daily accumulating facts, in an easily accessible form, to have them in readiness for use so soon as a more natural arrangement is discovered, than as affording such an arrangement itself. The supporters of the circular method claim for it a higher degree of perfec- tion, that of really furnishing a clue to THe Natural System, and apparently with much reason on their side, This method assumes that nature has systematically arranged all her creations in a series of circular groups, each intimately united to iv others by a complex but beautifully simple net-work of affinities interwoven, if I may so speak, with a similar net-work of more remote analogies, all of which are found to exist in every perfect circle and that these circles progressively diminish in magnitude from the highest to the lowest, until we arrive at the last link of the chain, Species. The primary circles are three, Animals, Vegetables and Inorganic matter. Animals being the Typical circle, Vegetables the sub-Typical and Inani- mate matter the Aberrant ; which last is made up of three minor ones the endless modifications of Earth, Water and Air; each equally perfect, thus making together a. series of five. ANIMALS again divide themselves into three lesser groups viz. Vertebrate An- mals—having an internal bony skeleton—Annulose animals (insects, crabs, &c:) having a hard crust or, as it were, an external skeleton—and Acreta or soft mol- luscous animals having neither proper bone nor crust. VEGETABLES in like manner divide themselves into three primary groups viz. Dicotyledons or Exogens,—plants increasing in size by the addition of layers of new wood to the surface, or from without. Monocotyledons or Endogens, plants increasing in size by additions from within, the arborious forms of which have at first a hard crust, increasing in thickness towards the centre by additions of woody fibre to its interior. And lastly, Acotyledons or Acrogens flowerless cellular plants. The third or Aberrant group of each of these kingdoms is again divisible into three perfect circles. The AcRETOoUS circle of animals contains the Acreta proper—the Mollusca or slugs, snails, shell-fish, &c. and the Radiata or star-fish. The AcrocEnous circle of vegetables in like manner naturally divides itself into Fungi or Mushrooms: Protophyta or Sea-weeds and Lichens: and Acrobryous or Psendocotyledonous plants including Ferns, Mosses, Hepatice, &e. ‘The progressive blending between these circles in their own kingdoms is affinity. The more remote similarities or blending as it were of habits and properties often easily traceable between analogous circles of the two kingdoms is, the analogy mentioned as existing in every perfect circle. Thus far the two kingdoms advance side by side and step by step together, presenting analogous groups in each. The Vertibrata represented by the Exo- gens—the Annulosa by the Endogens—the Acreta by the Protophta—the Ra- diata by the Fungi—and lastly the Mollusca by the Acrobrya or Psendocotyledonia. But when we advance beyond this point and attempt to compare the Verti. brata and Exogens we are arrested at the first step. The former is clearly divid- ed by the hand of nature into three Self-evident groups the typical, Mammals— subtypical, Birds—and the aberrant, cold-blooded Vertibrata including Reptiles— Fishes—and Amphibia, each of which form a perfect circle, thus again completing the quinary series of circles. Where in the exogenous or corresponding circle F of plants do we find ‘analogous groups? Iam unable satisfactorily to answer the question, but still I cannot help thinking as I shall by and by show that pa- rallel circles or groups may yet be found, and probably, when once traced will prove as self evident, even to the most casual observer, as the animal ones now are. The same remark is applicable to the Annulose and Exogens, where the parallel circles have not, so far as I am aware, been traced in the two kingdoms, but probably may readily be so, when the attempt is made by a competent ob- server who has made himself acquainted with the Zoological system, which, in first principles at least, seems to have gone far ahead of the Botanical. Dr. Lindley in his elements of Botany has presented us with sketches of two circular arrangements of plants; each perhaps superior to those of any of his cotemporaries, but in which, so far as my comparatively limited acquaintance with the subject of circular arrangements, and indeed with the relationships of the vegetable kingdom generally, enables me to follow him, he does not appear to have succeeded in bringing out the affinities and analogies of his vegetable circles* so clearly as Zoologists have their animal ones. In this opinion I may perhaps be greatly in error and in venturing to express it may only be exposing my own ignorance of the subject, but still, such is the impression conveyed to my mind by their examination. The first series of analogies between the two kingdoms is however known, and when Botanists have succeeded in tracing the second it seems probable the subsequent ones will prove less difficult, as the mass of knowledge of vegetable structure and function already acquired, but hitherto only sparing- ly applied to such purposes, will supply many new elements well adapted for forwarding the work of systematic arrangement. Jussieu founded his secondary divisions, in the Exogens, on the absence or presence of petals and on their be- ing one or more: hence his apetalous monopetalous and polypetalous groups: and his terteary ones on the relative position of the ovary to the flower, that is, whether the stamens have an inferior (hypogynous) superior (epigynous) or middle (perigynous) attachment. DeCandolle has adopted this method with con- siderable modifications, but Ido not think improvements as a natural arrange- ment, though well calculated to facilitate its use in practice. Professors Lindley and Endlicher have each constructed arrangements of the natural orders, or Natural Systems of Botany, both very different from each other and from their apparently more simple, though less natural predecessors. This improvement they seem to have accomplished by the avoidance of what may be called-linear characters, which must inevitably, in some part of their course, become constrained and artificial; causing, like the Adjutant’s measur- ing rod, the widest separation of brothers, simply because the one happens to be _ the tallest the other the shortest man in. his Regiment. By allowing greater scope or circularity to their divisional characters, they have been enabled to Vi bring together, under the name of alliances or classes, groups of allied orders which are occasionally widely separated by the procrustion operation of linear characters. But though much has, by these and othersimilar attempts been ef- fected to improve our arrangements, I still think we are far behind Zoology through our not having yet discovered in our Exogenous and Endogenous groups, those almost self-evident secondary divisions or circlesso clearly marked out by nature in the animal kingdom, and so ably taken advantage of by Zoolo- gists, in working out their animal system. To discover these, if they actually exist in Nature, appears in the present state of the enquiry to be the first and grand desideratum towards the discovery of the true Natural System of plants, In the mean time however, our establish- ed orders and genera being for the most part pretty nearly natural, aided by the convenient practical grouping now in use, serves all the purposes of a more strictly correct and philosophical arrangement, leaving us for the time, very inde- * pendent of a better, and allowing us to proceed at our own pace, leisurely feeling our way, while searching for the long and ardently desired natural one. And it is in the hope that some of the readers of this exposition of what is wanted, to- wards the construction of the basement of the natural system of plants, may be induced to turn. their attention to the subject and perhaps that some one luckier than the rest, may stumble on a clue which will lead himself or others to the desiderated point and enable him, by the formation of truly natural secondary groups or circles, to complete at least the lower tier of the edifice. It only now remains for me to offer a few remarks on vegetable organi- zation, with reference to its employment in the construction of a Natural System of Botany. These must unavoidably be brief and imperfect, and probably, so far as they go, little to the point, the ideas of Botanists on this obscure subject being far from precise or settled on a firm basis, especially in what relates to the comparative value which should be assigned to each part, engaged in the com- plex organization of an Exogenous plant. The organ principally regarded as the basis of all our attempts to obtain a natural arrangement is the Embryo, when present, taken in connexion with the plant which springs from it, whether, in short, it is mono—or di—cotyle- donous, giving origin to an Endogenous or Exogenous plant or is altogether ab- sent as in Acrogens ; plants still further distinguished from those of the two higher groups by their Cellular texture and the nearly total absence of vascu- lar tissue. Dicotyledonous or Exogenous plants have a woody stem, varying in solidity with their age from the tender herbaceous annual up to the ithioet i stony hard- ness of the iron wood tree: increasing, with some exceptions, in thicknedy: by the annual addition to the surface, layer upon layer, of new wood, forming rings or Vil zones round the axis: these zones are intersected transversely by medullary rays radiating from the central pith. Occasionally, as above hinted, increase of thickness does not take place by means of annual Zones, the wood at whatever age appearing to consist of a single homogeneous zone. Dr. Lindley has taken advantage of this circumstance and brought together most of the families in which it occurs to form his group of Homegens distinguished by the Endogenous strue- ture of their wood. Descending still lower in the scale we come to two groups of cellular plants, the Rhyzanths mushroom like plants, and the Podostemons, sea-weed like plants, agreeing with alge in almost every thing except their fructification. The leaves of Dicotyledons are, usually attached to, and separate from the stem by an articulation and are reticulated, that is their veins anastomose and form a net work, but this is not quite absolute as it is wanting in the leaves of most of the Gymnosperms. The flowers are for the most part quinary in the number of their parts and - are generally furnished with both calyx and corolla; but departures from both these rules are frequent: most of the Homogens have ternary, and many fami- lies quaternary flowers, while numbers have no corolla. The seed is usually enclosed in a pericarp, but here also a striking ex- Ception occurs, the whole of the coniferus family, forming Lindley’s Gymnosperms having naked ovules and seed, a privation combined with some interesting peculi- arities of the Anatomical structure of the whole plant. The seed itself is either per- fect or imperfect, that is, is furnished with an Embryo having two or more op- posite cotyledons, or is sporulose : imperfectly developed as in Rhyzanths. ‘The Embryo also is perfect or imperfect, with or without albumen. ‘The albumenous ones are intra or extra albumenous, enclosed within the albumen like the -yoke within the white of an egg, or placed on the outside of it, as in the case of the curvembryate orders. From this description, brief and imperfect as it is, we find there are five mo- difications of structure, as regards vegetation, forming so many distinct groups. Ist Exogens as generally understood with the wood in Zones: or concentric circles : 2d Homogens, first associated as a distinct group by Dr. Lindley: 3d Gymnogens or conifere: 4th Rhyzanths having more the structure of Fungi than perfect plants and Sth Podostemons which seem to have an anatomical structure nearly allied to alge, but which Mr Griffith has determined, from actual dissection of the seed, to be dicotyledonous. Then as regards the structure of the seed, there are exal- bumenous and two modifications of albumenous Embryos ; and a fourth where it is imperfect. The albumen, moreover, greatly varies in quantity, being sometimes yery abundant with a minute Embryo, varying thence to a large embryo and very sparing albumen. Vill All these variations are available for the purposes of classification and doubtless when thoroughly investigated, with special reference to this object, will furnish very sufficient secondary circles. The zoned angiosperms Zonagens may then perhaps be found to represent the Typical circle, the parallel or analogy of Mam- malia ; the Homogens the sub-typical, the parallel of Birds; while the Gymno- gens, the Rhyzanths ¢ Hysterogens) and Podostemons ( Protogens ) would unite to form the aberrant circle. In this case the first would represent in the Exogenous circle, and have for its analogies in the general system of plants, the Dicotyledons the 2d the Monocotyledons, the 3d the Acrobrya or ferns, the 4th Hysterophyta or Fungi, and the last the Protophyta or sea weeds. Here we have a series of apparently circular groups all based on anatomical structure and physiological peculiarities, without reference to the anatomy of the seed, except in so far as re- gards the embryo. Whether these when properly analysed will prove perfect circles is a point still to be ascertained. It isa difficult enquiry and the whole subject is far too deeply involved in obscurity for me to offer any opinion in anti- cipation, beyond the passing remark that these groups have a circular appearance and give promise that, though they may not supply all we want, yet that their thorough investigation may put us on the right path and speedily enable us to reach the long and anxiously sought for goal. Endogens have a stem increasing in thickness by additions of new matter to the centre, made up of vascular and cellular tissue, without distinction ef pith, wood, medullary rays, or bark: the cellular tissue being traversed by bundies of vessels, often, as in all the arboreous forms, Palms, the surface first becoming hard and woody or as it were crustaccous. Leaves with parallel veius connected by smaller transverse ones, usually sheathing at the base and not readily separat- ing by articulation. Flowers usually ternary, with both ealyx and corolla, but Sometimes both series so closely resembling each other in colour, size, texture, and form as to be undistinguishable ; or occasionally they are imperfect or alto- gether wanting. Seed in a pericarp. Embryo furnished with albumen or rarely exalbumenous, with one Cotyledon, or if more, alternate, (not opposite as in dico- tyledons) the radicle enclosed within the Embryo through which it bursts in ger- mination. From this general description it would appear there is a uniformity of struc- ture of both the vegetation and seed, little favourable to the formation of well defined groups. This however on closer inspection is not found to be the case: as regards the habit and vegetation of several tribes. We have for example the Lilaceous class, as understood by Redoute, including nearly all the gay flow- ering herbaceous forms. The palms. The Retose families of Lindley, represent- ing the Homogens, generally composed of climbing shrubs with homogenous wood and dicotyledonous foliage but monocotyledonous seed. The Aroideous families, and lastly the Glumaceous. How far these five groups are strengthened by variations in the conformation of seed, Iam as yet unable to say, not having | given that attention to the subject which it requires, but I apprehend when they also are closely examined, with special reference to this enquiry, that many points in confirmation of their stability will be found and, with their aid, a series of perfect circles be discovered presenting striking analogies with others referable to the exogenous circle. Until however this is effected Lindley’s very practical, I think also most natural distribution of these tribes, leaves little to be desired by the practical botanist. _ Onthe last great division of the vegetable kingdom the Acrogens or Cryp- togamic plants I have nothing to add to what I have already said. This group certainly forms the aberrant circle, and like the analogous circles in the animal kingdom is made up of three Balaller ones, each of which seems complete, though all require verification. For those wishing to acquire a deeper insight into the science of plants than these pages can possibly supply, I would particularly recommend the study of Dr. Lindley’s Elementary Botanical works which are by far the best in the English language. His recently published Vegetable Kingdom I have not yet seen, but it is very highly spoken of by two of my Correspondents who have. In its arrangement, I learn, he has considerably departed from both those referred to above, as given inhis Elements and Natural System, falling back in a great measure on the plan of Jussieu, but greatly improved. To those desirous of be- coming acquainted with the first principles, and many of the details of the cir- cular system of classification, Swainson’s volumes of Lardner’s Cyclopedia are the only easily procurable text books and are among the most interesting volumes I ever read on Natural History, NEILGHERRY PLANTS. I. RANUNCULACE. This is an extensive and beautiful family of plants, many of which, such as the Clematis, Ranunculus, Anemone and Lar kspur, rank among the most admired favourites of the flower garden and arbour. Its species abound in Extra-tropical countries, but are of such rare occurrence within the Tropics that, so far as I yet know, there are not above 12 or 14 found, truly indigenous, in the whole of the Indian peninsula, the flora of which amounts to probably not fewer than 5000 species of flowering plants, of all descriptions, or it stands in the ratio of about 1 to every 400 species found within the same limits. The paucity of Ranunculacious plants, within the Tropics, may be further shown by comparing them with the Flora of the whole world: thus, assuming that there are 600 species of Ranunculacee, and that there are 80,000 species of flowering Plants, they then stand in proportion of one to every 1335 species. According to published lists, the Indian peninsula, within an elevation of 500 feet above the sea, can only claim one species ( Naravelia Zeylanica) and that of rare occurrence within these limits. This plant, which abounds at the foot of the Hills, is an extensively climbing shrub so nearly allied to Clematis as almost to require a Botanist to distinguish them. Such being the case, it naturally follows that the next in succession should be a Clematis, and such in fact is the case, Clematis Gouriana (Nos. 1 and 2) being frequent on the table-land of Mysore and also on the eastern slopes of the Neilgherries, at an elevation of between twoand 2 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. three thousand feet. None of the other species found on these Hills, except perhaps C. Mun- ronii, which I found in the jungles below Sispara descend much below six thousand feet of actual elevation, though all occur within a few hundred feet above that limit. Continuing our ascent of the Neilgherries, the next species that presents itself is the Clematis Wightiana (No. 3) which abounds in the thickets about Kaity and along the road from thence to Ootacamund. The Anemone Wightiana, begins to show itself occasionally about Coonoor, but is no where frequent until we have nearly attained the level of Ootaca- mund, where in the pastures, especially on moist ground, it becomes most abundant, but still ascends to the highest range of the Hills. The species of Ranunculus are of rarer occur- rence, two species being generally met with in clumps of jungle, and the third ( Ranunculus reniformis) is sparingly scattered over the higher pastures on the more elevated hills and, in such situations, is well calculated to remind the European sojourner of the Butter Cups which so charmingly variegate the Hill-side pastures of our Father Land. It is also met with in swampy grounds about Ootacamund. he number of truly native species on the hills, so far as yet found, amounts only to nine or perhaps ten. Thirteen are described in our Prodromus, but three of these I have since satisfied myself are introduced, namely the Adonis (Pheasant’s eye) and two species of Delphi- nuim (Larkspur.) The remaining plant excluded from the present list is Anemone dubia which I have ascertained to be a mere variety of A. Wightiana. These nine are referable to five genera, namely, Clematis 3, Naravelia 1, Thalictrum1, Anemone 1, and Ranuncu- lus 3. Instill further proof of the extra tropical character of this family I may mention, that Dr. Royle enumerates in his Illustrations of the Himalayan Flora, no fewer than 72 species of Ranunculacee found on the Himalayas and in Cashmere. CLEMATIS. Linn. ;-( Travellers Joy—Virgin Bower.) Involucre none or resembling a calyx, and placed under the flower. Sepals 4-8, coloured, in zstivation either valvate or with their edges bent inwards. Petals none, or shorter than the sepals. Stamens numerous. Seed erect.— Perennial plants with opposite leaves, which are simple, trifoliate, or once or twice pinnate, with a terminal leaflet. Achenia several in each flower, terminated by a long tail. This is a fine genus of beautifnl climbing plants,—all the species of which seem well adapted for arbours,— and in Europe are much employed for the formation of these retreats, (hence I presume the old English names) as well on acconnt of their rich foliage as for the profusion of their flowers a feature long preserved by the beautiful silky hairs of the long feathery tail of their seed, (a rude idea of which Ihave attempted to convey in Plate No. 2), a mark which readily distinguishes this section from the rest of the family. The genus Clematis includes about 150 species which are scattered all over the world. The flowers are apetalous with petaloid sepals. Naravelia differs in having both Calyx and Corolla. aTis Gouriana ( Roxb.) climbing: 2.2) Crem aves pinnate or eaianaaes leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acu- minated, cordate at the base, 3-or obscurel e atta 8 tle the middle nom the longest, or divided into ate-lanceolate ne young branches, wit a de flat achenia, si deena t: sepals ovate, out- R pe or with a few coarse serratures : young branches side ba 5 pubescent, _ glabrous : filaments hairy.— and peduncles, and oblong a ache enia pubescent: W.and A. Prod. p. 2 ean ivoline. — W. and A. Prod species is ses frequent than the preceding, but utiful species flowers ee the cool season. _ Atthis time, Seavaty, it is in full bloom in the jungles lo seen climbing to the tops of the ysedetgh covering — with such a eg sion © white flowers as almost to that supports them. In + ee it is of Seeaeit occur- rence in the dense thickets iirounting most of the ham- lets of that 3. mavicmiixs ( Wall.) climbing : leaves eet ; leaflets not wrinkled, very villous and soft n both sides, coarsely serrated, ‘cordate at the base, pal- ‘Hill. ts is abundant pation tte: e brushwood of clumps of jungle vale on the road side above Kaity and on that ope ne Southdown round the foot of Elk oe the latter station I met ‘with it in the pom perfection. It is aun distinguished bs its soft almos an pale green leav I may here oe thet the soroaiat pe ad saad —— of too deep a green, for which, T can reely blame him as I found it ster diftenie to obtain Be proper tint, Sa jj. PAS ae C 7M ATE. Hhanurw MACE: f Ve ALM AEE \ \) \ a , Rn ae tts ‘4 7 “ ee t CIE, tmcinlits f +> K a) a 3 he . Y \ N y b ~ fa y) ta as fy { , “< i E / , a Ne ‘ A ¥ ~ ~ iy: . y , . oe Y H —\ — / 8 > . Xe AYh éi - - 4 fe J “s dey ree ‘ — ‘) oe /3 Ze > f Ss ie ed 4 le Se 0 a) > be Mungec tA, de, ff he d : 4 Dumphy Litth Cad Hd tou MATE / hoa} 7 Clernabider, ia nA ME ~ ANON i} fii Rungiah, hee Deurrptig tte Clematis Nightiana{ Mall) . Yuemonek Sanunculacece Kikt gcth, wee. hat . _Vremene Mightiand Mbit / ee é ; NEILGHERRY PLANTS. De 3 ANEMONE, Wind Flower. . Involucre 3-leaved, distant from the flower, the leaflets variously cut. Sepals 5-15, petaloid, imbricated in wstivation. Petals 0. Stamens numerous. Achenia numerous. Seed Pendulous—Herbaceous plants with a perennial root. Leaves radical, stalked, more or less cut or lobed. Scape, when branched, bearing involucres at each of its divisions. OF this genus nearly 100 species have been described in recent Botanical works. They are for the most part herbacious with perennial roots, and, generally, can be at once distinguished by their flowers having no distinct calyx, the floral leaves being all petaloid : hence it is called a petaloid calyx. By this mark as well as by habit, or general appearance, they are readily distinguished from their next neighbour in the Botanical system, Ranunculus, which has a regularly formed Calyx and Corolla. Some of them are much cultivated in gardens and under the operation of skilful horticulture have become so completely doubled, that all the stamens and pistils have been changed into petals. In this state, however monstrous in the estimation of Botanists, they are certainly most beautiful objects and deservedly great favourites in the eyes of the florist : many of them, especially the Anemone coronarta, when in that state, being variegated with the richest tints. Under such a course of treatment it appears to me, the one here figured might be made to undergo that change and become one of the most choice garden flowers to be met with on its native mountains. This change might probably be brought about by transferring roots to the rich soil of the garden and preventing them, flowering fora season or two, by the simple operation of stopping, a practice which has the effect of strengthen- ing the roots. At the end of the season when the leaves wither, they should be taken up and kept fora few weeks in a dark place, and again planted. As the roots are perennial this practice would probably in a few seasons effect the desired change, after which they can be propagated by dividing the root. For obtaining new varieties, plants are raised from seed, taken either from single or partially double flowers, and treated as above, taking up the roots when the leaves wither. 4. ANEMONE ap sina ( Wail.) clothed na Frequent in pastures about Ootacamund, but also silky hairs : viet ong petioles, tripartite ; generally distributed over the bills. Flowering in May divisions very ira be 3-clef : qe uneate, oe) y ot June. Flowers white within paris exteriorly. Dur- 3-lobed ; lobes cuneate, irregularly inciso-serrated : in- g these months it is certainly one of the greatest orna- pian leaves schaenaile, riage? appeals weearo 3-cleft ; Sete of the hills, I have n oehedie of its being applied egments linear-oblong, cu ted ; sepals 6-8, any useful purpose, though it may not be destitute of eipic-oong achenia slabrovs : wala hooked, per- - sist ities as some of them are known to possess tent.— IV. and A. Prod. p. 3 thes RANUNCULUS. Butter Cup. Crow-foot. Sepals 5, not free at the base, deciduous, imbricated in zstivation. Petals 5, rarely 10 or more, the claw fur- nished inside with a nectariferous concave little scale. Stamens and styles numerous. Achenia ovate, pointed, somewhat compressed. Seed erect—Herbaceous plants with annual or perennial roots. Leaves mostly radical ; cauline ones placed at the base of the branches and peduncles. This genus ranks very near the former in the Botanical system agreeing with it in its herbacious character, its perennial roots, the form of its flowers, and structure of its seed, but differs in having a perfect Calyx and Corolla, in place of a petaloid or corolla-like calyx, and the seed erect, not suspended in their cells as in Anemone. Like Anemones these plants frequent pastures, shady woods, and moist soils near water, and they equally, but more energetically, par- ticipate in the acrid properties of the family. Like them under proper cultivation they become double, and in that state gre, equally prized as garden ornaments. Of those found on these Hills only one, Ranunculus reniformis, seems well adapted for the garden. It grows in open pastures, has thick fleshy roots, is naturally furnished with numerous petals, about 12, a probably, treated as above would soon shew a tendency to increase the number. The us when thoroughly doubled is a fine flower, especially when richly variegated. Formerly they were in much spake repute as garden ornaments than in the present day, when gardens are stocked with such a mul- tiplicity of new tlowers brought from all parts of the world, but I almost doubt whether the lovers of fine flowers have not sustained a loss in discarding them to so great an extent as they have done from the Flower border: and I should not be surprised, ere long, to see them again taken into favour when the fashion for the large and gaudy Dahlia and such like has somewhat abated, and that for more modest, but not less beautiful, objects has resumed its place among the admirers of really fine flowers. Of this I, at all events, feel quite certain, that I have never on the Neilgherries seen a Dahlia that would bear comparison with Ranunculuses and Anemones I have seen in even second rate Cot- tager’s gardens in England. 4 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. Ranuncutus Watuiicutanus (W. and A ) is of a as foe habit, with small flo april beat-teioe. erect, seta radical leaves roundish ovate, roun ee dor in and June after the rains of the South-west somewhat cordate at the base e, c one i crenated ; lovee monsoon rad commenced. _ It is however ina at other scape-leaf oblong, toothed, narrowed at the base into a seasons, especially during rainy weather. Another species sc peer ones nearly linear pet Galion) nu- is found at the same season and so much resembling 0-13, twice as long as the patulous : this one, that, to the unpractised eyes it is not distinguish- fends of fruit globose : achenia hse , tumid, vantrcaety able, but is at once known by the seed, which, in this, dotted ; style nearly straight.— W. and ‘A. Prod. p. 4. is furnished with numerous little nubefeees in seem is This species is generally met with in moist woods, dite smooth and without asperities of any kin If. MAGNOLIACEX.—Champ, Champac.—Champany. ‘ The species of this family are for the most part large trees or shrubs, forming a re- markable contrast with those of the preceding family, and on this account apparently most unnaturally grooped almost side by side with it. And yet the ablest Botanists who have given their attention to the grooping of natural families, so as to form a series in which those most nearly associated by the structure of their flowers and fruit should stand nearest each other, have hitherto failed in discovering for it a more suitable place in the vegetable system, a fact not to be much wondered at, as in the structure of their flowers and fruit, the two families so nearly associate that, but for other circumstances, Magnolias might almost be looked upon as gigantic Arboreous Ranunculuses. The bulk of this family are natives of North America, a few only being found in Asia, and none, so far as is yet known, in Europe or Africa. Several are found in China and Japan, a few in the Himalayah range, three or four in Ceylon, and two or three on the moun- tains of the Indian peninsula. Generally they are distinguished by the fiagrance of their flowers, which has led to the introduction, and extended diffusion over India, of the Cham. pac as a sacred tree the flowers of which, when procurable, are offered by the natives at the shrines of their Idols. : The tree here represented is the only one found on the Neilgherries and there attains the size of a large timber tree the wood of which however is only used in house build- ing. Owing to its hygrometric properties it isnot adapted for other purposes as it swells and contracts, according to the moisture or dryness of the atmosphere, to an unusual extent even after long seasoning. When formerly writing on this family in my Illustrations of India Botany, | considered this distinct from the plant there figured under the name of J. Palmyensis, better acquaintance with this one, has led me to doubt the: correctness of the opinion there expressed which was mainly formed on what I now find an incorrect figure and description. MICHELIA. Linn. Carpels arranged in a lodse spike, of a consistence between leathery and fleshy, 2-valved, opening from the apex downwards. Seeds several (3-8), externally neg im rees. Leaves entire, petioled. Flowers axillary generally fragrant, usually of a yellow colour.— W. and A. Prod. p. 6, No. 1. : This genus which is the only one of the family found so far south in India consists of large trees or con- siderable shrubs and may I believe generally be met with, where abundant, in flower nearly the whole year, but on the Hills are in greatest profusion during the rainy season. The flowers are usually rather large iréaaeuite with a tinge of yellow very fragrant. Those of the Neilgherry species are nearly white. M. Ninacrraca. (Zenker) Leaves illeptic oblong A large tree found frequent : the clumps of le tapering to a mate a “both ends, glabrous ; stipules and about Ootacam d. Th : : “ tg spathes silky petals from 9 in three rows dedisia nume- the thi od djoinin ett Behe’ fe ek bene rons shorter than the column of fructification ovaries nu- of ene or two of rn merouy abou 4 Sgr yah etr nga na sche aes ‘overhanging the road. buerutntille Bann o | i ae samen ; if > of this family are also found on the hills, and the latter so generally diffused, that I have met with it in almost every clump of Jungle from about 5,000 feet of elevation up, to the top of Dodabet. The aspect of this differs somewhat according to the situations it oc- cupies ; when found in woods, where it enjoys both shelter and rich soil, it attains the size of a considerable tree with long lanceolate leaves ; in open ground it has a stunted shrubby ap- pearance with shorter somewhat obvate leaves. These differences lead Arnott and myself to consider them distinct species, which a more intimate acquaintance with all their forms in a growing state does not confirm. The plants of this family are extensively distributed, being found in Asia, Tropical America, and, more sparingly, in Africa, probably owing to the flora of the last being less known than those of the other two. They seem, however, most abundant in the Phillippine Islands. When the first volume of De Candolle’s Prodromus was published in 1824, sixty- two species only were known, since then the number has been increased to about 200, a large proportion of which are from the Phillippine Islands, but many also from Tropical - America and Brazil. The long agitated question as to the origin of green and black ‘Tea has, I believe, been at length settled by the experience of the Assam Tea Company, proving that they are the produce of the same plant differently prepared. A new question has, however, arisen, which threatens for a time to engage the attention of Botanists, namely, whether the Chinese and Assam Tea plants are the same or different species, This is a question which one might suppose could be readily answered, but judging from occasional passing remarks I have seen in scientific periodical publications, it would appear otherwise. This, however, is a point on the discussion of which, I am not prepared to enter, as it would require for its thorough investigation, not merely perfect specimens of both plants but also an aquaintance with them as seen both under cultivation and in the wild state. J udging a priori, and without these data, I should infer they were the same originally, but that, under a long course of cultivation the Chinese one has at length become so altered in appearance that it caa no longer be recognised as the same thing, much in the same way as we find the crab become the golden pippin : or, as we find the large leaves of luxuriant mulberries dwindle imto small ones under the operation of daily picking, | It is a curious fact, ascertained through the investigations of modern Chemistry, that the peculiar vegetable principle from which Tea, Coffee, Coco and. Paraguay Tea derive their nutricious properties is nearly the same in all, and characterized by the large pro- Af f : af : GOUMAMUCHUCE (SLUMS locevnincer? 4 ee aN FE — Zz /\i Ig $i? hil 7 7 YZ Ssisiandnicehchatic R. regio; del 3, Lyin gynnarthew 7 7, NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 19 portion of azote which it contains. In the Chinese and Paraguay tea, it is quite identical and has been called Theine from Thea, the Botanical name of Tea ; that of Coffee and Coco being slightly different, has been respectively called Coffeine and Theobromine, Theobroma caco being the name of the latter. These chemical investigations have further led to the dis- covery that the fatty deposits of animal bodies contain a large proportion of Azote and that azotized foot is necessary for its productien : hence it is justly inferred that these beverages are all endowed with nutritious properties to an extent far beyond what, previous to these dis- coveries, they were supposed to possess. Botanically considered, the Tea and Camellia are esteemed species of the same genus In like manner Paraguay Tea and the common Holly are species of the same genus, but chemical analysis has not discovered Theine in either Camellia or Holly, a fact that will perhaps lead Botanists to reconsider the Botanical characters of these genera before finally uniting, the former with Thea or the latter with Liz. . It is said that a species of Ewrya is used in Ceylon as tea. There are two specics of Iliz on the Hills, one, of these Jliz dentata is very nearly allied to the Liz Paraguayensis, it might, therefore, be interesting to have the leaves of both our Eurya and Jliz analysed to ascertain whether either might be used as a substitute for the Chinese leaf. CLEYERA. Calyx of 5 sepals, with 2 bracteoles at the base. Petals 5, distinct, with a broad base, alternate with the sepals : estivation imbricated. Stamens distinct, adheringto the base of the petals: anthers ad- nate, linear, dehiscing longitudinally. Style single, crowned by 2-3 stigmas. Fruit baccate, 2 3-celled. Seeds 2 in each cell, pendulous from the summit of the axis, wingless: albumen fleshy: embryo curved.— Evergreen shrubs with axillary peduncles. Flowers of a moderate size, white or yellowish.—W. and A. Prod. p. 86. Only six species of this genus are yet and Nepaul, one from Ceylon, and lastly, the one here figured from the Neilgherries: another is stated by Dr. Wallich to be a native of Nepaul, but that has not yet been described. The Ceylon one, first de- scribed in my Illustrations, seems very closely allied to one of the Japan ones, if not indeed the same. The Neilgherry one is a large tree, extensively distributed over the hills. As ornamental trees, both this and the following merit being more extensively introduced about our groundsand enclosures, and judging from its frequency, in nearly all situations on the Hills, | should suppose this ‘might easily be accomplished and prove a vast improvement, by displacing the Cassia tomentosa which is not to be compared with them in beauty. Those who may taiuk of making the attempt thus to decorate their grounds, should raise the plants from seed, as those removed from the jungle generally die, partly owing to the injury their roots sustain in transplanting, but principally through the rude exposure to which their removal from the shelter and rich moist soil of the forest subjects them, when weakened by being deprived of the greater part of the delicate fibres of their roots, which are as truly the organs of nutrition of plants as the stomach is that of animals. When transplanting is attempted, the rainy season, June and July, should be chosen, and the plants selected for removal the smallest that can be found, soas to admit of their being artificially shel- tered from the strong winds which then prevail. ‘This is a general principle in transplanting applicable to all sorts of trees and shrubs. CLEYERA GYMNANTHERA (W. & A.:) glabrous: flowers, flowering in May, June and July, and ripenio leaves cuneate-obovete, obtuse or shortly and obtuse- its fruit in February and March. It is however so ly pointed, coriaceous, entire: peduncles twice generally distributed that it is to be found in flower long as the petioles, 2-edged: brecteoles persistent : and fruit at nearly a | seasons, varying according ,10 the anthers dotted with little points on the connectivum, aspectandshelterit enjoys. Thetimber is ofa re without bristles.— W. an ro. jour, of rather close grain and ig by the natives con- large tree with bright shiniog leaveb and yellow sidered strong and durable, described, of these one is from China, two Japan, one Japan = a 90 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. GORDONIA. : Calyx of 5 rounded coriaceous outwardly-silky sepals, with semilar external deciduous bracteoles Petals 5, connected together at the base. Stamens numerous: filaments united at the base with the claws. of the petals (and hence monadelphous or somewhat 5-adelphous, according to the degree of union among the claws of the petals) : anthers ovate, oscillatory. Styles combined to the apex, crowned with a peltate 4-5 lobed stigma. Capsules 4-5-celled, 4-5-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 2-4 in each cell, attached to the central column, terminated by a leafy wing: albumen none: embryo straight radicle, oblong: cotyledons fo- liaceous, wrinkled and plated lengthwise.—Trees or shrubs, with the appearance of Camellia or Thea, Pe- duncles axillary, 1-flowered.— W. and A. Prod. p. 87. Though the number of species of this genus be small, they are widely distributed, Virginia, Carolina, Jamaica, Nepaul, Ceylon, and the Peninsula have each one or more species. They are all trees or large shrubs with handsome camellia like flowers. All the Indian species, that I have seen are trees,and the one here figured often attains a large size. Gorponia ostusa (Wall.:) leaves cuneate-oblong, A pretty large tree, widely distributed over the obtuse or with a blunt acumination, with shallow Hills, found in Jungles, on every part of them I have serratures, glabrous : peduncles short, not so long as yet visited ; flowering during the rainy season, and ri- the petioles : petals obcordate, slightly united at the peningits fruit during the months of March and or stamens somewhat pentadelphous.— W. and A. April. XIV.—OLACINES. This is a small family of trees and shrubs, but extensively distributed, as it species are found more or less abundantly in every tropical country. In regard to its relations to the other dicotyledonous families, considerable difference prevails among Botanists. Mirbel, who first established it as a distinct order, placed it among the polypelalous tribes, in the position it here occupies, near Aurantiacee. Brown had previously placed Olaz, the type of the order, as an allied genus at the end of Santalacee, but differing from true Suik talaceous plants in having both a Calyx and Corolla, and asuperior or free ovary similar to that shown in both Gomphandra and Stemonurus while that of Santalacee is inferior or adherent to the tube of the Calyx as seen in the accompanying figure of Bursinopetalum. Nearly all writers subsequent to Mirbel have followed his arrangement. Mr. Bentham in an admirable Memoir published in 1841, in the Linnean Transactions, coincides in the view taken by Mr. Brown, a view which is greatly strengthened by my new genus as well as by Alphonse De Candolle’s new genus Hyphocarpus, which has a similar structure; for myself, I now feel quite satisfied that the proper station for this order is beside Santalacee and Daphnoidee in Endlicher’s class Thymalaee ; nor do I apprehend the double floral envelope can offer any solid objection to this arrangement, since the glands in- serted on the throat of the calyxof Santalum, Daphue, Gnidia, &c., and the calyculus of Choritrum may all be adduced as instances of analogous structure, while in the much more important matter of structure of the ovary, ovyulum, and seed, the Olacinee closely associate with these orders, and have scarcely any analogy with the orders among which Mirbel and others have placed them. The same remark applies to Loranthacee which is truly a Thymaleous family, < The plants of this order, though interesting in a Botanical point of view, have little to recommend them to the favour of the amateur. Stemonrus, when in full flower, is pg nel et Pie PMVOPUMACEE, Ger OPUAL 22 4n\ /S\ Pith WW), Fungish dei’ ? vA 2 f se Gomfd andid pulymneytet 0/0 / * CLactnet! Y, g : SPOCOAMVUCCE. ps v! rTh\ h \ ,* \ \ \ fe <1 1 oo a ine SS BN x ff rN ry V AY 4465 SK / a a 4 ben,” fi Pfatidud (P.M) Shen LOTUtMMAd NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 91 somewhat ornamental at a distance but the fetor exhaled by the flowers does not encourage a closer acquaintance. Burstnepetalum is certainly avery fine tree, as seen growing in its native jungles in the humid climate of Sispara, but I am doubtful whether, if transferred to other situations, it would realize the expectations of the planter. GOMPHANDRA.— Wall. Flowers unisexual, by abortion, calyx small, not enlarging in the fruit. Petals 4 or 5 cohering at the base. Stamens all fertile as many asthe petals alternate with them; filaments clavate ; anthers innate. Ovary free, 1-celled with 2 ovules pendulous from the apex, stigma sessile, lobed. Fruit drupacious; one-seeded, embryo smallin the apex, of a copious albumen, radicle next the hilum. Large rambling shrubs, inflorescence axillary cymose, flowers numerous in the male, about 3 in the female. n the rudimentary ovary of the male, traces of two ovules are seen, and the female flowers are fur- nished with sterile stamens, the anthers of which are hairy, while those of the male are nearly glabrous. G DRA PotyMoRPHA. (R. W.) diocious flowering in March and April, and, usually, the female, glabrous, leaves petioled, membranaceous, glancous at t the same time bear ring ripe seed, showing that i t beneath, from oblong to obavate lanceolate accumi-_ is in ower on part of the year. The plant en nated: cymes axillary solitary or in pairs, aboutthe figu hes most nearly to my_ variety length of the petiol ; male, many flowered, female 2 or G. ‘aupealifuta: arts Ind. Bot. p. 103, but “ei not 3 flowered : calyx entire, minutely 4 or 5 toothed: seem quite identical. ep healed he find charac- petals 4 or 5 united below, glabrous: stamens pro- ters to distinguish it asa spec It seems athe open fruit oblong, crowned with the persistent to be an intermediate form ‘eae: that variety and stigm cortacta, differing from the latter in being pentan- drous, not tetrandro ous, but in other respects, agreeing, This large shrub is found in the dense clumps of upon the whole, better with coriacia than polymor- jungle about Coonoor, the Avalanche and elsewhere, pha. STEMONURUS.— Blume- Flowers bisexual or dicecious, by abortion, corolla 5, rarely 6, petaled mous at the base. Stamens 5, rarely 6, hypogynous ; anthers introrse two-celled. Ovary free, one-celled ; ovules 2 pendulons. Stigma obtuse. Drupe one seeded : embryo foliacious, immersed in the apex of a fleshy albumen, radicle superior. “Trees or shrubs; leaves alternate entire; flowers axillary small, spicate, cymose, or panicled The genus Stermonurus is so imperfectly known that Endlicher has placed it and the preceding, with several others, at the end of the order as “ genera ‘penitus dubea” and from some differences in the character as given by him,which,however,do not appear essential,it is not improbable our species may yet be separated to form the type of a distinct genus. Agreeing, however, as it does, in so many important particulars,with the character as drawn by the founder of the genus,I donot feel myself at liberty to constitute a new one while uuacquainted with everyother species. The other species of the genus, four in number, are all from Java, while this one seems con- fined to the Indian peninsula and Ceylon, but is apparently extensively distributed in both, as I have speci- mens from various stations of both countries. On the Neilgberries it is very abnndant and remarkable on account of the extreme carrion-like fetor of its flowers,which often _ bright sunshine indicate its proximity when the tree itself is concealed, by others, from the sight. StTemMoNvURUS -pypsimtes (R. W.) leaves elliptic here represented. From what cause, I am una able oblong acuminated, venous, pubescent beneath flow- to state, the flowers are often all males, for a long ers terminal, small : eymoe- tact ed Ste where time I had specimens of this tree in my her- clothed with short bairs: stamens glabrous: style barium before I ge ot them in sufficient perfection to about the ate of the a Overy 5 drupe auvatenn olive- enable me to make out its genus; the leaves vary shaped, purple when ripe, greatly in size, I have seen them upwards of seven elighetrien in woods, and ‘an : flowering during inches long and three broad, but the usual size is the rainy season, but may generally bemet with in tt to 6 ae about 2 broad. The flowers sa very both flower and fruit This, when growing in favourable situations, ogee ing the most uanasble aan of carrion. The frui a large umbrageous tree; the leaves are o green colour, and when young marked with vcaninget and the stone so thin and soft that it can be easily veins to an extent far beyond what the draftsman has cut with a knife 22 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. BURSINOPETALUM.—R. W. Flowers bisexual superior. Calyx 5-toothed. Petals five, furnished at the apex with an inflexe bidentate process, estivation valvate, Stamens 5, anthers Q-celled introrse. Ovary adherent, one-celled, with a single ovule pendulous from near the apex. Drupe ovoid umbilicate, one-celled, one-seeded, endocarp deeply inflexed so as nearly to divide the cell into two compartments. Embryo small, eccentric, immersed in the apex of ths fleshy albumen ; radical very long superior. A large umbrageous tree with very dark green, almost purplish foliage : leaves alternate, long petio- from two to three inches long by about one and half broad ; led, small in proportion to the tree, calyx conical, s five, ovate pointed, very coriaceous (whence h a little bidentate hook. Stamens five cordate ovate, obtuse two-celled introrse lyx and adherent, covered by a thick he size of a small plumb, ovoid, the apex- Embryo led, oblong elliptical, acuminated at both ends, glabrous coriacious. Flowers, terminal cymosely panic pahering to the ovary, limb short, cup-shaped 5-toothed : petal the name, leathery petals) each furnished within at the point wit alternate with the petals, filaments short compressed, anthers large, attached near the base. Ovary enclosed within the tube of the ca fleshy disk : style short : stigma obtuse. Fruit drupaceous, about t ed by a broad scar where the flower had separated. Putamen hard, deeply inflexed on one side. small, eccentric, immersed near the apex of a copious fleshy albumen, the radicle, very long, in proportion to the cotyledons, pointing towards the hilum or apex of the seed. This genus differs from all the rest of the order in its peculiar seed, and from each by many charac- ters. It will form with Alph. DeCandolle’s genus, Hypocarpus, anew section of the order distinguished by their inferior ovary. several weeks before the expansion of the flowers, the foliage is of a lively green colour, afterwards flowering in April and May, at the same time bearing it deepens so much as almost to acquire & purplish i ripe fruit. In February, when coming into leaf and XV.—AURANTIACEX.— ORANGE TRIBE. This is a small but beautiful family of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs, found distributed in some of its forms all over the tropics. The two plants here represented are I believe the only species found on the more elevated portions of the Neilgherries. The Lime is found abundantly in what is called the Orange valley near Kottergherry, the Orange on the slopes at a lower elevation. The fruit of both is brought to Ootacamund and sold in the Bazars and both are considered by the natives quite indigenous. Such being the case I ought probably to have distinguished them as distinct species which, apparently, they are, in place of varieties of the same -species. The latter course having, however, been adopted in our Prodromus, I thought it better when putting names to the drawings, to leave the matter as there stated, rather than create discrepancies between the two works, the more so, as each variety is so distinguished that the name may be used either specifically or to indicate a well marked variety. Further consideration has since led me to take a different view, and I now think I should have designated the two plants figured as distinct species, under their respective names, Citrus vulgaris, and C. Limetta (by mistake Limonum on the plate which I request the reader kindly to correct). With ‘regard to the first, I still feel some doubt as to its being the true C. vulgaris, as the fruit and large leaves partakemore of the character of a citron than an orange ; but, on the other hand, the leaf stalk es, AMMAN 24 y YS tO? SAD wl pe Se , (Ds A - A hn® E, a Tr Ly iy wa D ) TN . ik : “ i HEX) y ‘ ‘ste if NAN i i 2Y/ = A 4) ES, vy CRU ees Ma. . N 4 We, yr , é, % BOM Bs | 43 V- ; aS te war yi) Ms EX 4 TA aa Ws, \ VAN / q ‘ S t; ce ant rf se ms , Nw i " f PPS: IZ SH j / Z sith ] é \i t © r\ , iF a\\ i, y {2 Zs e Wa. Le 9, Vv i 4 Liiidstn petlum / adicum, BMY fi CUMPOHAMELE bt Z Ht b6 1S hed Cituid/. Paid gs, Hhefse) NEILGHERRY PLANTS, 23 of the citron is not winged, while here it is, which is considered an important character. This, therefore, seems to be an intermediate form, if not, indeed, a distinct species ; but the limits between the species of this genus are so imperfectly defined that I could not help hesitat- ing before adding to the difficulties which attend their investigation by adding one to the number, which more extended acquaintance with its forms might afterwards require me to reduce. Towards the base of the Hills several other Aurantiacious plants occur, such as Limonia, Glychosmis, Murraya &c. The beautiful and fragrant, but very evanescent flowered, Murraya paniculata is even occasionally found at an elevation of nearly 5,000 feet. Iam uncertain whether either of these species of citrus would thrive at Ootacamund, but the ©. Limetta certainly does very well when transferred to the gardens at Kottergherry and forms a most ornamental shrub. The other I have not myself met with in its native place, (the specimens from which the drawing is taken, having been brought in by a native Collector) and cannot speak of its fitness as a garden ornament. CITRUS.— Orange Lime fe. Flowers usually in aquinary proportion. Calyx urceolate, 3-5-cleft. Petals 5-8. Stamens 20-60: filaments compressed at the base, and there more or less united and polyadelphous: anthers oblong. Ovary many-celled : ovules 4-8 in each cell, one above the other in a double row, pendulous. Style terete. Stigma hemispherical. Fruit baccate, 7-9-celled : cells with several seeds, filled with a fleshy substance composed of numerous irregular pulpy bags or vesicles, which are mere cellular extensions of the sides of the carpels. — Trees or shrubs with axillary solitary spines. Leaves reduced to one terminal leaflet jointed with the apex of the petiole: petiole often winged This genus is so universally cultivated and its species so well known under the various names of Shaddock Pumplemose,Orange, Citron,Lemon and Lime,that any remarks on its habits and peculiarities seem quite unnecessary here. Cirrus vuLeAris (Iisso). Leaves pet a As above remarked, I am doubtful cee this is les or sera ama slightly wd te _petiol e or the true C. vulgaris, some points of the — is winged, flowers large white : fruit itor: algal, at variance with the figure but none o ‘aieh mpor- Fowidish or slighly elongated or depressed rind with tance = without better Cpe were for compariton vesicles of oil pulp, acid or bitte of the true C. vulgaris than I possess, I could n Ne eliphersies on abs ira ai Kottergherry and vantite: re found a distinct Saossy on these differ- Coonoor in the of t ector quite wild ences. r it sol eng ied ron aad accidentally deed: by Cirrus Limetta (Risso) leaves oval or oblong wild. Al ow, very ramous sere thorny, bush cover- often toothed : petiol more or less winged or margin- ed during the flowering seaso with a profusion of ed: flowers small white: fruit pale govt ovoid or beautiful fragrant white flowers very ornamental roundish, a i knob: rin ith coneave shrub, well deserving a place in the shrubbery, when vesicles of oil : pul tery acid or Senet: occasi- judging from what I saw at Kottirgherry, it grows onally slightly tes de Gua 4 valley, near Kotter- free gherry flowering August and September certainly XVL—HYPERICINEZ.—Torsan Trise. This is as much an extra-tropical family as the oranges are a tropical one. They abound in Europe and north America, and the Indian ones are all alpine. Five only have yet been found on the Indian peninsula, all of which are natives of the Neilgkerries : two 24 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. are natives of Mysore but I do not recollect of any below that elevation, and these only on hills there. The Hypericum Mysorense is perhaps the most common on the hills and is indeed avery showy plant. ‘The one here delineated is so very rare, that I can only refer to one station, namely, on a swampy plain, known by the grandiloquent name of “ New Eng- land” near the Devil’s Gap above Sisparah, there forming a single clump around two or three stunted trees. In Europe, the species of this genus are found inhabiting mountains and val- leys, marshes and dry plains, meadows and heaths, in short are to be met with almost every where, and always conspicuous, especially towards the beginning of autumn, by their large yellow flowers, that being the prevailing colour of the tribe. In its affinities this order is nearly allied to Guttifere so nearly indeed that many Botanists unite them and several other families into a class designated Guttifere, retaining for the old family, so called ; that of Clusiacee. The genus Xanthochymus almost unites these two families but is distiact from both, having the flowers of Hypericinee combined with the fruit and seed of Guttiferee or Clusiacee, that is, the flowers are quinary and stamens fascicled in groups as in Hypericum, while the carpels are one-seeded, and the structure of the seed the same asin Garcinia. ‘Thus the character of the flower forbids its being associated with Gar- finiee while that of the carpel and seed are equally opposed to its union with Hypericinee showing at once, that these two orders are quite distinct, and that it is equally removed from both. For these reasons I should propose that the genus Xanthochymus of Roxburgh form the type of a new order to be placed between the other two. For reasons stated in my Illustrations, vol. I. page 130—31. I still adopt the name Xanthochymus in preference to Stalagmitis, though opposed by all modera authors, Murray’s genus, as defined by him, being a hybrid, without a species to represent it, made up of a series of particularsculled from two quite distinct genera and forming, as a whole, such a com- bination as never met in any plant that ever grew. His Stalagmitis gambogioides the only species being partly Cambogia Gutta of Linneus and partly Xanthochymus ovalifolius Roxb. Which of the two is it to be taken as thé type of the genus? the one with 4 leaved calyx 4 petals and 4 lobed stigma; or the one with pentadelphous stamens and 3-seeded berries —they can’t both go together—if the former is chosen then it has an older name, being Cambogia of Linnzus : if the latter, pentadelphous stamens and three-seeded berries does not sufficiently characterize the genus, which has been long ago well defined by Roxburgh and his name generally adopted. One of these names must assuredly be suppressed and im my opinion the hybrid one, without a species to represent it, is the one to go. I. HYPERICUM— St. John’s Wort-Tutsan, Sepals 5, more or less connected at the base. Petals 5. Stamens usually very numerous. united at the base into 3-5 bundles, rarely somewhat distinct. Styles 3-5, distinct or rarely combined, persistent. Caspule unilocular or with several cells. Membranaceous, 3-5 vaived, many-seeded. Seeds roundish ; seed-coat dou- ble ; albumen none : embryo with semicylindrical cotyled Herbaceous or shrubby plants. Leaves opposite, or very rarely (in H. alternifolium, Vahl, Wall. L. n. 4806) alternate, sessile or nearly so, Flowers either 80- litary, in threes, cymose, corymbosely panicled, or umbellate, usually yellow.— W. and A. Prod, p. 99. Sty fteuceit HD iplutt net 29 GF / / f Ab Aw / Ve ( \ : \\ \) My ( — == : \\ \ eo 61), i \GA4 A Hy fituium He td hewia WAT [ff Gy. x e bexnpscat (spach NEILGHERRY PLANTS, 95 But few of the species of this genus have been admitted into the flower garden, which is the more remarkable as many of them are naturally very handsome, and might, I should suppose, be improved under proper treatment. The H. Mysorense, so common on the hills, certainly does form a very ornamental addition to the flower border, even when little care is taken of it, and uader skilful treatment might, I think, be greatly improved ; so would H. Hookerianum if it will thrive in the garden, as its flowers are much finer than those of the other, when seen to advantage, which they are not in the accompanying figure. and anastomosing ; pellucid dots round and oblong, saucer-shaped from the overlapping of the edges of black dots none : flowers (large) clustered at the ends the petals, lt isat once distinguished from H. My- of the branches : sepals roundish-obovate, obtuse,en- sorense by the form and direction of the leaves tire, without black dots: petals not dotted: stamens which are distichousin this, and decussate, or cross- very numerous: styles 5, distinct, overtopping the ing and spreading in four directions, in that, samens,shorter than the ovary : stigmas obtuse ; cap- tule 5-celled.— W. and A, Prod. p. 99. XVII.—GUTTIFERA.—Man costeen TRIBE. This is a small but very interesting family as being,that from which the Mangosteen (one of the finest fruits in the world) and the Gambage (a substance quite unique in its properties) are obtained. So far as the Indian species are concerned, it is peculiarly tropical in its habits. The Garcinia here represented is one of the least so I have yet seen, growing as it does, at an elevation of very nearly, if not fully, 6,000 feet, being found in considerable abundance in the woods about Coonoor. This family has been divided into four sections, according to characters taken from the fruit, but, tomy mind, nothing could be more unnatural than the combination as it now stands in the latest Botanical works. The two first sections are Clusiee and Monorobee ; the first more nearly associated with Hypericineae than true Guttiferae, haying polyspermous capsules! as in Hypericum, while the latter having quinary flowers and many-seeded berries, approaches Xanthochymus ; the third section Garcinie combines Garcinea with Xan- thochymus and Pentadesma, two nearly allied genera, but yet so perfectly distinct from Garer- nia, that theymight be united into a section or evenorder by themselves, as genera resembling, but not true congeners of Garcinea. Mammea, an American genus, seems to associate better ; but its leaves have pellucid points as in Hypericum, apoint of structurenot elsewhere found in this family, and therefore demanding further investigation. The fourth section, Callophyllee, is more natural, and associates with true Guééiferae in its quaternary flowers and erect ovules. The whole order, however, requires revision ; for, as now constituted, it is undistinguishable from Hypericineae and includes several genera very remotely if at all related. The two genera here figured belong respectively to the two Indian sections Garer nieae and Mesueae which with Callophylleae form together the proper types of the family, as indicated by the quaternary arrangement of their flowers. The only — so 9 as | ae learn from written characters, in which they agree with American divisions, is in having opposite shining glabrous leayes Reasoning from the same data only, written characters, I 96 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. should suppose Clusteae might, without much violence to affinities, be transferred as a sub- order to Hypericineae, and Monorobeae be associated with Xanthochymus and Pentadesma and perhaps, Platonia, to form a new order. : But leaving these discussions which are scarcely relevant to this work, I may pro- ceed to observe that the genus Garcinea for the most part consists of trees, or large shrubs, with opposite glabrous highly polished leaves, with few, usuall y nearly sessile, yellow flowers in their axils, inhabiting forests, in tracts of country enjoying a warm humid climate. Hence they naturally abound in Malabar, Ceylon, Tenasserim, the Eastern Islands &c., but are almost unknown in the Carnatic, except where, under local circumstances, the above pecu- liarties of climate are met with—about Courtallum, for example, species of Garcinea, Mesua, and Callophyllum are not unfrequent, and there the Garcinea Mangostana or true Mangos- teen has been successfully introduced. Two species of the genus Garcinea are known to pro- duce Gamboge ; most of the others yield a yellow juice, but not gamboge as it will not mix with water. The Mesuae yield very hard wood, hence the Java species has received the name of M. ferrea or Iron wood tree, and the beautiful flowered Callophyllum Inophyllum also yields a very strong timber, adapted for ship building. There may be other species turned to useful purposes, but these are the principal. GARCINIA.—Mangosteen Tribe. Petals 4, deciduous. inserted on a large fleshy 4-angled or 4‘lobed receptacle with or without an imperfect pistillum : anthers 2-celled, bursting longitudinally. Fem.—Stamens 8-30, (always ?) imper- fect : filaments distinct, or monadelphous, or 4-adelphous; the fascicles alternate with the petals, intermediate fleshy glands : anthers destitute of pollen, and usually glandular. Ovary 4-10-celled : ovules solitary ineach cell. Style very short, crowned with a large lobed peltate stigma. Fruit fleshy and juicy, indehiscent-4-10-celled, crowned with the permanent style. Seeds solitary in each cell.—Trees.—W. and A. Prod. p. 100. Flowers moneecious or dicecious. Sepals 4, persistent, without bracteoles. Mate.—Stamens numerous, short, without The species of this genus found in the Peninsula are nearly all, except the one here figured and G. conicarpa, found ou the sea coast, or but little elevated above that level. The subject of this notice 1 first found on Mr. Lascelles’ estate at Hulicul, and since then, on the banks of the river at Coonoor; in both places growing in thick jungles close by the stream, some of its roots in the water—since then I have also found it on the Malabar slopes, but at a somewhat lower elevation. Garcinia rapitta (R. W.) dicecious leaves short what triangular, covered with a thin coloured mem- etioled, obovate, obtuse: flowers axillary, nearly branous testa. sessile, aggregated in the stameniferous, solitary or A diffuse tree growing on banks of streams near Coo- three together in the fructiferous plant: stamens nu- nooralso in similar situations at Sis ah. Flowering merous, filaments united, forming a thick short andro- during the rainy months. phore without a sterile style : anthers 2-celled dehi ing appearance is allied to both G. Roxburghii and G. longitudinally : ovaryglobose 8-celled: style a thick Cambogia (the G.Kydia W. and A. Prod. not Roxb.) short fleshy body, crowned with 8 spreading star- but differs from both inthe st Je, the form, and the like persistent stigmas, enlarging with the fruit : fruit peculiar nipple-like prolongation of the fruit, whence ovate, oblong, furrowed, 8 or, by abortion 4 or 6 celled, le name. This last structure seems confined to crowned with the greatly enlarged style: seed some- this plant and to Roxburgh’s G. Ky jana, avery dis- tinct species, where it exists in a legs degree. MESUA.—ZTron-wood tree. Sepals 4, persistent, without bracteoles. Petals 4, alternate with the sepals. Stamens very nu- merous, slightly connected at the base into a fleshy ring: filaments filiform: anthers erect, 2-celled, bursting longitudinally. Ovary ovate, 2 celled: ovules 2 in each cell. Style longish: stigma peltate, Vullifewe _ f Rungiah Lee, Duorphy Zi tthe. Georiiniv fropulle! & {Ce U7 3083) CL (4 CCE ( Mp (p (OF8 Vf, a ah i es sy? (4 AT at uit SA SO WoO SSS Soh S47, ge ioe v9 SSS, R897; Ne Hi ah ¥\ | \ 7 ih es \ \ iy, “MURLAER —\as j Oy Nii NM . a y =_ h SS ( > Z zs as N , | , y i | ~ RAN DV ey y) hi MH ‘i OS J we Gem iid jj | | 4 ~ . ‘ Siunguak, del. Dutryihiy, Lith speciosa thos — Mesa NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 97 entire. Capsule ovate, acute, l-celled (by the obliteration of the dissepiment), 2-valved, 1-4-seeded. Coty- ledons distinct.—A tree, with a straight slender trunk, Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminated, upper side shining, under glaucous: midrib and the margins coloured, lateral nerves close, parallel, almost inconspicu- ous. Flowers terminal or axillary, large, white. Fruit about the size of a small apple.— W. & A. Prod. p. 104, This genus is purely Asiatic, and is limited, so far as yet known, to 5 or 6 species : figures of three of which I formerly published. They are all handsome trees with large pure white flowers. ‘The one here- figured affords a good idea of what they are, when in full flower. They are handsome growing trees with as- cending rather than spreading branches; the leaves of all quite entire, lancet-shaped,perfectly glabrous and, for the most, covered beneath with a thick coating of white bloom. In the parts of the flower they agree with, Garcinia, having 4 sepals and four petals, but differ in the ovary, whichis 2-celled with two erect ovules in each, in place of 4 or more celled with 1 ovule in each. Callophyliee forms a further descent in that organ, having a one-celled ovary with from one to four ovules, but agrees in the quaternary flowers, 4 and its multiples being constant. Notwithstanding these differences in the ovary, both these tribes seem correctly referred, as sub-orders, to Gutlifere, but taking habit into consideration they cannot be viewed as actual associates, and could not be included in one diagram, in the manner adopted by Dr. Lindlay in his School Botany,* along with true Garcinee. Mesva spsctosa (Cutsy) leaves long linear-lan- plant under the name of M. ferrea and up to the pre- ce sclate subacute : flowers shortly peduncled: petals sent time thought this distinct. A closer exa mination exunguiculate Se gp kei mature fruit, four- however leads meto doubt whether the continental seeded. Choisy, i one is different from the insular tree, the more so as This very hanigoese ist fo und on the at the original Jf. ferrea is an Eastern tree, while the slopes of the Neilgherries, 3 miles below Coon M. speciosa is from Western India. ‘The ae oe at an elevation of about 5,000 feet above “ae between the se as given a Choisy are that in MM, errea, the petals have a claw or ‘ unguis’ which is "Te not easy to distinguish the species of this wanting in thi a, and that the fruit in that is one-seed- een I formerly published afigure of the Ceylon ed, while in this four is the usual number. XVIII.—HIPPOCARTIACE, This, like the former, is for the most part a tropical family, or inhabiting the warmer countries immediately bordering the tropics. The species seem pretty equally divided between South America and Asia predominating, however, in the former. The addi- tions which have been made to the order since its publication in De Candolles’ Prodromus, have been principally Asiatic, which have materially tended to equalize the numbers for the two countries. Atthat time, 1824, the American ones excceded the Asiatic and African species by more than a half, now they are nearly equal. It is not to be supposed that a family so tropical in its habits should abound on the Neilgherries, and such experience proves, as the one figured is almost the oaly species I have found at a considerable elevation. This shrub I found at Sisparah at an elevation of, I think, about 5,000 feet, at a lower elevation two or three others are found, but these come within the tropical range. —— * This I consider one of the most ingenious and, so faras it goes, -_— aE — now extant on Botany, Andn ' ne — of oe thoroughly —— with the true working of the d fail to study that Book iis t the geometr f Botany, its Precis being, to the Botanis, of much the same value as ose ot Bach are to ie Mathematician, “The introdnetion of — to represent the essential seactinn of erders 1 look u et science, and eats hing, on a firm and satisfactory adie to the P the ipslaaiiaee of natural clasttiication; and, therefore, view the publication of this little book as the een Sc Fane ; erai this science. It has only one fault, which doubtless will be remedied in the nex diagrams being confined to the elucidation of pee — — - — a selectio has shown the way, itis to be hoped the next edi tem of tsi any will be imaged illustrated through- out, and that, ere long, we shall have a genera plantarum in which the limits of both orders and genera are so defined, doing so being so simple that it might be executed at little cost. PEs. ee this eetwnrit was — eine? the deers I BN agree Dr. Lindley haselt iat an -Itinatreted ‘dition of Dis Natural Syst of ool Botany is already published. 28 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. The principal peculiarity of this order lies in the stamens, the filaments of which are much dilated at the base and adhere by their margings, forming a cup, which incloses the ovary. This peculiarity has led to their being placed at a considerable distance from Celastrinee, though in reality very nearly related. ‘The two Indian genera are separated by three well marked points of structure. In Hippocratea the anthers open across the apex, the fruit is capsular, and the seed are winged. In Salacia the anthers open longitudinally, the fruit are baccate, and the seed wingless. ‘They also differ in habit, in the former the flowers are panicled, in the latter, fascicled in the axils of the leaves. Of the genus Salacia De Candolle described 12 species in 1824 ; between that date and 1842, 19 were added to the list, and the one here figured makes twenty, being equal to an increase of 160 per cent in twenty years. The number of new species throughout the vegetable kingdom generally, discovered in that time, certainly does not equal that average, though I believe it may with perfect safety be estimated at from 70 to 80 per cent. A most extraordinary fact, as affording a conclusive example of the very engrossing influence this most fascinating science is capable of exerting over the human mind, to have called forth such an astonishing amount of mere animal exertion, exclusive of the dangerssurmounted and privations endured by its votaries, in the prosecution of their favourite pursuit. Linneus in 1760 knew about 8,000 species, and estimated that 10,000 would comprise the flora of the world, 68 years after in 1828, Sprengel defined, in his species plantarum, 60,000, and now in 1845, descriptions of not fewer than 100,000 are scattered through our Botanical literature, and probably fully 20,000, still undescribed species, already exist in the Herbaria of Europe. At this rate, I believe, we may at a moderate computation, estimate the flora of the world at oyer 200,000 species. SALACIA, Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5, inserted between the torus and the calyx. Stamens 8, inserted on the top of the torus or between the torus and ovary : filaments flat, distinct : anthers adnate 2-celled ; lobes divaricat- ing at the base, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary 3-celled: ovules 2 or more in each cell. Style short. stigma obsoletely 3-lobed. Fruit indehiscent, fleshy, often 1-celled from abortion. Seeds solitary in each cell, wingless, covered with pulp.—Shrubs or small trees. Flowers in axillary corymbs, or more frequently, from the abortion of the common peduncle, on simple 1-flowered pedicels arising from a small axillary tubercle ; rarely (ever ?) in axillary dichotomous panicles.— W. and A. Prod. p. 104, The species of this genus are for the most part rambling shrubs with numerous small aggregated axillary flowers and several with large fruit. The seed of this species and of our S. oblonga are large, fleshy masses without any appearance of cotyledons or radicle, so that their true structure, whatever that may be,will require to be made out by causing the seed to vegetate, a method which I neglected to adopt at the time of obtaining the specimens and am now unable to state what it is, Satacia MacrosrErema (R. W.) a diffuse, rambling This — seems nearly allied tomy 8S. verrucosa shrub; =_ oblong, elliptic, acuminated, corracious, but wants the warty stems, and has a ciliated, in glabro owers numerous, fasicled, short pedi- place of pps calyx. ‘The plants, besides, when celled : : ais 5-lobed fringed with rusty coloured compared, s m quite distinct, though the differences hairs : petals ovate, obtuse, broad at the base : Ovary are not pane — in words. ‘The structure of the 3-celled with —— ovules in each: fruit anthers ee ovary amply distinguish it from m irregularly ovate, few seeded: seed ovoid conferu- multiflora; in this the anthers open longitudinally, in see: without ac Sicldenses radicle. that te ails : here the ovules are two super- les about Sisparah flowering, and at the same — ss — call there they are numerous, forming bearing fall, sone fruit i in April. NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 99 XIX.—SAPINDACEA. This is a large order, exceedingly tropical in its habits, and interesting in an econo- mical point of view from several of its species affording edible fruit, and others the well known detergent known under the name of soap-nut. The Lichi and Ramboatan are exam- ples of the former, the fruit of several species of Sapindus supply the latter. It is not, how- ever, my intention to dwell on this order, as, with one or two exceptions, all the species be- longing to it are found on the plains or lower slopes; and being, therefore, purely tropical plants, scarccly come within the scope of these remarks on alpine vegetation. One species of the family, Dodonoea viscosa, certainly does ascend to the higher levels ; but being much more abundant on the plains, and having no other peculiarity beyond its power of adaptation to different climates to reecommend it to our consideration, need not be further noticed here. It may however be remarked, in passing, that it differs from most of the other plants of the family, in having simple, not compound leaves, the predominant form in this order, and in having no corolla. The want ofa corolla is probably of less note than the other, as the flowers generally are unsymmetrical, parts being wanting or irregularly formed. The ovary is pretty constantly 3-celled, which, combined with the irregularity of the flowers, forms the _prin- ciple distinguishing character of this family. This, however, is not constant, as in the genus Schmidelia two cells is the usual number. The following character and figure of that genus will serve to illustrate these peculiarities of the order. SCHMIDELIA.—Jnss. Sepals 4, unequal. Petals 4, the fifth or superior one deficient, and its seat vacant, either naked on the inside or usually furnished with a scale above the unguis. Disk incomplete, with 4 glands opposite the petals. Stamens 8, inserted ou the receptacle, and connate round the ovary at its base. Ovary usually 2-, sometimes 3-lobed: style from between the lobes of the ovary, 2. 3-cleft, the segments recurved, longi- tudinally stigmatose on the inside. Fruit indehiscent, 1-2, or rarely 3-lobed: lobes somewhat globose, fleshy or dry, l-celled. Seeds with or without an arillus,—Trees or shrubs, usually.with trifoliate, rarely with simple, exstipulate leaves. Flowers white, small, in axillary racemes.—W. and A. Prod. P. 10 The species of this genus are generally somewhat rambling shrubs, and when growing in thickets’ elimbing among the trees and bushes often to a considerable height. When growing in open ground, they are low bushy shrubs. They resemble each other so closely that their discrimination is generally most difficult. The one here represented affords a striking example of this fact; a passing good figure of it was published by Rheede in the Hortus Malabaricus abont 150 years ago, and yet, from that time until now, his plant has never been recognized, while the figure itself has been quoted by almost every writer on Indian Plants for one or other of the recognized, species. In our Prodromus it is quoted as a synonym for S. Cobbe with the addition “ not good” which is most true, but for the plant here figured it is good. I have therefore dedicated the species to the memory of the original discoverer, feeling quite certain, at the same Ume, that it is his plant, partly from its likeness to his figure, and partly from haying found it in Malabar as Well as on the hills, 30 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. ScHMIDELIA RUEEDET (R. W.) a diffuse shrub, all stigmas, bey, or, by abortion, one lobed; lobes the young parts densely villous or tomentose : leaves vate obtuse, glabrous : cotyledons, fleshy, foliaceous they oblong, acute or acuminated, serrated, pu- fo Ided, cent above; at first shortly tomentose, afterwards Growing in thickets in hated and on the Neil- wives ban neath ; racemes a sillary, solitary or some- gherry hills. T _ ie ipl have not yet found, times paired, er longer than the leaves, branched; but presume that itis alike the rest, a red, succulent sethis hairy: calyx gla 4 sepaled, sepals bacea. This ts distignntibed He all he other species unequal, Seal pair Sriteutat petals 4 ne tales ger seen by the ramvli and under surface of the hairy with ‘4 fle shy glands at the base: ovary leaves being tomentose and by the many branched minute, style conecbed ending in two ioeeeling racemes, XX.—MILLINGTONIACEZ. This small order, consisting of a single genus and five or six species, was first esta- blished by Mr. Arnott and myself in our Prodromus of the Peninsular Flora. The species are all large trees ; and though there are but five known, they are widely distributed over India; 3 are found in Ceylon, and, proceeding northward, extend as far as Nepaul and Simla, and east- wards, to Silhet, Mergui, and Java, how much further I have yet tolearn. Of the five known species, two certainly are found on the hills in great abundance, and probably another, though I have not yet observed it, which I found on the hills in the Madura district. Both the Neilgherry ones grow at great elevations abounding about Ootacamund, and more rarely descending so low as Coonoor or Kottergherry, The natural affinities of this family associate it in many points with Sapzndace, from which indeed it seems scarcely distinct, as shown by the circumstance of 7. Arnottiana; which was described from fruit only, being by us referred to that order under the name Sapindus microcarpus, in allusion to its small fruit as compared with other Sapind? ; but, at the same time, I doubt whether, in tracing its affinities, sufficient attention has been bestow- edon the examination of its relationship to Amacardiaceae with which it most strikingly agrees in habit as well as in various points of structure. Both the hill species are large handsome trees, and, when in flower, very conspicuous, owing to the large panicles of their minute white flowers strongly contrasting with the deep green of their foliage. One curious circumstance may be noted in regard to this small genus, the occur- rence, namely, in it of simple and compound leaves. In families having both forms the simple leaved species usually have a jointed footstalks, ‘indicating that it is simple by the abortion of some of its parts ; in the simple leaved Millingtonias, no such joint exists ; hence they are truly, not apparently, simple, As there is but one genus in the order, the ordinal character is substituted for a generic one, there being no other with which to compare it to establish distinctions between them. The following, therefore, is the character of the order as well as of the genus. DVO DOD (D Tes ~< : > ¥ : wa Be OS Mfg CCOCE: ata A\ ie (ne (a 3, FS, Kez SAL INKL Re a ] b= a d 2p a me a ; : Duvryctiy, athe Schewitbhetat Ttheeedet f BM) me Milage mam i Khecede/ ae Vinglo mite CM I TRO rey —s Z) ea wick wl Ke : ¥: v Yat J RODEN, SE OL ae x! N{ , a : ON if NY wy iy Qi OY BE, Wie » RR ) oN Ry ban MEL aEE (A MIEN AY Ja te we ay a v Sey YS ‘ . ay RNY ee OER TOY Se Z CNN , hd: “i J B\ 2.4) wits of of a Cy ) Maripratk:: tel Dutrejidiegy, Fide Midlingtonid 7 tangents Hatt i NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 3] MILLINGTONIACEZX.—Rozb. Sepals 5, persistent, unequal, somewhat in a double series: wstivation imbricative. Petals 5, in- serted on the margin of the receptacle, deciduous, alternating with the sepals, of two kinds ; three outer ones orbicular, entire, with an imbricative zstivation ; two interior smaller, acutely bifid, resembling scales, Stamens 5, opposite to the petals, and slightly united tothem at the very base: three exterior sterile, op- posite to the larger petals ; two interior fertile, opposite to the bifid petals: filaments of the fertile stamens flat : anther-cells globose, dehiscing transversely, placed side by side on the inner side of the saucer-shaped connectivum. Disk flat, thin, hypogynous, free except at its point of attachment with the ovary and recep= tacle. Ovary ovate, 2-celled ; ovules 2 in each cell, superposed. Style simple, short, and thick. Stigma slightly 2-lobed. Fruit a l-celled, 1-seeded drupe; the dissepiment evanescent above, hardened and per- sistent at the base. Seed withasmall cavity onthe side, near the base. Albumen none, or extremely thin. Embryo curved: cotyledons thin, foliaceous, folded: radicle curved, pointing to the hilum.— Trees. Leaves alternate, without stipules, entire or pinnated. Inflorescence in panicles, terminal, or axillary near the extremity of the branches. Flowers small, inconspicuous, nearly sessile on very short peduncles that are arranged along the horizontal branches of the panicles.— W. and A, Prod. p. 115. beyond the mi Mrttineton1A Puncens (Wall.) leaves simple, A. Prod p 115 coriaceous, lanceolate, acute at the base, quite entire, A large tree very abundant in the woods about glabrous on both sides, nerves beneath with a rusty Ootacamund—flowering during the warm season— dle, equal to the filaments.—W. and ranchlets of the panicle aggregated : calyx with 3 bracteoles; sepals unequal, glandularly ciliat- Panicles large, terminal, flowers white, leaves thick and leathery; the branches of the panicle and the ealyx clothed with short, matted rusty coloured hair. Fruit about the size of a pea, dark brown, nearly black, ed; outer petals roundish, concave ; inner ones cleft when ripe, XXI.— AMPELIDEA.—GrapreE yINE TRIBE. In an economical point of view this is an interesting order as being that which yields the grape vine ; but this, the Vitis vinifera, is the only species belonging to the family of any real value to man. The Fox-grapes of America are used there for some pur- poses but can hardly be considered an exception to the rule, and still less can an Indian species from which, in Mysore, vinegar is sparingly prepared. In a Botanical point of view the family possesses considerable interest on account of the differences existing among Bota- nists both as regards its affinities, with other orders, and the difficulty which has been expe- rienced in finding generic characters under which to arrange its numerous speeies. It is not my intention here to dilate on either of these points, I shall therefore content myself by observing that its true affinities, as shown by uniformity of habit and struc- ture of the flowers and seed, are unquestionably with 4raliacew, and through them to Umbel- lefere, but, differing from both in the free, not adherent, ovary. The climbing habit, and especially, the mode of union of the leaves to the stem, combined with the valuate estivation of the petals and albumenons seed, all point to this relationship which is only opposed by the solitary difference of the superior ovary, or, in other words, the calyx being less developed and not adhering to the ovary. Influenced by these views, Endlesher has, in his genera Plantarum, placed this order next Araliaceae as suggested by Lindley ; DeCandole also points . 39 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. out this relationship, but being trammelled by the necessity of adhering to the artificial portion of his system, which groups families according to the more obvious structure of their flowers, had to place it among those with inferior or hypogynous flowers, though he saw that the true affinities connected it with perigenous orders. The generic characters employed to divide this family are very unsatisfactory ; and, as remarked by Mr. Brown, are hardly sufficient to supply sectional divisions. Cissus is separated from Ampelopsis, by having quaternary flowers, while 4mpelopsis has quinary, those two genera being in all other respects the same. Vitis again, which also has quinary flowers, is distinguished from Ampelopsis, partly by the habit of the plants, namely, the com- pound coriacious leaves of the latter, and partly by the dehiscence of the flowers. In Cissus and Ampelopsis they expand from the apex as in most other plants while in Vitis the petals adhere so firmly at theapex that they generally separate fromthe base and fall off as one, like an extin- guisher, so that a Vitis whose flowers by any chance open from above, becomes an .Ampelopsis” and an Ampelopsis by an opposite chance, becomesa Vitis. On these grounds, Dr. Wallich in his catalogue referred the whole there named to one genus, Vifis,a course in which we followed him in our Prodromus ; and for the same reasons, I refer the accompanying figure to the genus Vitis, adding the as a sectional name mpelopsis, on account of its quinary flowers dehiscing from the apex. Two other peninsular species are referrible tothe same section, namely, Vitis Comentosa and Vitis indica of our prodromus. VITIS. Calyx nearly entire. Petals 4-5, distinct and patent, or united at the apex, but distinct at the base, and falling offlike a calyptra. Torus elevated in the centre, and surrounding the lower part of the ovary, with which it is incorporated, girt at the base by a short ring (expansion of the torus) upon which the stamens are inserted, Ovary partly enclosed within the torus, 2-(or occasionally 3-) celled. Ovules 2 in each cell. Berry 1-2- (or occasionally 3-) celled, 1-4-seeded.—Peduncles usually changed, occasionally in whole or in part, into tendrils.— W. and A. Prod. p. 124. All the species of this genus are rambling shrubs growing among trees and bushes, and, aided by tendrils, generally ascend to the top of their supports before they begin properlyto flower. The Tendrils in this family consist of altered flower stalks, hence in the young plant they abound; when it has attained matu- rity they develop and become clust ers of flowers. In Cissus and some species of Ampelopsis they are either all tendril or wholly floriferous; in the true vine they are partly both, that is, each cluster has a tendril, which is not the case in Cissus or the accompanying Ampelopsis, though both the others abovenamed have cirriferous peduncles, Vitis (AMrgxopsis) NErcaerriensis (R.W.) are sometimes coloured = a ae crimson: those leaves coriacious, palmately trifoliolate, slightly mu- from which the draw wing was ma ae ben shes eronately dentate, middle one, broad oval acuminated, Dr lateral ones unequal sided, li Kee the ~~ one ending from the Him abide eat but w in a slender straight acumen: cymes terminal pedun- the leaflets, as well as their poi seats a an — than the leaves: flowers pentands rous, pee in having small, short peduncled, cy mes tals oe tin tion of the leaves also differs considerably ae ae wae ao ride I found at ago Soa and Nedda- at once they are distinct species. — —— wens, but at neither place have been so for:unate are drawn from compariscn of specimen as to find itin fruit. The under surface of the leaves as 2 7, yay Q/ - Ss 4 $3) f7, Ps Of? ay Vitec cas Vin poclelee 36 TA ee f i a Zz sae, MG s ( } ww etch have only found ‘Sede d Coonoor, it seems to greater part of hie: see gathered in Aug ust, and Ia _— Kot- he ou the banks dit Feed ae t high, cpr ve ry as richly flowers FP at ure This species is well adapted for sews: ae com- pound nature of the lateral petals, IMPATIENS ScaPrFLoRA (Heyne) glabrous : root tuberous: leaves radical, orbicular, on 3 sinuate- cordate, the lobes overla apping, coriaceous; under side paler, marked with ice get = u pe scape bearing a many-flowered raceme, bracteate seh alternate, sohiaty teots ask bis ea, deadet, n fruit becoming exe latera sepals ate, salt ur sometimes tumid and inflated, sometimes much elongated: petal obe d; posterior lobe small; anterior at blo projecting forward.—W, and A. Prod This ag beatiful a unuseal form of Balsa is most July till Gteieer ir ges! io September s the lower half MPATIENS MopEsTA (R. W.) leaves few, radical, Imp broadly cordate- ovate, or sub-orbicular, wae above ; — and pale shin ing glau ucous beneath: scape tracemose many flow ; fowes rs vert rather ulate ie pedicelled, from ie. wail of a small bractea: upper sepal broad obovate or suborbicular, the lateral ones narrow lanceolate or subulate bent on the upper; lower shorter than the with a short Avokte spur: d (lower petal two cleft upper entire) gh hear the y many ch : capsule glabrous ovate. (R. W. Madrus urnal. r arg woods about Pycarab, flowering July and August. Plant from 8 to 12 inches high, leaves from 1} to 2 ‘inches broad flowers from 10 to 20. Petals a Impatiens RurESceNs (Benth.:) stems erect, ranuc ‘hed, jointed, glabrous: leaves ee. -petioled, from ge and slightly cordate to obovate, sharply serrated ; upper side hispid with short phe s hairs; under glabrous and whitish, except the nerves whiclt are hairy: pedicels solitary or in pairs, about the length of the leaves, villous: posterior sepals mucha anterior saccate, without a the petals oblong, protruded, rt at havghagas one: —W.a spur : anterior lobes o much larger than the sho capsule oval, glabrous. -p. 138. requent in swampy inden and on the mr sides of small streams, roe during the rainy s son, but may be met with in flower the greater part of the year near y Sear gl here the ground is alwa ays w This species affords = of the great oat lity in the size of the. o halves of the compound petals and of asaccate poy spurred sepal, TENS INCONSFICUA (Benth.:) branched, fr i base, vtely and sl y bristle-serrated; under side pale, glaucous pes solitary = several 7 shorter than the leav es, seesegg segue sepals nearly equal to the flowers, linear ; “hogan gibbons ietthout bytes me iat glabrous, ire seeded,— WV, and A. Prod. p. 139, 36 This minute and little known species I have only found on Dodabet and on the top of the hill ee ately beyoud a enn ef fons solith of Elk Hill: Jatter station among craggy exposed rocks. It eae in November, and, on for its abundance where it pis grow, would it ideed be truly inconspicuous. This like the pre sting: is distinguished by its unequal, petals and saccate not spurred sepals. ImMpaTIENS LESCHENAULTSC (Wall.:) ew erect, gohan Faye branches ascending, alm brous : leaves alternate, short petioled, ovate Tes late, acuminated, acute at the base, glabrous, with — incurved serratures : petioles a gla ands: edicels solitary, shorter than the : lateral ibe als minute, caducous: sf sle py tapering, rather —- than the flowers, curved upwards: cap- sules seroaning. glabrous, ovate, pointed, few- mr and A. Prod. p. 1 This is one of the most common species on the Hills, being found in every thicket and in flower at all seasons. It is quite a shrub in its habit and often attains - considerable size. moist 1 have seen it tit . feet latifoil high. It is so phe mallet I. to be scarcely ies Legume” by Smee 1 characters s, but, when s g side by ne fa e readily recognized. “The Baw ing are pale nearly white ; those ro r of I, latifolia pink =e sintesides larger. IMPATIENS bs aagbacenie (R.W.) diffuse, eters at first procumbeat, rooting at the joints, afterwards ending : leaves terticelled | in fabio short sisticied, e, lanceolate, acutely serrate me of vate, acuminate, ig ~ the -_ ae 335 ovate pointed, with iform spur . er and slightly 8 ia sat the ; eke shed the length of t posterior a8 ‘Gt the petals: petals obovate, sb NEILGHERRY PLANTS. ne the upper lobes a little shorter than the larger anterior ones eben. oblong, parte sowie Aue. estern slopes of the Ne ilyhe abou miles ee a in mist phedur’; aotisingi in ists Sibi species to my friend ie peo? Esq. a a of the Ravel Botanic Gard Ceylon, who accompanied me uring ie “delightful ase in ~ course = — we found this and ma Roeper explained above—A. tion of the parts as pees od by stood by Roeper. these dhisreres the dark li a,a,a,a,a, represent hs parts respectively sepals by these aoa and the double lines b,b,b,b, % etals, these it w lan o ® oO oO or nto one found, bu aie er ful ago e. pel sire as fe present ; the upper unth being viewed py on a mn the athes course of its és analogy, a similar disposition o with, in both Zrap@olum allied tribes. And i is _ further sauenerss y the gular flowered Balsam. Ibe two are similarly m arke Py so as to show ing letters, the e parts indicated in the diagrams: the other figures require no explanation. XXII.—PITTOSPORLA. This is a small family scarcely including, so far as yet known, 100species. It may with propriety be considered extra-tropical, though many of its species are found within the tropics, since the bulk of the family is from the extra-tropical portions of New Holland, and the tropical ones only occur on the more elevated alpine regions. Three species at least, there may be more, are found on the Neilgherries ; one abounds on the Shervaroy Hills, two are found on the more elevated regions of Ceylon; while I do not recollect having once seen one on the plains or subalpine parts of India. Mr. Brown in 1814 stated that the species of Pittosporum hada very wide range in both the northern and southern hemisphere, occurring in New Holland and the islands of the southern Pacific; in the Moluccas, China, Japan, and even in ‘Madeira in the northern. Since then, the number of species has been nearly quadrupled, extending their range from Nepal southwards through India to Ceylon, the Mauritius, vane of Good Hope, and Canaries. WIZ a Ve /q y, i< < AT | lm “ G ¥ FASS iG pV ( (YIPS on\)s SS rs Se an VA CO i i : / P whe A) Sb fesporiurn teteuaspermen (Wy (604 ‘Gih / oe NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 37 In regard to the affinities of the order, Meisner has well remarked “ordo valde adhuc inserte sedis.” Brown, adverting, I presume, for I have not his paper to ascertain, to the fact that some of the species of Pittosporum had been referred to Celastrus, remarked, when indicating the order, that it is widely different from Celastrinee and Rhamnee, but did not mention its affinities. De Candolle, in adopting the family, placed it beside Polygalee which it certainly approaches through Xanthophyllum. Ach. Richard thinks it alied to Rutacee by a crowd of characters. Lindley adopts this view in the first edition of kis Natural System, but groups it Ampelideae and Olacineae in hissecond, two orders, by the way, not very closely allied to each other. Arnott, in our Prodromus, placed it next Celastrineae, an arrangement which has been adopted by both Meisner and Endlicher. This, I dare say, is as correct a view as any of the preceding, but still the relationship seems far from being near. In their flowers, Pittosporeae, judging from Pittosporum alone, seem to approach Rutaceae, while their 2-celled ovaries erect ovules and very minute embryo at the base of a copious dense horny albumen, - more nearly associcate them with Vitis: with Olax it appears to me, the relationship is remote. In regard to the properties of the order little seems to be known. One yields finely veined timber, and the fruit of another is eatable. ‘The seed of all the Pittosporums I know, are enveloped in a viscid resinous secretion exhaling a strong turpentine odour, which is also given out by the leaves when bruised. PITTOSPORUM. and forming a tube, Capsule 2-3-valved, L- Sepals 5. Petals 5, the claws approaching each other, Seeds covered with a resinous, celled, the valves bearing the placente along their middle or at their base. pulp.—Shrubs with persistent entire leaves.— W. and A. Prod. p, 153. This genus, as already stated, has, within the last 20 years, been vastly extended. In 1824, D.C. gave characters of 11 species ; in 1844, Walpers compiled a supplementary list of 41, which had been published in the interval, and, beyond doubt, there are still many unpublished species remaining to be added. One, if not two, I have inmy Hill collections, but not yet determined. Both the Ceylon ones will, I suspect, also prove distinct from the Indian ones when opportunities occar for their comparison. The one here figured is com- mon in the clumps of jungle about Ootacamund, flowering abundantly in February and March. The fruit re- quire several months to attain maturity. PrrrosPorum TEerrasPermum (W. & A,:) leaves from dry specimens. The stigma is 4, not 2-lobed, ins and the capsules are somewhat compressed. The lobes mee " > elliptic-oblong, acute, coriaceous, glabrous, margins ) slightly waved and recurved: flowers erminal of the stigma are at best so minute that a mistake rolla: petals linear: ovary hairy: style glabrous Stigmas 2-lobed: ovules 2 in each cel 1 nearly globose, scarcely compressed, 4-seeded; 81 valves thick-coriaceous.— W. and A, Prod. p. 154. i otacam: Ootacamund in clumps of jungle: a large shrub Pycarrah;at ird undescribed species 1s found at flowering in February and March. ‘he figure differs Sisparab, all of which are in flower at the same time in two points from the character which wastaken : P. Neilgherrense und and 38 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. XXIV.—CELASTRINES. This family, though including only about 250 species, has a very wide range, every quarter of the globe claiming some of them as itsown. From the equator they extend on either side far into the temperate zone, and, though frequent within the tropics, are still more abundant beyond them. Though, to this extent, an extra-tropical family, I feel yet disposed to view it as pretty equally divided, or probably even the tropical forms predomi- nate as a tropical climate prevails many degrees beyond the tropic. The extra-tropical ten- dency, however, of so large a portion of the order may perhaps account for their frequency on the Neilgherries. Here we find Turpinia, three or four species of Euonymus, 4 or 8 of Microtropis several of Celastrus and high on the slopes Pleurostylia and Eloeodendron. Since the publication of DeCandolle’s Prodromus the number of described species has been doubled. He divided the order into three tribes or sub-orders, Staphyliacee, Celastrinee and Aguifolia- cee or Ilicinew. More recent writers have elevated each of these to the rank of distinct orders. This arrangement I only partly adopt here. The distinction between Staphyliaceoe and Celastrineae rests principally on habit, the former having compound, the latter simple, leaves. Beyond that I can discover no essen- tial difference, and that, judging from analogy, seems scarcely deserving of having so higha value assigned to it. As a sectional character it is good, but scarcely amounts to an ordinal distinction, I have therefore preserved DeCandolle’s section in preference to adopting Lindley and Bartling’s order, though the latter has been taken up by Endlicher and others. Aquifoliaceae, on the other hand, have been removed from this to the following sub-class, on account of a difference in the position of the petals and stamens relatively to the ovary. In all the preceding orders these parts are said to be Hypogynous, that is, attached close under, or, as it were,’round the neck of the ovary, and not into the calyx. In this and the following they are attached to the calyx, distinct from the ovary, and hence are said to be Peri- gynous, that is placed round about (not under) the pistil. In the former, the sepals may, and sometimes do, drop leaving the corolla and stamens, in the latter that cannot happen: here , they may, and generally do, fall leaving the calyx, but the calyx cannot fall, leaving them. In the perigynous orders the calyx is moreover generally more or less tubular at the base, and lined with what is called a disk or torus to which the petals and stamens are attached. DeCandolle, availing himself of these structural differences, has grouped together all the orders in which they are found to form his sub-class of Calyciflorae, in contradistinction to the Hypogynous orders, of which he forms another sub-class under the designation of Thalami- florae. His third tribe Aguifoliaceae differs from the rest of the order in having a mono- petalous hypogynous corolla bearing the stamens: it has therefore been removed, and form- ed into a new order, under the name of Iicineae,and placed in the next sub-class distinguished by having their petals cohering, forming a Monopetalous Corolla, with an inferior attach- ment, which he has distingushed by the name of Corollifloreae. These explanations of this part of DeCandolle’s system I have deemed necessary, to show the grounds on which more recent observers have departed from the arrangement reg eat Botanist, in remoying one of his sections to forma distinct order in a different sub-class, a yp Moyle COE’ Aad Lu basteiner of y » 0 he) Us, “< he as 4 WER é ¢) al = te ; e ; PWN KS oS SS ; S Suspinia’ nepualensis Wiel) og . ADF UMMHEALE Cilia Cucnymet y Ae) ros aie ae > 4 = —— i 4 ; s Duryty i Eucnymetd C semilithidd, Will W GH, wih Runguah, del. NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 39 TURPENIA. Flowers polygamous or bisexual. Calyx 5-partite, persistent. Petals 5. Torus discoid, with a free 10-crenulated margin. Stamens 5, inserted under the margin of the disk, alternate with the petals: anthers ovate, dehiscing longitudinally. Carpels 3, follicular, at first distinct or separable, soon combining into one ovary, lower part immersed in the disk : ovules 2-8 in each ecarpel. Styles 3, separable. Stigmas patent, flat, cuneate. Fruit baccate, 3-celled {or with fewer cells by abortion), Seeds 1-3 in each cell, bony and shining, truncated at the hilum, fixed along the axis or to its apex. Albumen fleshy.— Trees or shrubs. Leavesopposite, unequally pinnated ; leaflets coriaceous, glabrous, stalked, ovate or oblong, acuminated, serrated. Flowers white, panicled: branches of the panicle alternate (in the American species) or opposite (in the Indian).— W. and A, Prod. p. 156. nly 5 species of this genus are yet known, one of which, is a native of Mexico, two inhabit Jamaica, and two India, One occurs at Newera Ellea in Ceylon, apparently distinct from, but very nearly related to, ours; both are moderate sized, very,amous trees, the leaves pinnate, with from 3 to 5 leaflets, and corymbose inflorescence. Turrinia NEPALENSIS (Wall.:) leaflets 3-5, oblong © A very common tree on the Hills, and to be foun lanceolate, acuminated, coriaceous: branches of the more or less perfectly in flower atall seasons, but in panicle opposite : styles almost quite distinct : ovules greatest perfection in ay and June. 1t seldom 3, or occasionally 2, in each cell: berry (immature) attains a considerable height ; but its branches when scarcely fleshy, marked on the outside above the ‘it has room to spread, extend on all sides forming i ainsofthe a fine head, styles), about 3-seeded: seeds pendulous: radicle superior.—W, and A. Prod .p. 156, EUONYMUS.—Spindle tree. Calyx 4-5-parted. Petals 4-5, sessile. Torus a fleshy orbicular disk. Stamens 4-5, inserted on the surface of the disk, between the margin and ovary : base of the filaments persistent, and forming glandu- lar projections on the torus: anthers with a thick connectivum at the back, opening transversely or longitu- dinally, Ovary immersed in the disk, with as many cells as petals : ovules 2 in each cell. Style short and thick, Stigmas united into one, obtuse or lobed. Capsules 4-5-celled, 4-5-valved, locuticidal. Seeds 1-2 in each cell.—Trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing by means of roots thrown out by the stems. Leaves opposite. Peduncles axillary, Flowers occasionally with a fourth or fifth part additional.—W. and A. Prod. p. 160. This is a large genus inhabiting Europe, Asia and America, and generally found in the more tem- perate regions of those tropical countries where it occurs. ‘There are now nearly 50 known species. They are not easy of discrimination, the genus being a very natural one, with astrong family likeness running through the whole. Three, probably more, are found on the Hills, namely, the one delineated, by far the most abundant; another very like, but abundantly distinct, occurring on the western slopes below Sisparah, which like this, attains the size of a tree, the third, #. Goughit, 1 have not myself found, and E. Jndia ? Evonymus crenvunatus (Wall.:) leaves elliptical, very handsome shrub, on account of its numerous obtuse, short petioled, crenulate-serrated towards ascending branches covered with abundance of bright ee : ; 6 ; 5 plant, are but little conspicuous being small and hid twice dichotomous, few-flowered : petals 5 (or ocea- by the profusion of leaves. They are of a dull pur- ple colour, and not generally se numerous as on the torus free: specimen selected for representation, In the above character of the species, the seed are said to be with- ted: capsules turbinate, 5-celled, lobed at the apex: out an arillus. This is not quite correct. _ The seed solitary in each cell ; hilumtruncate, without an arillus is present but much smaller than usual in the - p.161. ous. One of the ovules only in each cell usually This plant often attains the size of a considerable matures, the remains of the other is shown in figures tree ; but more commonly it occurs as alarge andoften 8 and 9, sometimes, however, they both ripen. AQ NEILGHERRY PLANTS. MICROTROFPIS. Calyx 5, parted imbricated, corolla 5-petaled perigynous inserted into the outer edge of an annular disk, estivation imbricated. Stamens alternate with the petals rising from the edge of the disk. Anthers introrse, dehiscing longitudinally, sometimes alternating with short epipelatous scales (squamule 5, breves, epipetalae staminibus alternates. Arn.) Ovary semi-superior 2-celled wit ependent collateral ovules in each : style short, conical : stigma obtuse, obscurely four-lobed. Capsule superior 1-celled, two-valved, but usually dehiscing on one side only. Seed solitary, rarely paired, erect : testa thin, succulent, coloured. Em- bryo, erect, enclosed in a copious firm tenacious albumen: cotyledons foliaceous : radicle cylindrical. Shrubs or trees, leaves entire opposite. exstipulate, glabrous, shining, coriaceous. Cymes axillary or from the scars‘of fallen leaves, either furnished with longish peduncles or subsessile, forming dense capitule on the older branches. Flowers small white, sepals and petals orbicular concave, very coriaceous. Fruit capsular, oval oblong pointed with the persistent base of the style; capsule corticose (resembling bark ja colour and texture) testa thin, friable, somewhat resembling semi-indurated pulp, and, in all species Ihave seen, deeply coloured: albumen tenacious, translucent, easily sectile: cotyledons, when fresh gathered, green, but not quite so deeply coloured as represented in the plates. This genus wasnamed by Dr. Wallich, but without a character, in his List of Indian plants. Lindley adopted it in his Natural System but without defining it. Dr. Meisner and Arnott having got speci- mens, both published characters quite independent of each other. Their generic characters are both goodso far as their imperfect materials enabled them to go, but both admit'of alterations. The materials in my hands being more perfect than those they had, has induced me to endeavour to render more perfect their characters, ThepartI h ibedast he testa of the seed, Roxburgh has called anarillus (‘ Semina solitaria artllo tenut succulento involuta.” Arnott from Roxb.) 1 do so from finding no other part corresponding to that organ, from its completely investing the seed, without any opening, which atrue arillus must have, and from its being distinctly vascular, showing that it cannot be merely indurated pulp. 1 have not observed in any of the Hill species the epipetalous scales mentioned by Arnott. In Arnott’s character the ovules are said to be ascending, in all the Neilgherry species the ovules are pendulous, the seed erect, and the radicle inferior. How this change of position is brought about still remains for investigation. When Dr. Arnott published his remarks on this genus, he doubted whether it belonged to this order, a point on which there cannot, I think, be any longer a doubt, even supposing the corolla gamopetalous. This it certainly is not, but polypetalous, the petals attached to a disk. This structure is most easily made out in the unopened flower bud. : Microrropis microcarpa (R. W.) an erect shrub : February and March, but may generally be found in leaves opposite ovate, mucronate, entire, glabrous, flower at other seasons. shining above, glaucous beneath: petals obovate cuni- In their outline th ex, cymes i shorter than the leaves, capsule subcylindrical slightly attenuated at the base, pointed, testa of arusty brown ‘These two are very nearly allied species but, 1 think, q colour. Kottergherry, in dry jungles, flowering July and August, at the same time bearing clusters of ripe seed. MicroTropis RamirtoraA (R. W.) a moderate sized The shrubs from which the specimens were taken tree: leaves subsessile, slightly cordate at the base feet high, branches, ascending leaves i guste from 12 to 15 lines long, 4 to 6 broad. The coriaceous : flower subsessile, aggregated in dense an open flower, figure 2 was opened artificially. No.1 obovate: fruit oblong obtuse: testa of a redish saan the unopened corolla after the removal of the orange colour calyx. 8 v Microtropis ovatiroria (R, W.) a large some- The leaves are from two to three inches long by about what diffusely ramous shrub: leaves oval, rounded 2 broad, exceedingly hard and coriaceous. hen in both ends: cymes axillary, trichotomous shorter than the leaves: petals orbicular, fruit oblong oval, covered with flow obtuse, testa crimson. Ootacamund, frequent in moist woods, flowering in hills, two referrible to ramiflorous division, another, or perhaps, two, to the cymose, a 2 2 tee ss eC Ze pee ; Zs CE. PP et 4 CO Cr Calatrs LUTRY THER Celiaatrvnew’ 4] hy) 4 PNAS Ae lx Sr nA <5 oe a > eee IS Ki x “ y y 3 , . < m = \' VM. LOTS OS : —— a ae t Mecrotrofi oval folia { 4 WS) Cucnymek (Ati Utnecce: ae 48 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 41 XXV.—RHAMNEZ. This is a family of considerable extent as regards the number of species and is very widely distributed over the world. De Candolle, in 1825, defined 230 species ; and, if the increase has been in the same ratio as Céelastrineae, we may with safety assume that it now includes 400 known species. Though most abundant in the lower latitudes of the temperate zones, it yet extends to near there extreme limits in both hemispheres but has not been found beyond. Within the tropics they are also numerous. ‘This being, however, upon the whole,a more decidedly extra-tropical than Tropical family, it seems rather curious that so few species are found on the higher ranges of the Neilgherries. Ican only at this time recollect three decidedly mountain species, two of Rhamnus and one of Scuttia the latter still undescribed and which I should have introduced here had I sooner become acquainted with it. This family was formerly combined with C¢lastrineae but is readily distin- guished by the form and position of the petals. Here they are small, scale-like, and placed immediately behind the stamens, not alternate with them as in Celastrineae. This is a character of greater value than might at first sight be supposed as it indicates that one series or row of stamens has been suppressed. Ina regularly formed flower each series of parts is alternate with the one behind ; hence, the petals are alternate with the sepals, the first row stamens with the petals, but opposite the sepals, the second row alternate with the sepals but opposite the petals. If the stamens are equal in number with the petals, and opposite to them ; it indicates that the first row, which would have been alternate, is suppressed. This then, is the principal distinguishing mark between Rhamneae and Celastrineae, which are in other respects nearly related. The affinities of these two orders are not by any means clear to me. That they are very nearly related to each other is certain : that they are nearly related to Terebinthaceae seems also certain. Lindley has, moreover, long insisted on the neaz relationship existing between them and Euphorbiaceae. That this order is related especially to Rhamneae is unquestionable, whether so closely as to entitle Euphorbiaceae to be placed between Rhamneae and Celastrineae is, to my mind, questionable ; though, to be sure, it is small mat- ter which is first or last so long as really nearly related orders are brought together and formed into family groups in the manner attempted by Lindley in his alliances, and by Endlicher in his clapis. In its economical relations this is, perhaps, a more important order than e sive ing, though its properties are of very mixed and anomalous pene = arth Rhamnes catharticus are a violently cathartic and under the name of ie thorn aos merly employed a good deal in medicine. The juice of them Se 4 slate oa occasionally so employed. ‘The same juice mixed with a little alum an : oe ats proper consistence affords the colour called sap green. As a scoot to epee Boe the Jujube tree Zizyphus Jujuba, is edible, so also are a * sem 8 he pick dulcis a Chinese plant of this family, while the leaves — pes Such anoma- plant of the order, are used by the poorer classes there as a substitute ior tea. lies in so natural a family are of rare occurrence. 42 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. RHA MNUS.— Buckthorn, Calyx urceolate, 4-5-cleft. Petals wanting; or 4-5, either nearly flat, or slightly convolute and emarginate at the apex. Stamens with ovate 2-celled anthers. Torus thin, lining the tube of the calyx. Ovary free from the calyx and not immersed in the torus, 2-3-4-celled. Styles 2-4, more or less, connected or distinct. Fruit fleshy, containing 2-4 indebiscent cartilaginous nuts ; one of them occasionally abortive. —Shrubs or small trees. Leaves alternate or rarely opposite, stipuled, short-stalked, feather-nerved.— W. and A. Prod. p. 164, Only two species of this genus are known in Southern India both of which occur in considerable abundance on the hills, but more especially R. Wightit, which is very abundant in the thickets about Ootaca- mund. In appearance it does not agree well with the one here represented, and perbaps it may be doubted whether it ought to be looked upon as a true Rhamnus : but while my acquaintance with this genus is so limited I cannot venture to separate it. The other is 1 think a genuine Rhamnug and very nearly related to the original species R. Catharticus. RuamNnous arrsuta. (W.& A.:) young branches pu- ous from the persistent lower half: fruit 2-celled : brous with a i bescent, spinescent; older ones glabro seeds plano-convex, witha deep furrow at the base white cuticle: leaves opposite or alternate, ovate, or on the outer convex side.— WW. and A. Pro p. 165. oblong lanceolate, with a short sudden acumination, A considerable shrub rather extensively distributed serrulate branaceous, nearly glabrous above, on the Hills, but not so common on the higher ranges beneath hairy, perticularly on the nerves and veins; aslower dow ‘he specimen delineated suppli pedicels from the base of the young shoots, 3-6 to- somewhat flattering likeness as it usually presents a gether, pubescent, as long as the petiole: calyx 4- rather scraggy appearance, It is to be met with ina cleft: petals obovate, obtuse, entire, flat: ovary flower at almost all seasons, but is not so free asthe 2-3 celled : styles 2-3, connected to the middle, then other in bearing fruit. a GOUANIA, Calyx 5-cleft; segments spreading. Petals 5, convolute or cucullate. Stamens 5, enclosed within the petals: anthers ovate, 2-celled. Disk concave or flattish, 5-angled, the angles opposite to the petals? the sides usually produced opposite to the calycine-segment, and forming a stellate disk, the accessory angles being either entire or 2-horned or truncated. Ovary connate with the bottom of the tube of the calyx, covered over by the disk, 3-celled. Style 3-fid. Fruit inferior, with 3 angles or keels or wings, consisting of 3 separable dry coriaceous compressed indehiscent carpels (mericarps), which are attached to acentral tri- partite filiform receptacle.— Usually climbing shrubs, with the branches often, from abortion, converted into tendrils, Leaves stipulated, alternate, feather-nerved, somewhat 3-nervad at the base fram the lower nerves being largest and arched. Flowers usually fascicled on leafless branches, forming interrupted spikes or ca- cemes, rarely umbellate or racemose in the axils of the upper leaves, Fruit, asin the Umbellifere, but con- sisting of 3 instead of 2 mericarps. ; This genus partakes much more of the tropial character than the other and is only found onthe lower slopes. The specimen figured was gathered some distance below Coonoor. Only one other species is found in Southern India. They are both rambling scandent shrubs, clinging by means of their tendrils to others among which they grow.— W. and A. Prod. p.166. Govania teprostacaya (D. C.:) branches glab- two-horned apex: fruit glabrous, shortly winged,— rous : Jeaves ovate, acuminated, slightly cordate at the -and A. Prod. p. 166. : coarsely crenate-serrated, glabrous: racemes An extensively straggling climbing shrub, found in interrupted, axillary or in terminal panicles, elongat- great abundance along the road between Burliar and ed, when young, pubescent, afterwards glabrous: Coonoor, flowering towardsthe end of the year aa flowers on very short pedicels, polygamous: disk maturing its fruit during the hot season. e for- glabrous, stellate ; accessory angles part ly adnate to merly supposed this species confined to the Northern the calycine lobes, free and acuminated towards the parts of Peninsula, a point on which, it now appears we were mistaken, ~ ~ = <= GU : ae hay’ i wes. Nr NY f Pe PA \ SRO wy Lifpilionacen Zegume WOME’ Sophos Sf ¢ Fe: the Me Yas WH / Nj tt a a Sa i ie ‘. fi ape ay S &> Vd bit Carlile / Graham) ». on - STR 7 o a Seg WUMORE Samar ae A ae bonne. / AY =i 7 Vad VA LOOWACELE’. cZ i ; Soy ee tf Sol ece’ v.42) B conphiy Le wee, Rang — — % Dee cake’ cet. : a ree > Roa aS ; : C4i/. fd fs fly « ae De (i q 4) al NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 45 only one I have seen on the Hills, but Captain Munro found asecond with red seed apparently S. heptaphylla which he discovered in jungles below Nedawuttem. DeCandolle places the tribe Sophoree at the head of his arrangement, Endlicher, I think with advantage removes it toa station more advanced, placing it next Casalpinee to which they approach through their free stamens, thus forming a connecting link between the Curvembrie and Rectembriz, having the Papilioraceous Corolla of the former, and the free stamens of the latter, the radicle being, moreover, less distinctly curved than in the true Papilionacee and sometimes even straight. SopHora GLauca (Lesch.) shrubby: leaflets pubiscence. Leaves unequally pinnate, leaflet about 12 19-23, elliptical, mucronate, upper side glaucous and pairs, ovate oblong, mucronate, glaucous above: race- velvety, under villous: racemes terminal, crowded.— mes erect, man flowered, each flower furnished with a . and A. Prod. p. 179. This is an abundant and very handsome shrub in half the length of the petals. Vexillum shorter than the flower at all seasons. Itis met with in every wood wings, emarginate, retuse. Legumes tor j and also in the hedge rows and thickets about the form. Seed oval polished hard, radicle inferior nearly houses. It is an erect growing ramous plant rising straight. to the height of from 8 to 12 feet, particularly con- — This very ornamental shrub merits a place in every Spicuous by its numerous long erect racemes of pale garden and shrubbery as with a little care in pruning purple flowers. The young branches, leaf—stalks and it might be much improved in appearance, under surface of the leaves clothed with soft velvety : CROTALARIA. Calyx 5-lobed, somewhat 2-lipped; the upper lip 2-, the lower 3-cleft. Corolla: vexillum large, cordate, with scales or callosities at the base : keel falcate, usually tapering to a point, more rarely obtuse. Filaments all united ; sheath usually cleft in its upper part. Legumes turgid: valves ventricose, inflated. Seeds com- pressed, reniform, usually several.—Herbaceous or shrubby plants. Stipules and bracteas sometimes minute or wanting, sometimes large. Leaves simple or palmately compound, with 3-5-7 leaflets. Flowers usually yellow.—W. and A. Prod. p. 180. This is a most extensive genus, in the papilionaceous tribe second only to Astragalus in the number of its Species which now amount to about 250. ey are generally large flowered showy plants, with very few exceptions, of tropical or subtropical origin and for the most part natives of Asia and America. In habit they are shrubby or herbaceous many of the latter very small. Though the species are thus numerous, yet they are upon the whole of easy discrimination owing to the numerous well marked groups into which they can be classed. Very few of the species are in an economical point of view useful toman. The genus being prin- cipally of tropical origin but few are found on the Hills, but those that do occur are usually among the most handsome that are met with in this part of India, CroraLarta Barsata (Graham:) herbaceous, leaves cuneate, obovate, obtuse, glabrous on the upper erect, densely clothed with dark brown hairs: stipules side, villous beneath: ‘bracteas lanceolate, acuminat-. inute, pi ] blong-lanceolate,blunt- ed, lower ones without flowers: flowers i nse ish; racemes terminal, elongated: flowers few, dis- raceme at the extremities of the bracteated elongated tant: calyx a little shorter than the corolla, deeply branches: bracteoles setaceous, on the middle of the 5-cleft, very hairy ; segments slightly falcate: legume pedicels : calyx villous; legume oblong, broader up- glabrous, stalked, 2-3 times the length of the calyx, wards, glabrous, about 4 times the length of the calyx, obovoid : apex of the style and stigma woolly.—W. and many-seeded.—W. and A. Prod. p. 136 rod. p. 181 ee A. Prod. ‘ is fine species is not uncommon in the woods on the sides igher hills. It is very abundant about Ootacamund in moist soil near streams, &c. It along the Kaity road flowering in great perfection in attains a considerable size and is easil recognized by February and March but is not confined to these the unusual hairiness of all the young parts and its months. It is well named sa” i large conspicuous blossoms. When growing among beautiful species. It is a small erect shrubby plant . e height of 10 or 12 feet but this is not common. It vourable situations occasionally as high as 5 feet each turns black in drying and in the herbarium is a course branch terminated as here shown, by a rich compact shaggy looking plant, a glance at the dissected seed cluster of pale yellow flowers streaked with brown. fig. 10 will explain the nature of a curved radicle. The upper surface of the leaves is of a deep pea green raham!:) erect, branch- the under whitish from a dense covering of white hairs. ed, all over villous except the upper side of the leaves: | CRroraLarta WALLICHIANA (W. and A.:) her- stems terete: stipules minute, setaceous, reflexed: baceous, erect, much branched, young branches irre- 46 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. gularly and rather bluntly angled, with the racemes This species abounds in the woods and thickets and under side of the leaves densely pubescent : sti- of Ootacamund but is by no means confined to them. ules lunate, transverse, recurved : leaves oval la- It prefers rich moist soil and seeks support fi e Sodan above, ke th with rather prominent surrounding trees nd bus such situations it rve 8 inal and leaf-opposed, many- isn mon occurrence to see it attain the heig flowered: bra subulate, reflexed, small: pedi- of from 10 to 15 feet t is in flower at all seasons he ¢ minute, setaceous, about the middle of the pedicel: with the number and brilliancy of its blossoms. In calyx smaller than the corolla, densely pubescent; its characters and general appearance it approaches, legume clavate-oblong, stalked, softly pubescent, perhaps, too nearly to C. semperflorens, from which it p. 187. ; appears hardly distinct, INDIGOFERA—INDIGO FAMILY. Calyx 5-cleft ; segments acute. Vexillum roundish, emarginate : keel furnished with a subulate spur on both sides, at length often bending back elastically. Stamens diadelphous (9 and1). Style filiform, glabrous. Legume continuous, one or more seeded, 2-valved. Seeds usually truncated, separated by cellular. spurious partitions.—Herbaceous or shrubby. Stipules small, free from the petiole. Peduncles axillary. Flowers racemose, purple, blue, or white; many of the upper ones of each raceme frequently becoming abortive, Leaves various, usually unequally pinnated or digitate : hairs, either all or some of them, adpressed and attached by their middle.—W. and A. Prod. p. 198. This, like the preceding, is a numerous and polymorphous, but, upon the whole, natural genus, though characterized by a single point of structure, the peculiar spur on the keel petals, well shown in the dissected flower of I. pedicellata. They are further distinguished by a peculiarity of their hairs which is, I believe about equally invariable throughout the genus, that, namely, of being attached by the middle and having two free ends in place of one, the usual form. This peculiarity however is not limited to this genus. The genus includes about 200 species, some of them large shrubs, as for example I. pulchella and many minute herbs almost inconspicuous when nestling among the grass where they grow. Many of them have little short or round pods with one or two seeds, while others again have as many as twenty. The Indigofere are mostly of tropical or subtropical origin, hence very few are found on the more elevated ranges on these hills, though lower down they are sufficiently numerous, INDIGOFERA PULCHELLA (W.and A. Prod.) large shrub, varying from four to as many as 8 feet in erect shrub or small tree, young parts usually whitish height and when in full flower, which it is in February, with short adpressed hairs ; branches angled: leaves is a beautiful object as the figure will show. It is to pinnated ; leaflets 8-10 pairs, obovate or broad el- be met with in flower nearly ali the year. liptic, emarginate, mucronate; racemes about the INDIGOFERA PEDICELLATA (W. & A.:) suffruti- : 3 from the axils of the leaves and from the former years’ short adpressed nish hairs; older parts terete leafl ches : flowe ge, at first crowded, young parts compressed, thickly cov rown t s more d yx-segments short and be acute ; peta! lus and resembling a bilabiate corolla: legumes scat- mixed on the under sides with glands: racemes al- tered along the rachis, slightly deflexed, nearly cylin- most sessile, somewhat ¢ i cal, thick, straight, sharp-pointed, 10-12 seeded; of the leaves: pedicels slender, drooping, 2-3, longer — callous, thick.—W. and A. prod, p, than the ‘calyx: calyx deeply 7-cleft (segments linear This very bea ds a onoor and acute), and with the vexillum and keel hirsute and quite ornamenting the brush wood by the road side glanduliferous.—W. and A for nearly tw is i Judging from a specimen so name in my collection It is found in all the pastures about Ootacamund, with which I have compared it, this plant seems nearly spreading on all sides among the grass, bet only ren- if not quite identical with Roxburgh’s I. elliptica but dered conspicuous by its clusters of bright crimson oes not differ sufficiently from his pulchella to admit flowers which raise themselves he herbage of my considering it distinct. About Coonoor it isa which usually conceals the rest of the plant, bt i) we * IS Sore PIROKCE.. LCPRMT fl Ai fitltoree VCE o it mt ep me ey ania maee 4. C nilegifert fuditielld / Legivrnenoee’ (4 3 <4 om jj ungrahy del’ mn Ladegypra’ frediccliate’ FY these o,f Cu yf? afutionacee Lei nt PLODHE Sedu be S 7 “d WE i : VF v7 eS ee 4 mm: ~ a “= law eS i Pe f ae Ber mnodiwrn jutfpent?d ( P @/ an 2 2 ite / D "24 = io, ee : : ; ier atl Uta SL EGU MOS A Mey 58 D urnphy Lith EE gk ST ah . NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 47 » DESMODIUM. Calyx with two usually caducous bracteoles at its base, cleft to the middle into two lips; upper lip 2-cleft ; lower 3-partite. Corolla papilionaceous, inserted into the base of the calyx: vexillum roundish : keel obtuse, but not truncated. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1), or monadelphous from the base to the middle and usually diadelphous upwards: filaments somewhat persistent. Ovary with several ovules. Style filiform. Stigma capitate. gume compressed, composed of several joints: joints 1-seeded, separating at maturity.—Herba- ceous or suffrutescent plants or small trees. Leaves either pinnately trifoliolate, or simple by the abortion of the lateral leaflets. Partial stipules 2 at the base of the terminal leaflet, solitary at the base of the lateral ones. Flowers usually racemose, sometimes umbelled, sometimes on simple peduncles, axillary or more usually ter- minal. Flowers purplish, blue, or white.—W. and A. Prod. p. 223. This, like both the preceding, is a genus et in species inhabiting the tropics and warmer parts of Asia, Africa, America and Australia. The number of its species, already described, exceeds 150 and are as varied in the forms they present as those of sila of the preceding. They, in common with the rest of the tribe, are distinguished by theit peculiar jointed legume or lomentum, as that kind of pod is designated. They are herbaceous or shrubby in their habit and are very variable in their forms and the situations in which they are found, but notwithstanding this tendency to assume different forms, the genus seems upon the whole a na- tural one, as it has scarcely undergone, in the hands of subsequent writers, any alterations since its first publi- cation in DeCandolle’s Prodromus, though in the mean time half as many more species have been added to it as he described. It is principally of tropical origin and, though there are about 20 Peninsular species, only two or three are found on the hills, and these not on the higher levels. Neither of the two here delineat- ed are found so high as Ootacamund but both occur at Coonoor and D. strangulatum in woods about Pycarah and elsewhere about the same level. (od DesmopiumM RuFEsScENS (DC. :) shrubby : branch- DESMODIUM STRANGULATUM (W, and herba- es, racemes, bracteas, Seliecls. stipules, petioles, and ceous, erect?: b hes hairy, 3-angled, nerves of the leaves J catatie den swith ngles obtuse: leaves 3-foliolate long petioled : le yellowish- bien tom leaves trifoliolate ; leaflets pubescent on both sides, lateral ones obliquely ovaté, é ob oval, obtuse with a Tong bristle ; upper side glabrous; terminal one rhomboid : stipules scariose, oblong-lan- under densely clothed except the nerves pie aa ages ceolate, concave, glabrous: racemes hairy, axillary and silky white hairs, e ore when young : sis ‘es - terminal, panicled, at first oblong and imbricated with d ucous: racemes axillary and terminal, m , ie arge oO oblon ng concave hairy side pi pa lt be- ed; pra as ovate, tapering to a long gabulsts nacials coming very long and lax, few-flow owers 2-3 before expansion densely imbricated, oo caducous: together, on ake filiform peda: ees campanu- vexillam large, obcordate: ale as long as the broad late, bilabiate; upper lip emarginate, under deeply keel: legum @ pubescent, about 7-jointed, straight on cleft: vexillum obovate; ale shorter than the keel: the one suture, Papp into the middle on the other.— stamens monadelphous from set ase to the middle, and A. Prod. p. 228. diadélphons towards the apex: ovary stipitate, about This is about the handsomest of the Indian species. 4-ovuled: legume 2-3 jointed (ocestonally ~" abor- It is a low shrub between two and three feet high, tion 1 jointed), eg Dig on ted on uture be- ce in moist soil among brushwood and by road- tween the joints, ev poe hispid! ly pubes- cent; joints semi- oblong, iaty equal on both ends. The ecimen delineated was igre on the road- —W. and A. Prod. p. 228. side a little below Coonoor. It rally to be met A slender, erect growing, herbaceous plant a native with in oer but in _ ereatest perfection ih = the of shady woods in moist ic soil. The v very unusual Tainy season. It is a subalpine species met colour of i a flowers, deep orange, renders it a conspi- with on we plains though I have very koa “Seta cuous object in such situations. That, combined with it in alpine jungles both on the continent and in Cey- the deep divisions of its pod, readily “Witiagaiahes it lon. from tlre rest of the genus. ~ SMITHIA. Calyx scariose, with two bracteoles at its base, bipartite: segments entire or slightly cleft. Corolla papi- lionaceous, inserted into the bottom of the calyx: keel cleft from the base to near theapex. Stamens 10, equally monadelphous (5 and 5). Legume 4-6-jointed, folded up within the calyx, very much contracted between the Joints: joints 1-seeded, orbicular: sinus rounded.—Procumbent herbaceous plants with abruptly pinnated 48 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. leaves. Leaflets few, ciliated with adpressed bristles. Stipules semisagittate. Racemes axillary, few-flowered. Corolla yellow.—W. and A. Prod. p. 220. This is a small genus but as regards the discrimination of the species a most difficult one. There were origi- nally but two species, the number has been since much increased and must, I believe, from among the various forms met with on the Hills be still further augmented by probably as many as two or three species. This how- ever is a point not easily determined, for I think I have never met with a genus in which it is so difficult to find characters by which to discriminate the species, even in cases where to all appearance they are quite distinct. Indeed in the present instance I feel almost quite certain that the elements of two Species are to be found i the accompanying plate. The figure of the plant and dissections of the flower are taken from one specimen, and the figure showing the pod from another. The calyx which accompanies the pod is glandular and hairy within, that belonging to the specimen delineated is glabrous and eglandular, but the plants seemed the same. There are only six known and distinguished species of this genus, 5 of which are Indian and four of these I sus- pect natives of the Hills, namely, S. sensitiva, racemosa, blanda, and paniculata. Through the kindness of Mr. Law of Bombay I have other two, namely S. geminiflora? remarkable for bearing purple flowers and a new species which I propose dedicating to the discoverer, SMITHIA BLANDA (Wall) suffruticose, diffuse, every In the accompanying figures, No. 3 showing a mag- of the leaves ere, excep pper surface f and nified view of the bracts, calyx and stamens, is from a corolla, hairy: leaves abruptly pinnate 3 paired ; leaf- flower pi specimen represented. No. 6 lets linear, elliptic, obtuse, mucrenat ous above, showing the calyx and pod belongs to apparently another a congested towards the apex: calyx 2-lipped, upper lip pod of the genus, partly to indicate a specific distinction, bifid, under 3-cleft; without pellucid glands or dots. the one being perforated with transparent glands which R. W. MSS. _ ; are wanting im the other. The glandular one is pro- Pycarah in moist swampy soil flowering in July. A bably S. racemosa but of this I am uncertain, as I r of S. : : ¥ low growing diffuse plant, leaves abruptly pinnate, have not authentic specimens of either it o 3-paired: leaflets about half aa inch long and half as blanda for examination, and the character under con- broad, linear elliptic, rounded at the apex, mucronate, sideration is not indicated in the published definition under surface hairy, glabrous above, flowers yellow. of either species. FLEMINGIA, Calyx ebracteolate at the base, acutely 5-cleft; the four upper segments about equal, the lower one usually much longer. Corolla papilionaceous : vexillum without callosities 3 the spurs inflexed at the margin: keel falcate. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1). Ovary 2-ovuled, Style glabrous. Legume sessile, oval, turgid, 2-seeded, without a partition between the seeds. Seeds nearly globose ; hilum small ; carunculus inconspi- cuous or wanting.—Shrubby or suffrutescent. Stipules scariose, lanceolate ; sometimes very large, usually deciduous. Leaves petioled, digitately trifoliolate or simple; under side usually dotted with small glands ; the nerves prominent, parallel, long and simple. Partial stipules wanting. Racemes axillary, solitary or aggregate, sometimes panicled. Flowers several together. Legumes more or less pubescent.—W. and A. Prod. p. 241. This genus, founded by Roxburgh in honor of his friend Dr. Fleming is pre-eminently an Indian one, none of its species having, so far as Tam aware, been found except in India and the countries adjoining. I have specimens of some of its species from Maulmain and Ceylon, but it seems not improbable they extend to Ma- lacca and far Eastward. All the species except the ore here represented are erect growing plants usually with long erect racemes of flowers. The one figured differs, therefore, so widely in habit from the rest of the species, that I had some difficulty in persuading myself that it really belonged to the genus. Owing, apparently, to some of the species having at first been referred to the genus Hedyserum, DeCan- dolle placed it in his tribe Hedysaree to which it clearly does not belong. It is now, though somewhat at variance with its usual twining habit, referred to the tribe Phaseolee, Several species besides the present are natives of the Hills, especially towards the Koonda range. FLEMINGIA PRocuMBENSs (R. W.) herbaceous, dif- the veins, beneath: uncles longer than the leaves : fuse, procumbent, hairy : leaves palmately trifoliolate; flowers capitate : PR steric 5-cleft, divisions linear, middle leaflet obovate, lateral ones ovate, slightly un- ceolate, acute, a f the corolla: ovary equal at the base, hairy above, nearly glabrous, except 2-seeded: stigma capitate hairy ; legume shorter than 55 Vapleonace Legewminese Heel YAP LE Sg ——_—_—— ¥ iN ae \ tis Durryhsy, Dthe » y “Y ALL, se = ie 3 hh lal OS Tie mali [Nes bi ‘es a Sap need LS YE io 74 TS aS Rupegehe, del -: Age na : ' y : — LMemungia frrcovidanlered Vid sneaked ne NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 49 the calyx usually, by abortion, one-seeded: seed tending from 12 to 18 inches from the root, leaves oval. about an inch long and 8 lines broad, under the sur- Pycarah in pastures, frequent. A very diffuse plant face sprinkled with minute garnet coloured glandular lying flat on the ground and spreading all round, ex- points, flowers dark dull purple. XXVII.—ROSACE—ROSE TRIBE. This in comparison with the preceding is a small family but contributes fully as much, or perhaps more, to the luxuries of life, though less to the wants of mankind than its more bulky neighbour. To this we are indebted for a large proportion of the finest European fruits such as apples, pears, quinces, medlars, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, straw- berries, raspberries, and blackberries, and many more of inferior note. Here also we find as ornaments the charming rose, the fragrant May, the elegant Service and Mountain Ash trees while our flower borders are ornamented with the varied Potentillas, Dryases, Meadow- sweets &c. In this again we have one of the most curious anomalies to be met with in the vegetable kingdom an extensive family in which there is not a poisonous fruit, yet yielding to the Chemist the most intensely active and deleterious agent to animal life yet known in nature, namely, the Prussic acid so abundantly produced by the leaves of the cherry-laurel, peach, almond, &c. trees. The fact just mentioned, of its producing no poisonous fruit, is interesting, especially to travellers, since any one may with perfect confidence eat the fruit of any Rosaceous plant he happens to encounter though he has never seen it before. In their geographical distribution are Rosacee peculiarly extra-tropical a very few only being found within the tropics and these at considerable elevations. Of the small number, about 15 species recorded as natives of the Indian Peninsula 11 perhaps 12 are found on these Hills, while there is not one to be met with on the plains except the Loquat, an intro- duced tree which rarely if ever bears fruit near the level of the sea, but does so abundantly at Bangalore, 3,500 feet above it. In its Botanical relations this family is to the full as intricate as Leguminosee but like it, all its various forms are linked together by one constant character, the posterior position of the odd sepal of the calyx. It is always next to the axis, however different or unlike the plants may be in all other respects. To facilitate the discrimination of its species, which are often very dissimilar, they like Leguminosee have been grooped into suborders, in which the genera that most nearly as- sociate are brought together. These groops or suborders are—Ist. Dryadee including the potentillas, strawberries, raspberries, &c. 2d, Rosee including the true roses. 3d, Pomee in- cluding apples, pears, medlars, hawthorn, &c. 4th, Amygdalee including plums, peaches, cherries, &c.; and 5th, Sanguisorbee a suborder that might with advantage be removed to another division of the system as a distinct order. This enumeration of the parts of which the whole is composed will show how complex that whole must be and the deep knowledge of vegetable structure, in connection with vege- dO NEILGHERRY PLANTS. table relationships, that must have been required to trace the affinities by which they are united. Who, for example, except a most profound and philosophical investigator of vege- table structure could have traced any relationship between a rose and a strawberry, or be- tween a raspberry and a peach, or not less extraordinary, between an apple and a cherry, or many other still more, apparently, irreconcileable contrasts that might be adduced. Incongruous as such associations may appear they have all been most distinctly made out and are now considered in Botany as well established factsas that two and two make four. To explain how these relationships are proved isnot an easy matter since to trace them requires, at starting, a considerable knowledge of structure in its most primary forms. Attention however to the following easily observed points will tend to show that the demon- stration is quite possible. The general character of the whole order is to have 5 sepals, two pairs and an odd one, the odd one being always posterior or next the axis while the odd petal stands opposite it on the other side of the flower. ‘The stamens and petals inall are perigynous that is inserted on the disk of tlie calyx at some distance from the ovary (see all the accompanying figures) and with one exception, the seed in all are without albumen, to these may be added that the sta- mens generally exceed twelve and are often very numerous and the ovules, except in Pomez, pendulous. In addition to these points of agreement the rose and strawberry agree in hav- ing numerous one seeded carpels with the seed suspended from’ the apex of the cell, and in their style rising from the side not the apex of the carpel. But the rose differs in having its carpels inferior enclosed within the tube of the calyx, or rather, it may be called, a hollow receptacle formed of the dilated apex of the peduncle : while the Strawberry has its carpels superior attached to a spongy receptacle, which swells and becomes sweet aud succulent as the fruit attains maturity, in depressions of the surface of which its little nuts nestle. Thus the fruitification is the same in both, all except the re- ceptacle, which is a hollow concave cell in the one, a projecting convex spongy body in the other. This one difference great as it is, is not considered of sufficient importance to con- stitute them distinct orders. Potentilla only differs from the strawberry in the structure of its receptacle: in Potentilla it is elevated but dry and at maturity does not lile the straw- berry come away with the seed or nuts but remains attached to the ealyx. The Raspberry and Bramble differs from both, in the fruit the receptacle of which is dry and elevated as in the Potentillas, but the carpels, in place of being little dry nuts, as in them, are miniature drupes or stone front, thatis, each seed or stone is enclosed ina succulent pulpy covering the same as the stone ofacherry or plum. Here then is the first decided gradation between the Potentillee and Amygdalee tribes, the difference between them being that in Raspberries &c. there are a congeries of miniature drupes spread over a superior receptacle and a persistent calyx ; while in Cherries &e. there is only one carpel, in the middle of the flower, and the calyx is deciduous. These differences are esteemed of less value than the others by which the two tribesare connected, hence the Amygdalee ave considered merely a suborder of the family of Rosacee, the more so, as in this tribe we find non-succulent fruit the same as in the other, as for example Pygeum (No. 59) which has neither a stone nor pulpy covering for its seed, but is yet considered a truly amygdaleous tree, . NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 51 Having thus shown how nearly Rosee and Potentillee associate and how brambles and raspberries pass into cherries and plums it now only remains for me to endeavour to trace the connection between these and Pomee or apples, pears, hawthorns, &c. In this tribe the calyx corolla and stamens are the same as in the others, except that the calyx is tubular at the base and more or less perfectly encloses the carpels or ovaries. ‘These vary from two to five having two erect, not pendulous (as in the other) ovules in each, and as the fruit advances to maturity the calyx and outer coat of the carpel increases in size and thickness until in course of time it becomes an apple inclosing the carpels which in most of them, are not hard and bony as in the drupe. Here are striking points of difference: but to set against them we have the inferior fruit of the rose: we have the enlarging receptacle of the strawberry, the thickening of the outer coat of the seed vessel of the plum, peach, &c., and we have the bony seed of the hawthorn, one of the pomez, and the want of itin Pygeum one of the amygdalew. The difference therefore is reduced to the erect ovules and theseed vessels being enclosed in the enlarged and prolonged calyx, to which in this family only a subordi- nate value is assigned; and this also is therefore reduced to the rank of a suborder thought at first sight so very unlike all the others. ~ It must be acknowledged that it is no easy matter to construct a general character ca- culated to include the whole but still it has been accomplished. Endlicher however, the last writer on the subject, has preferred raising Amygdalee and Pomacez to the rank of distinct orders in which I am disposed to go along with him at least as regards the latter as tending to render our characters less prolix while they more clearly define the limits of our orders. I particularly mention Pome, because I think sufficient importance has not in this case been attached to the difference of position of the ovule which, added to the difference of habit properties and relative position of the carpel and calyx, form a combination of characters, in my opinion, quite sufficient for the purpose ; the essential difference depending on the direc- tion of the ovule. Ovules pendulous seed inverted would then form the essential distinction of Rosacee—While ovules erect seed ascending would, combined with the other characters of Rosacez, characterize Pomee. I have dilated on the interesting peculiarities of these two remarkable families as afford- ing such numerous and striking, but upon the whole, easily explained, examples of fruits most dissimilar in appearance but which, when properly analysed and traced back to their origin, can easily be shown to be in their elementary structure nearly the same and owing their differences at maturity to adventitious circumstances often the creatures of art not of nature. Who from looking at a luscious peach or plum, and a scraggy bean er pea pod, could ever suspect that in their earlier stages they were all structurally alike, or who untaught, could imagine the parts of a raspberry and a cherry so exactly alike that the former is, as it were, buta heap of miniature cherries sticking together. Such analytical investigations of structure through all its stages, ub ovo usyne ad mala, coustitates the Philosophy of Botan ys and forms the foundation on which the beautiful super-structure of the Natural classification of plants, is built, SZ NEILGHERRY PLANTS, FRAGARIA—STRAWBERRY. Calyx concave at the bottom, 5-cleft, with 5 bracteoles. Petals 5. Stamens numerous. Achenia juice Jess, scattered on a fleshy and succulent deciduous polyphore or receptacle. Style lateral. Seed suspended.— Herbaceous plants throwing out runners. Leaves trifoliolate ; leaflets coarsely toothed. Receptacles or poly- phores roundish, succulent, red or whitish. This genus though the number of species is inconsiderable has a wide geographical range : Europe :. North and South America beyond the tropics : and N epaul, Neilgherries, Java, China, and, I think, Ceylon in. Asia : but in all tropical Asiatic stations at considerable elevations. Two species are found on the Neilgherries,. a large proportion (3) of the whole recorded species. The one F. elatior is also found in Europe, America. and China, the only station assigned for the other was Nepaul until discovered here. Several species are more or less extensively cultivated for their fruit, but the F. Vesea and its varieties. by far the most extensively. To offer any remark on the excellence of this fruit would be waste of time, as who requires information on that point ? but as regards its cultivation on the Hills, a passing remark may be made—which is, that those desirous of enjoying this fruit in something approaching to European perfection, must plant it afresh every year. Those produced from two year old plants I have almost invariably observed,. are sparing in quantity and indifferent in quality, unless perhaps in those rare instances where they find a very congenial soil and exposure. When growing in low situations and annually exposed to frost in sufficient intensity to destroy the foliage, as in Europe, the case may be different, but generally the rule is to take one crop, which lasts about six months, and then plant afresh, _FRaGARtA EBLATIOR (Ehrh.) leaflets somewhat co- with the addition of lime juice and sugar, it is ad- riaceous : hairs on the petioles, peduncles, pedicels mired by some. and calyx widely spreading : calyx in fruit reflexed : RAGARIA Inpica (Andrews) leaflets obovate ;: bracteoles similar to the calycine segments.—W. and peduncles axillary, solitary, 1-flowered : bracteoles pa- A. Prod. p bi geo Nilagiriea. (Zenker ous, cuneate, much larger and broader than the Be. ") s Very common about Ootacamund, to be met with entire calycine segments, deeply 3-5-toothed at the in flower and fruit all the year, but the latter most apex.—W. and A. Prod. p. : abundant in May, June and July. The flower Frequent in shady woods where the soil is somewhat. and fruit white, the latter, with occasionally a pale moist. Unlike the rest of the genus, the flowers are rose blush on the side exposed to the sun. It has yellow. The fruit is a bright red, very tempting to the: little flavour, but a sweetish watery taste. Eaten eye, but watery, mawkish and disagreeable to the taste. POTENTILLA. Calyx concave at the bottom, 4-5-cleft, with 4-5-bracteoles. Petals 4-5. Stamens numerous. Achenia numerous, collected into a head on the flattish persistent dry receptacle. Style lateral. Seeds suspended,— Herbaceous or suffrutescent plants, Leaves compound, Stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers white or yellow, rarely red.—W. and A, Prod. p. 300. ‘ This genus is one of great extent, including nearly if not fully, 200 species, but of that vast number few only are found’ within the tropics, none so far as is yet known, on the plains of India. Two only occur on the Hills, one of these, (No. 63) is very common, the other though much less so, not actually rare, but, from being a marsh plant, less seen owing to its being liable to be hid among the rank vegetation, It is a genus so very nearly allied to the strawberry, that one of its species was-long confounded with it,. under the name of Fragaria sterilis, in allusion to its not producing any fruit resembling a strawberry, which as being a true Potentilla it could not do; the distinction between the two genera as already mentioned, resting on the one, strawberry, having a large spongy succulent receptacle for the seed, while that of the other is dry.. Many of the species of this genus are cultivated as garden ornaments, and two or three introduced into Eng- land from Nepaul, are indeed very ornamental : among these may be mentioned P. atro-sanguinea, Nepalensis: bd ‘. Trike 7 ni feor/ Chit) oO pire ell Ge tit: tla "ome an 4A rite, A KineFe. — GF | pi ‘Wg yiilert FiooBOtCECE’ rs ae e: ssgrile Wee ere 2 Ducoryetey, Zti- recwgiale, Bee Liageita CPOMLEL of Grdle. 4 L Beegere Me OS y b iy FE YIN. we ae ae £ aN iB an = ey {\ y | + ee Me) hus j iz i S, \ N ~\ \ (uf. ; yN 2 : / i \ / f A ie ee ene PS Ww 0 /) = ¢ : | d \ Fore’ hotacece’ ve (Ty — i, Site a ea y aml a //Ms ae K~ nile. » ~ es Fy OORT aye < Se $s ’ j =e wy i. 4 | SK * i ROS) aS S) \ a \Z iy WZ, Ne) NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 58 and splendens. Many others are in cultivation, but these are the principal Indian ones that have found their way to Europe PoTENTILLA LESCHENAULTIANA (Ser. :) co- to the calyx: receptacle villous : : carpels slightly vered all over with silky long hairs: stems ecumbent wrinkled. —a ; stems short ; i icles small, corymbi- at the base: Sage and lower leaves pinnated, longish form.— and rod. petioled ; leaflets 5, cuneate-obovate, o bee incise- This is a very commo ei ing found almost on toothed, t wer pair smaller than the ot upper every road or ditch side, as a's as spreading amon stem leaves palmately 3-5 foliolate ; leaflets about equal the grass on all sid 8 cri or rather is gene- and similar to the la rally sah een but also urs as here ented, s often entite; erect. The fruit in ae species approaches more nearly wers in gener alforked to that of the denokertne than is common in the genus, panicles, or corymbos cave ne segments and brac- owing to the large cise for spongy texture of the re- teoles about equal, es galt lanceolate, more or less ob- ceptacle, but still it is a true potentilla. tuse: petals (yellow) slightly obcordate, about equal PHOTINIA, / Calyx 5-toothed. Petals reflexed. Ovary half-adhering, villous, 2-celled, 4-ovuled. Styles 2, glabrous. Pericarp bilocular (rarely from abortion unilocular and 1-seeded), inclosed within the fleshy calyx. Testa of the seeds cartilaginous.—Trees. Leaves simple, coriaceous, evergreen. Panicles corymbose, terminal. Fruit small.— W.. and A. Prod. p. 302 This genus includes 12 recorded species, but some of these doubtful, two of the 12 are natives of the Neilgherries, both common, both beautifully flowering trees, and the fruit of both about the size of peas, and possessing the taste of the fruit of the mountain Ash so exactly, that any one on tasting them would at once pronounce them the fruit of that tree. Between the two genera Photinia and Pyrus, the difference seems slight, if indeed a truly essential difference exists. In Pyrus the ovary is usually 5 or 3 celled, and here it is two, but two also occurs in Pyrus. Exclusive of this, the other points of distinction mentioned in the characters of the two, seem differences but not distinctions, as they are not of a nature to be permanent in a number of species. The essential character of this is styles 2, ovary 2 celled, while that of Pyrus is, styles 5 or 3-ovary 5-3 celled. In this. tribe as already mentioned, the ovules are erect, the seed ascending, and the radicle inferior. In the plate the draftsman has reversed the position of the seed and represented the radicle superior, a blunder which trusting to his general accuracy, I did not detect until I came to examine ter of the tribe, with a view to the preparation of these notes. TINIA Noronrana (Wall.?) leaves from cu- cluster of white, ae to rose coloured, flowers. In aeiis. lanceolate to oblong, acute, quite entire or with June the frui and then are of a dull redish afew Ww inconspicuous scattered teeth : A capes large, very brown colour. Seeds poe four, each enclosed in compound ; ramifications puberu : pedicels much its own proper cell ascending e arg e succu- shorter than the calyx: cells of the ovary spuriously = a rail interior ig t possess in a re- Bemi-bil pegs fruit glabrous, 2-seeded.—W. and A. kable degr e peculiar sour, austere taste of od. ree ak rl mountain As “i This is a acceiath he bon gael poner Figu and 11 of this plate are all in- over the Hills. It flowers g March and Apr sae > “The dt etek in all have been inferior and when in full flower is a bebe thang oe cae superior, as shown in the plate, branch being terminated as here shown, by a large COTONEASTER, : Flowers often polygamous: calyx turbinate obtusely five toothed: petals short erect: stamens aboyt the length of the teeth of the calyx, styles glabrous, shorter than the stamens carpels 2-3-partially, enclosed in the ealyx 2-ovuled. Shrubs with simple entire leaves wholly beneath: corymbs lateral patent, furnished with deciduous subulate bracts : petals small persistent —D. C. Prod. 2—632, CoroneasTER BUXIFOLLA (Wall. List) meine | ‘rect, very ramous: leaves oval or subobovate, point glabrous above, tomentose beneath : ‘emt gee few flow- ered ; peduncles and calyx tomentose, 54 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. A small erect densely ramous scraggy looking shrub, nate atthe point. Flowers small, wate! es is clusters rather frequent about Ootacamund, also on the road- of three or four: calyx tomentose : pet und gla sides to Kotagherry and Kulbutty, flowering March brous Sep. feet ould or bee ve ‘wo carpe a pril—also very apenisns in Gestion valley, where hairy, at first scarcely immersed in the calyx ; ¢ I found it in flower in August and September. It rare- afternards enlarging and enclosing them. Fruit ae ly attains the height of six fot | is full of little branches the size of a pea, succulent, a harsh eh taste : orming a dense compact mass of vegetation. e seed foi, as sending t sta ay radicle infe leaves are small, rarely attaining the ength of$an ‘This rie rs bs C. affinis to which D.C referred inch, and little more than half the breadth, glabrous doubtfully to it, in its erect not préeunibiell habit, above, clothed beneath with soft white hair; usually smaller leaves and fewer flowered corymbs. oval or tending to obovate, attenuated below, mucro- PYGEUM. Tube of the calyx cup shaped limb 6-cleft : corolla 6-petaled inserted on the throat of the calyx: stamens 12-13 inserted with the petals ; filaments filiform ; anthers 2-celled deluscing longitudinally : ovary sessile 1- celled ; ovules 2-collateral, pendulous; style terminal stigma dilated : drupe dry transversely oblong subriniform contracted in the middle, one-seeded : seed inverse exalbuminous cae very thick, radicle very short, superior. Trees with alternate oblong entire leaves often with 2 glands at the ~~ racemes axillary and lateral, solitary or several, often tomentose, flowers small 1 bractiate. Fadl. gen. pla yGeumM acuminatum? (Colebr.) “a tree with presented with distinct calyx and petals, a ° have not. alternate oblong, acuminate entire, glabrous leaves: now the specimens to re-examine. Specimens ole racemes axillary: flowers yellowish.”—Polyodontia Ceylon species eee I have, ‘correspond * with th arborea Blume. hould this apres a distinct species, the following ch ns from which the drawing was made, racter might serve to disti nguish it from the other were gathered at Kaitee falls in July. I since, in com- cies of the gen pany with Mr. Gardner of Ceylon, found it in great Arboreous : “eaves sd oblong, acuminated, abundance ou the Avalanche in fruit, in Rebraae ary. nial aig ace axillary shorter than the It is a large tree producing a fine spreading umbra- leaves: flow alt ello owis a calyx lobes and corolla in- geous head, with large ovate acuminate entire gla- distinguishable. clothed with rusty coloured pubescence: brous leaves, without ag a glabrous, racemes filaments sete - —- =e ie = tube regen? in and slightly hairy calyx vary hairy with gla- estivation a dilated, two lip- brous ele and 2-lobed dilated pe igma. ped, drupe 5a “fable, toees ek ey pisbronte The e character is so brief and general that it is genus seems imperfectly gee it was first fiipdebibis 0 say he eine be: is Colebrooke’s pla a established by Mr. Colebrooke on an pesilank plant. but as it agrees, ‘a6 far as it goes, I have adopted his Blume afierwards found a species w ‘whi ch he described name, with a doubt, helices nothing further to ns under the name of Polyodontia arborea, which Wal- me re nhis ‘ ‘Repertoriuin, ” has referred as a synonym I am une certain about the — because it seems 3 Colebros ke’s plant, but I sonpes erroneously, if this to me, had this been the one from which Colebrocke’s oan is correctly n named. As regards the an nalysis of character was token, he would have seeeribe the flow- the SS figure, which: was prepared in er as apetalous with a 12-lobed calyx limb. In this absence, I have some misgivings as to its accuracy, 4 respect, if the dissection of my dive of Polyodo ntia sake 4 on which I have not at present the means of sa- Ceylanica, No. 256 is correct, and I believe it is, this tisfying myself. can scarcely be considered a true congener, as it is re- XXVIII.-—MILASTOMACE. This is a large, and for the most part, a Tropical family, the number of extra-tropical species being small when compared withthe great number of equinoctial ones, and those found in the warm latitudes immediately adjoining. Many of the tropical species however possess the transition character assigned to Balsaminew, that is, they are found in Alpine regions, and only make their appearance during the cool and rainy season of the year, oT immediately after the rains are over. Such is the character of the Neilgherry ones, nearly all of which are in their greatest perfection in January and February. By far. the greatest uumber are natives: of, America, extending as far south as Brazil, jn which country they are numerous, From that continent there are now nearly 1000 SED Cp os0CEL Lumphy Lure. tungiah ded: ee NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 55 known species. Asia and her Islands, hold the next place, the number of species already derived from these regions amounting to about 200, a few only have as yet been obtained from the African continent, and still fewer from New Holland. In Ceylon they are numerous in proportion to the extent of country where they princi- pally occur, upwards of 20 species having already been obtained from the southern and more elevated districts of that country : that being the tract best examined. And there they are so numerous, that I have no doubt the number will, ere long, under the keen scrutiny of Mr. Gardner, be doubled. In India, so far as yet known, the number of species are, I suspect, fewer than in Ceylon; but the western ghauts where only they can be expected in any considerable number, have not yet been sufficiently examined during the most favourable seasons for find- ing them. In the plains of the Carnatic and Mysore, where the climate is dry, they are al- most unknown, but about Courtallum where during the Southwest Monsoon, the climate is cool and moist, they are more frequent. On the more elevated Alpine regions such as the Pulney Mountains and the Neilgherries, they abound, though the number of species is small. The most productive tracts however of these hills are still imperfectly explored. On the western slopes where the climate is humid and apparently congenial to their constitution, I apprehend they will be found much more numerous than we are yet aware of. This I think from having lately found seven or eight species on the Sisparah Ghaut, about the end of Fe- bruary, the season being at that time so far advanced, that most of them were nearly past flower. Most of these are undescribed in our Prodromus. When writing that work only 16 Peninsular species were known, these accessions raise the number to about 22, and among those obtained from other quarters now in my collection but not determined, it is probable three or four more may be added, making only 25 or 26, for the whole of the Indian Peninsula; a small proportion of the estimated number of Asiatic species. I have extended these remarks on the geographical distribution of this family, in the hope of their leading to future enquiries on the subject. The family, as a whole isa very natural one, and marked throughout by so strong a family likeness, that two or three being known, the whole family may generally be recogniz- ed at first sight. This family likeness had led DeCandolle to remark of it, that “ the family of Melastomacee, though composed entirely of exotic plants, and established at a period when but few species were known, is so well characterized that no one has ever thought of putting any part of it in any other group, or even introducing into it genera that do not rightly belong to it” (see Lindley’s nat. system.) But it is not so easy to distinguish among themselves the genera and species of which it is composed, the closeness of their affinity of- ten rendering this a very difficult process. The genera Melastoma and Osbeckia afford a striking example of this fact, the distinguishing character being derived from the anthers when in flower, and from the pulpy baccate fruit of the former when in fruit. The fruit of Osbeckia is a dry capsule. From both these and from the rest of the family, Sonerillais at once distinguished by its ternary flowers, many of its species have moreover pinnately veined, not ribbed leaves, the latter being the predominant form in the order. This last indeed is one of its distinguishing features, and added to the long beaked anthers opening at the point by pores, leaves scarcely a doubt that any plant in which they meet, belongs to this family. They are further distinguished by the position of the anthers in ‘estivation, the apex of the filament being bent or folded down, and the anther lodged in a cavity 56 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. between the calyx tube and ovary. A nearly similar formation is found in Memecylee, which has induced both Meisner and Endlicher following Chamiesso, to unite these families, but to my mind injudiciously, as, so far as my acquaintance with them extends, I think they each form distinct and very natural groups, and that their union tends to spoil both. In habit they differ widely, also somewhat in the structure of the flower, by the complete union of the calyx and ovary, in the number and position ofthe ovules, which are very numerous in Melastomacee, but in Memecylee solitary and pendulous from the apex of the cells of the ovary: and lastly, the cotyledons of Memecylez are spirally Convolate, which is wanting in the other. Each of these, as solitary characters, would be of little weight, but taken together, in my opinion, aremore than sufficient to outweigh the solitary one derived from the incurved anthers in estivation, by which alone the two families are sought to be united, Regarding their properties, nothing of any importance is known—none are unwhole- some, while the fruit of several are edible. Those of Melastoma being succulent and dark coloured, stain the mouth black in eating, whence the name which, literally interpreted means black-mouth. SONERILA. Calyx tube oblong or somewhat 3-angled, cohering with the ovary with 3-6 longitudinal lines : limb trifid, the segments deciduous. Petals 3, ovate-lanceolate, acute. Stamens 3: anthers oblong, pointed, straightish, bifid at the base, opening at the apex by two pores ; cennectivum not produced at the base. Ovary truncated and glabrous at the apex. Style filiform. Stigma obtuse. Capsule turbinate, crowned with the margin of the calyx which is thickened on the inside, 3-celled, 3-valved, the valves opening at the apex only. Seeds cuneate-obovate, sharp and somewhat grooved along one side: hilum at the base.—Herbaceous or suffrutes- cent usually small plants. Leaves membranous, hairy, opposite, one of them often a little smaller than the other, rarely quite abortive. a axillary or terminal, few-flowered. Flowers racemose or fannie. rose-coloured.—W. and A. Prod.p. 3 This genus was founded by oe for the admission of four undescribed plants known to him. He took the name from a native one gi by Rheede, to one hehad figured in his Hortus Malabaricus. In 1828, when DeCandolle published the Order in his Prodromus, the genus was so little known, that he was under the necessity of excluding it from the family as one, unknown to him. Fifteen years after, Walpers in his “ Repertorium Botanicum,” compiled a list of 21 published species, and several have since been discovered. This therefore promises ere long to become a large genus. The three species I have introduced here, are the handsomest I have seen. They seem all to be annuals, except, perhaps, the first, which appears to have a woody stem ; but as, of a great number of specimens gathered, the stems of all seemed of this year’s growth, I suspect the root only if even that is perennial, and that the stem is annually cut down by the frost. SoNERILA GRANDIFLORA (R. Br.) erect gla- the banks of a stream by which the valley is siege sar brous : tenes elliptic, attenuated at both ends, bristle- The flowers are of a dee pink, congregated serrated, 3-5 nerved at the base: peduncle terminal ends of the branches. It is an erect suftrutecose aah (alwa ys), about the length of the leaves, flattened at from 12 to 18 inches high, the leaves between 2 and 3 the apex, and there bearing a slightly curved raceme inches long and about 1 broad, three to five nerved, of several unilateral large Dowie petals ovate, point- the outer pair of nerves often very slender, but in ed: styleas long as the stamens: sti — simple : luxuriant plants, such as the one represented, dis- py “slabrous, 3 —— scarcely the length of the tinctly - erved. pedi 322. : » p- SonpRILA speciosa (Zenker) stem erect, sub- A beantiful plant, hee as com with the other adioctunvos at the base, somewhat four-sided : leaves species of the genus, well nam I have only met petioled 5-nerved, broad! ovate, acute, mucrona ately with it in one station on the Neilghe erries, in Long Val- serrated, glabrous ; petioles hairy near the apex : pe ley, about mid-way between the Avalanche and ares duncles terminal, dichotomous ; branches afterwards ra. There it occurs in considerable abundance on elongating ; flowers secund : calyx and mid rib of the a FF OPVUACELYLY : Melsstorniece’ 67 Sorrel e goorlifirua St. LEY) peered MilatbdorntttL Molastomiace! 67 He —? 7: CPL Ege >, PODER LUCE . ELLIE LN py ry TY VENT os *, y Naot CZ Za : a ) * Cc Yep ener oye bey CLOLM /. Benker’) 7 Morne WEE Vi An VOTRE tf Melad ~~ ~ “x — o Poot gua Se Pummfetig, cts fungiuch wat ( Yard i. ti) Wp eUMAM CM — a/ 3 Dumypihy, Lith’ ~ - DLutifo ey, A “regal, el THAAMOWCEE Vi itsbevneinte Ostbechiece 9 Pe thesis nner. Rungech: LE) Dpumythy, Tith ; fi ip - 2 / CM ehad Guid: ean G.WY 7O se iO Osteoken Mightianw /benth) NEILGHERRY PLANTS. etals, below, covered with short, rigid, sesenliferone lant aien ovate, obtuse, mucronate : style and s mens about equal. Kaitty waterfalls sparingly. sa a. ery On the hills behind oist soil, near eee, r in iy This autiful ee differing from many of a oe aa ce d, not olkiahels veinous leaves, Zenker its congeners in its rib -_ overlo ment an im ore — whi a n his Miefini en s in — on this is very handsome cain swith fs pink se maale more en Pape orthree open gh o on each branch of the c LA ELEGANS (R. W.) herbaceous, erect, : leaves — gerne Mate from ovate t ted, serrulate: peduncles Me ainid cymosely atemoment keane: afterwards o7 ca limb of the calyx : seed h Sisparah, very Ge th all ig the phy side, in flower andripe fruit in February. Am conspi- weg Pg at t first a ew a, pink flowers open, rey until at ‘eg each branch is several inches long, covered along the upper edge with a row of wers at the extremities : tune spreading horizontally, ackward aadaney slightly approach each he prconatindg somewhat the form of the letter ¥, as shown in the drawing. They often b uch bearing on dea same peduncle unopened flowers and ripe capsules. ecome OSBECKIA. Calyx-tube ovate, usually covered with stellate bristles or pubescence; limb 4-5 cleft, with appendages between the lobes springing from the outside. equal and similar to each other, shortly rostrate or very wit Ovary covered with bristles at the apex. ed. Seeds cochleate : hiluga orbicular, ai the base.—Herbaceous or usually shrubby plants. the connectivum ort auricles at the base. —W. and A, Prod. p. 322 Petals 4-5. Stamens 8-10: filaments glabrous: anthers nearly rarely truncated, opening by a single terminal pore; Capsule 4-5 cell- Flowers terminal. Species of this genus are common to Asia, America, and Africa, but I believe upon the whole predominate in Asia. suppose, become ve these [ have selected three of the handsomest to illustrate the genus. Kotagherry and Nedawuttem, flowering August and September. They are for the most part large flowered handsome plants, and under cultivation would, I shou ry ornamental additions to the flower garden. i Several species are natives of the Hills, of O. Leschenaultiana is common about O. Gardueriana is equally common about Ootacamund ; while O, Wightiana is more frequent about Coonoor and Kaitie. OspeckIa na a eRe ge (D. C. :) shrub- Salen 4 angled, beset with stiff hairs: leaves sessile, ovate, somewhat open approximate, 5-nerve m both sid flowers sessile, bracteated, abou gether, capitate: calyx tube globose, covered with pau ciliated short scales ; hae ents 4, lanceolate (D.C.) petals obcordate, bluntl skiing stamens 8; anthers clavate, agg carved ovary crowned with a tuft of bristles. (R. W. requent fea Polenta flowering during the autumnal months. Flowe compared with those sociates ‘_ cron bristly hairs: leaves Sy ovate, 3-nerved ; y 1 ones near the Puig oe terminal capli- ona more ‘Saat’ in the length of the seal prsetd i covered with bristles: petals 5, orbicular : stam 0, anthers recurved, corrugated on the inner edge, gree beaked. This, which is the ae and most — species found @ nthe Hills, is very abundant in the woods abou’ or 5; flowering in profusion ing Fe and h, when it is indeed a striking object. At first sight it seems sy nearly ange to O. Wightiana, but a closer inspection shows that they are quite distinct species. The ki = of hair with which the leaves of the two species are clothed, is v ttered, long and soft. like rough pubese ence, hence I have made use of that term ‘= anaes them while in the other — are very ae stiff and Soisly adpi , giving in some lights an almost metalic lustre to their fol tha the leaves on ahi there 5 to 7—here the scales of t re partly neers th ere e they : are capitate 5 here wade bite with n an very long, while there they are nearly white “eld com- ively And lastly, the flowers are much I have dedicated this ten- noble species to ner, the Superin' = of the Royal Botanic Garden of Ceylon, as a last- rial of the many agreeable hours spent with rei in exploring the sas Se treasures of these Hills, 58 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. many of which discovered for the first time during that ered with short adpressed capitate es bearing, a excursion, will embellish this work, and also to my tuft of long bristles at the apex ; ace™s 5 decidu- high estimation of his great Botanical attainments. ous; appendages deciduous, cover with ‘bri stles : Bight wae (Benth.) shrubby: anthers 10, linear-oblong, scarcely baked style cla- branches herbaceo cabrous with short bristles: vate.— — nd A. Prod. p. 323. leaves nearly benetl ‘Ovaeh, slightly acute, quite entire, This species is rare about peace aes 5 but abou 5-7 nerved; upper side covered with a pressed, some- Coonoor rou Kaitie Falls, it is comm It is re adily what shining hairs; under hirsute on the , and distinguished fone the preced g, by “the short ridged ortly tomentose between them: flowers (large) ter- shining adpressed hairs with which the 5 to 7-nerved minal, at first erent capitate and bracteated, after- leaves are covered, and by the calycine bristles being wards often solitary: calyx campanulate, densely co- nearly white, while in it they are a deep brownish red. XXIX.—MYRTACEZ.—MYRTLE TRIBE. This is a family of great extent, and has engaged much of the attention of Botanists in elucidation of its connections, its genera, and towards the discrimination of its numerous species; much however is still required, as up to the present time, it seems a very hetero- genous assemblage, and apparently one of the most difficult to define. It includes some very interesting plants; such as the clove tree, the Jamaica pepper tree or All-spice, the Rose-apple, the Guava, and a host of others; and generally its species are remarkable for their handsome flowers, and the aromatic odour of their foliage when bruised ; owing to their containing in numerous little cells, a quantity of an aromatic essea- tial oil, which can be seen collected ia transparent vesicles when held between the eye and the light,in the common myrtle they are easily seen. This is one of the best distinguishing marks of the family. Any one finding a plant with opposite leaves and calyciflorous flowers, that is, the stamens and petals growing from the cup of the calyx, may feel almost certain it belongs to this family if the leaves have transparent dots. Care, however must be taken not to confound them with the Hyperi- cums or the Rutaceous family, which differ in haying a superior ovary, while the Myrtles have an inferior one, that is, in other words, the young fruit is seen below the flower. The dotted leaves though general, are not universal: they are wanting in the guava and some others, and in many, areso minute as to require the aid of a magnifier to see them. In the Myrtus tomentosa, they are also wanting, which circumstance induced me care- fully to compare this plant with Myrtus communis, the type of the genus, when I ascertained, that they could net be associated as true congeners, and that the former must be separated to form the type of anew genus. Salisbury long ago suggested their separation, and DeCan- dolle has partially accomplished it, by placing this along with Myrtus spectabules, (the type of another genus,) in a distinct section, under the name of Rhodomyrtus, with the character, ‘© Flores rosei. Semena compresso-plana in loculis biseriata.” This name I therefore adopt for the genus. It isallied on theone handto Myrtus, by its 3-celled ovary and osseous seed, but differs in their simple double series compressed form, horizontal position, even in the ovary, and in habit. On the other, it approaches the Guava (Psidium,) in habit, its im- punctate leaves and succulent fruit; but differs in its 3-celled ovary, its flattened seed, not nidulating in pulp, and its 3-nerved leaves. It seems to form the transition from the one to the other, agreeing with neither, but largely partaking of the characters of both. The order is very widely distributed, but greatly predominates within the tropics oF in the warm latitudes immediately adjoining on either side. Numerous species are natives NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 59 of America, Asia, and New Holland, fewer have yet been found in Africa; but it has not been so wellexplored. The number of species referred to this order, I estimate by a rough calculation at from 1000 to 1200, but I tiink it probable my estimate is under the true number, as there are 70 genera, and some including upwards of 100 species, one Eugenia above 300. One species only is a native of Europe, that from which the family takes its name Myrtus communis, and that is confined to the southern latitudes. Such being the case, it is natural to suppose, that in a climate partaking so largely of the European character as this does, that the number of species should be small. And this is the case, four only being found on the higher ranges: while as we descend to the plains, on all sides, the numbers increase. ‘Those however that do occur here are very abundant, and three of the four, stately trees; the fourth Myrtus tomentosa, or, as 1 now propose to desig- nate it, Lhodomyrtus tomentosas is generally a shrub, though sometimes it attains almost arboreous dimensions. The relations of this order with its neighbours are sufficiently extensive and varied, and as it now stands, being loosely defined and very polymorphous, affinities with a great number can be easily traced. ‘The essential character of the order is, an adherent ovary: stamens usually indefinate not induplicate in wstivation, (that is the filaments are not folded on themselves as in Melastomucee,) leaves pellucidly punctuate. Exclude the last clause —leaves pellucidly punctuate—and then the following may be included under the rest of the definition—Pomazcee, Combretucee, Alungiez, Rhizophoree, Philadelphee, and Onagrarie. From this it would appear the characters of Myrtacez are rather of a negative than positive kind, and that to discover a Myrtaceous plant, we must first ascertain that it does not belong to any of the above orders, and then we may infer that it belongs to this. Or- dinal distinctions taken from the ovary and fruit, can have no place here, for among the sections and genera we find nearly all kinds. ‘The flowers and leaves alone supply the or- dinal characters, the ovaries and fruit sectional and generic ones. The Pomegranate was long associated with this family. Don removed it as the type of a new order, in this he has been followed by most Botanists: Endlicher has, however, restored it to its old place, but I think incorrectly, as it assuredly is not a Myrtaceous plant. The late Mr. Griffith referred it to Lythrarieg, and | now think he is the only Botanist who really understood its true structure and affinities. Ihave already alluded to some of the economical applications of the species of this family, one rather curious property remains to be noticed ; namely, that the juice of the Rhodomyrtus, when simply boiled for some time yields without the aid of sugar, a jelly of as firm a consistence as animal jelly, a circumstance, 1 believe, of rare occurrence among vege- table juices, RHODOMYRTUS—R. W.—MYRTUS—Szcr. Hi—DC. Calyx tube conical, limb 5-lobed, zestivation quincunctial: petals 5, estivation imbricated : stamens inde- finite ; ovary 3-celled: ovules in a double series superposed, horizontally compressed, incurved and reniform : seeds like the ovules subreniform, compressed, horizontal, 2 series, testa bony: embryo terete the shape of the seed, Shrubs or small trees with opposite, oval, 3-nerved, coriaceous impunctate leaves, at first pubescent, afterwards subglabrous above, villous or tomentose beneath, peduncles axillary, 1- 3-flowered with 2 60 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. bracteoles at the apex: calyx and outer surface of the petals tomentose, calyx lobes suborbicular quincunxly embracating on the margins : petals subelliptic, redish within, clothed exteriorly with white adpressed pube- scence: stamens very numerous, filaments slender purplish, anthers small : style as long as the stamens, tapering upwards : stigma capitate : berry globose, tomentose, soft succulent and yellowish when ripe, crowned with the persistent lobes of the calyx. As already stated, this genus occupies a place intermediate between Psidium (Guava,) and Myrtus ; it has much of the habit of the former, but differs widely in its ovary. In habit it is widely distinct from Myrtus communis, the only genuine species I know, and also in its ovary the cells, having invariably 2 rows of colla- teral ovules, while in Myrtus there are four. In the form of the seed they also differ, in this they are always compressed and horizontal ; in that thick approaching to globose on the back, very few (at least in this coun- try) coming to maturity, while in this nearly all do so. Ruopomyrtus Tomentosas (R. W.) Myrtus fruit, and when ripe is very palatable. The jelly ob- tomentosa, Aiton Hort, Kew and others. Myrtus tained from them is much used, as it much resembles (Rhodomyrtus) tomentosa.—DC. Prod. 3, p. 240. apple jelly both in taste and appearance. Very common on every part of the Hills, where it The plant equally abounds in some parts of Cey- is generally known as the “ Hill gooseberry,” a name_ lon, or one very like, in Malacca, China, &c., in all of far from inappropriate, as it a good deal resembles that which places the fruit eat. EUGENIA. Calyx tube short, nearly globose, or variously elongated ; limb 4 or 5 cleft. Petals 4 or some multiple of that number, 8-12—rarely five. Stamens numerous, distinct. Ovary 2-celled, with numerous ovules at- tached to axillary placente. Berry crowned by the segments of the ealyx, one, or rarely two-celled. Seeds one or two large : cotyledons thick and fleshy, partially or completely combined into one mass with the radicle : radicle very short scarcely distinguishable. Trees or shrubs with opposite, entire, pellucid-dotted leaves and axillary or terminal, solitary or aggre- gated peduncles either simple and one-flowered, or racemose, cymose, or panicled. Flowers small and very numerous, or large conspicuous and comparatively few, usually white but sometimes coloured. Fruit a suc- culent few seeded berry, white, pale redish, or deep purple coloured, usually sweetish, sometimes combined with a peculiar rose flavour, (as the rose apple,) at others rough and astringent. ? This is a very extensive and complex genus, but at the same time, when properly understood a very dis- tinct and natural one, essentially resting on points of structure not liable to change, the number, namely, of cells, of the ovary and peculiar formation of seed. When DeCandolle undertock its elaboration for the third volume of his Prodromus, he seems to have felt the task a difficult one, owing to the ever varying forms its numerous species present. Here we find almost side by side, small shrubs and large trees inflorescence of nearly every imaginable form, flowers the most minute and clustered on one species, on another large, showy and distinct, usually white, but as in the case Eug. (Jambosa) Malaccenses, deep crimson. On more closely analysing the parts of the flower, we find some with the calyx tube very short, almost inconspicuous, in others forming a little ball under the flower, and in others lengthened out. into a long cylinder like tube exceeding an inch in length. The limb in like manner is either deeply lobed, merely toothed, or cup-shaped, and quite entire on the margin. The petals for the most part expand in the usual form, but in the subgenera Syzygium and Caryophyllus, they are, in the flower-bud, usually so closely adpressed to each other that they never open, but are forced off all in one, like a lid, by the progressive enlargement of the enclosed stamens. | To several of these secondary variations, notwithstanding the uniformity of the more essential organi- zation, he attached generic value, and divided the genus into four or five genera, Eugenia had the limb of the calyx cleft down to the ovary. Jambosa had a turbinate calyx tube attenuated at the base, and the limb 4-cleft. Acmena,'a turbinate calyx tube, and the limb entire. Caryophyllus, a cylindrical calyx tube, 4-parted limb, and four cohering petals ; and lastly, Syzygium had an obovate calyx tube, subentire limb and concrete petals separating like a lid, devyptece Vity hace’ 7/ ED | ‘ ( % A) LS SECS MA a A RANG “y \ / ae 4 . My rbece . — Myrta COLE’ yo 4 & 7 oe «i l RN eS. AY ot cS yee ? . } te = hs : Ny ik Wate Z IN, | ANS tir» Mypetee UY bce iy Pia ODED Mie sean ; Met LS Sy) AW VV. , UO Nm) : ‘Dye RATS i EA e fie '2 a 7 iL = | A ‘ P aN a -NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 61 While engaged in preparing the article Myrtacee, for my Illustrations of Indian Botany, the futility of such characters in the formation of genera, was rendered strikingly obvious by two or three species in my herbarum, which neither associated with any of these, nor would they unite with each other to form one addi- tional genus. Each required to be elevated to the rank of a genus resting on characters equally artificial with any of those given above. This circumstance induced me to examine with much care, the characters of ] these genera, as given by DeCandolle, which led to the conviction that they are, at best, all mere sections or. subgenera of one vast and very natural genus, differing from each other more or less in habit, and in the form of parts of secondary value in the formation of genera, but corresponding in those of really essential importance —the position, structure and contents of the ovary ; structure of the seed, and position of the radicle. In these points they all agree, and to the same extent differ from the rest of the family of Myrtacee. This last fact had much influence in inducing me to re-unite all the above named genera into one comprehensive whole. The genus thus formed is one of great extent, prea probably not fewer than 400 species. These distributed generally over the tropics and warmer latitudes on either side. America, Asia, Africa and Nia Holland, all claim indigenous species, but ei a most predominate in America, and are very sparingly distri- buted in Australia. Three species of the subgenus Syzygium, present themselves in the woods about Qotas camund, and one of these occurs on the top of Dodabet, a fourth is met with on the lower levels. of Coonoor and Kotagherry, but rarely ascending above that level. Onthe Western slopes E. Munronii, referable to the subgenus Jaméosa, occurs some distance below Sisparah. The following characters of the subgenera of this extensive genus, I extract from my illustrations slight- ly modified :— 1. Eu sucenta, Calyx tube globose; limb 4-parted down to the ovary. Pedicels axillary, one flowered. 2. Jamposa, Calyx tube turbinate rarely cylindrical; limb produced considerably beyond the. ovary, cup-shaped, margin 4-cleft, Cymes lateral or terminal, flowers usually large: fruit often edible, 3. Caryopny.uus. Calyx tube cylindrical, limb deeply 4-cleft. Cymes. terminal, somewhat corym- bose. Flowers highly aromatic. - Acmena. Calyx tube long clavate, much produced beyond the cell of the ovary; limb truncated. entire, or repandly 4-5-lobed.. Flowers numerous, inflorescence variously racemose or corymbose, petals 4-5 or numerous—8-12—free or cohering. 5. Syzyerum. Calyx tube short, contracted, pedicel-like ; limb dilated cup-shaped, much produced beyond the ovary, margin truncated, or repandly lobed. Cymes corymbose, flowers small, petals usually cohering. Evcenra (S) Arnorrrana (R. W. Ill. Ind. Bot. a considerable extent by = natives, though, owing to br ies tree densiflorum Wall.) leaves sap oblong, its riba! by no means palatable. ded, coriaceous, dotted: cyme dense, a (S Sigitelasimees (R. W. Tlust. Seales: peduncles lateral, general and bow Ind. Bot.) oaoak, ramuli, 4-sided: leaves approxi- stout, the —— ones short and bearing at t mated towards the ends of the branchlets, Aria an umbel o 2 almost sessile flowers Nabtended be oval, very obtuse, to ovale orbicular, cori oblong-linear es oe — as; calyx shortly tubi- veinless above, pen erved Senent when ae hate ; limb cup-shaped, shortly and bluntly soothed slightly revolute. on 7] margin, not dotted :. cymes _ lobed : ie oe before falling off—W. and _ terminal, wie, eae peduncled, many flowered : Prod. p y : orbicular, separat-. _Abundan tin the jungles about QOotacamund, and ing a one: berries oval, oblong, ecalenk dark pur- rally met with in the woods on the higher hills. ple when ripe. Ie isa Peper dees ifal tree, generally of low growth, with — Alow spreading tree, very. abundant i ; ne umbrageous ! i ith in fi dik stations riads nd its oblong dark purple succulent austere tast~ head. It is to be met with in flower at ‘ ed frui ‘Cot erie nt thick and fleshy placed butis in greates t perfection in March mn Ave The. horizontally one above the other with a small radi- fruit is so like those of E. Arnottiana, th e€ same cle betw deabviytinn will serve for both. The fruit, which is. sweetish. and austere, is eat Win + ; 62 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. XXX.—PASSIFLORIZ—PASSION FLOWER TRIBE. In Indian Botany this isa family, of very minor importance as so very few Asiatic spe- cies belong to it. ‘There is but one native species of Passion Flower in the Indian Penin- sula, and, so far as yet known, only found onthe Hills. A second is found on the Hyma- layas, and one or two in the Eastern Islands. All the other species, nearly 150 in number, are with the exception of a few African ones, natives of America. ‘The few that are found in India, are however interesting as forming so many links of the chain connecting the floras of the two countries. It was principally under this point of view, that I was induced to in- troduce the Neilgherry Passion Flower into this collection, as I had already published it in my Icones, and there is certainly nothing very striking in its appearance to entitle it to the distinction of being published a second time, as it is in truth, about the plainest looking spe cies of this curious and generally handsome genus, I have seen. It is met with in considerable abundance on the Hills growing in woods, and climbing extensively overthe trees. ‘I'he Mower though plain, when looked at as a whole, owing to the want of the bright colours which many of its congeuers present, is by no means wanting as regards the perfection of its parts when more closely examined. Here we find a double series of floral leaves or a calyx and corolla, while many have the outer series only. Here we have a double series of filamentous processes, the same as in the most perfect, and lastly there is within these, a membranous tissue plaited with the greatest nicety, surrounding the base of the pedicel of the ovary, properly to appreciate the beauties of which the microscope isrequired. Within that, borne on an elevated torus, or pedicel, embraced by the base of the stamens, is the ovary or embryo fruit, surmounied by three diverging capitate styles. Such is the structure of the Neilgherry passion flower. Considerable difference of opinion exists among Botanists, regarding the nature of ‘the parts of the lower. Some maintain that it has no corolla even in those instances where, like the present, there is a double series of floral leaves, and therefore call them all sepals, though the interior series are petaloid in their appearance, colouring and texture, and say the crown or filamentous processes rise from the cup of the calyx. Jussieu, DeCandolle, “udlicher, and Meisner all adopt that view. Lindley on the other hand, maintains that the inner series are true petals, and that their crown is metamorphosed petals. Dr. Arnott and myself considered the second series petals, but viewed the crown as more properly be- longing to the stamens, When preparing myaccountof the order for the illustration of Indian Botany, I wasin- duced to take a view somewhat diferent from either, considering both series of floral leaves sepals and the crown, as modified corolla. A very careful examination of this species has in- duced me to adopt Dr. Lindley’s opinion, as being the more correct of the three, as I think it can be shown that both the inner series of floral leaves and the crown, arise from the ex- terior edge of a disk, lining the throat of the calyx, while the stamens spring from the in- terior edge, proving that both the crown and inner series of leaves belong to the same series of parts and are equally distinct from both calyx and stamens. Lindley however seems subsequently to have relinquished the idea of the crown being metamorphosed petals, and in his elements of Botany, (a more recent publication than his natural system,) at page ( ‘ “4 ~wa ij 3 +S ~ Bi ad : { : > : tassifirra Lestenaullii (DP L) NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 63 203, defines his “ Alliance Passionales,” “ Flowers with a ring or coronet of sterile stamens,” a view which my present examination does not enable me to adopt.* This discussion is introduced to show how gradual the transition of parts sometimes is, and that in such cases much discrimination is required to enable the i investigator of natural objects, to call parts by their right names. Regarding the properties of the family almost nothing seems to be known. The fruit of some is edible and is said to be “ fragrant, juicy, cooling and pleasant.” - PASSIFLORA PASSION FLOWER. | Flowers bisexaul. Calyx-tube very short. Corona composed of numerous filamentsin several rows. Anthers reflexed. Berry stalked, usually pulpy, rarely somewhat membranaceous.—W. and A. Prod. p. 352. This genus as already remarked, is one of great extent, though so sparingly found in India. The species are either herbaceous annuals or climbing shrubs, admirably adapted for arbours, as well on account of their rapidity of growth, as on account of the profusionand splendor of their flowers, whence it is with great jus- tice said, “‘ Passion flowers are the pride of South America and the West Indies, where the woods are filled with their species, which climb about from tree to tree, bearing at one time flowers of the most striking beauty, and of so singular an appearance, that the zealous Catholics who discovered them, adapted Christian traditions to those inhabitants of the South American Wilderness : and at other times fruit, tempting to the eye and re- freshing to the palate.”—Lindley. The Indian plant cannot compete in richness of colouring, with those forest jems of the Western World, but still it does not merit the total neglect with which it is treated by the European sojourners on these Hills. I therefore hope this notice, by directing attention to the fact of our having a native Passion flower“among us, willalso have the effect of bringing it into vogue. Pas oRA LEsScHENAULTI (DC. ) climbing: Kotagherry, Coonoor, the Avalanche, &c. e flow- laavee’ Scifcorbtinta?, rounded at the base, somewhat ers are small com mpared to some of — finer especies, truncated and 3-cuspidate at the — pubescent on but larger than several I int e seen cultivation, and the under side, but particularly so o the nerves, Fits: much tho ought of too ; the colours sbeeigh to t bright out glands : pon oles with two glands ae “scams id- are yet so vividas to bear close inspection ioagh little dle: tendrils simple : peduncles i s from the conspicuous at a ates: a kind of modesty which [ same axils as the tend ils, sicaple, “lowered isles apprehend as tended to keep them in the back ground without an involucre ; petals 5.—DC. . 3. p. 326; is all seasons, but most = 3 Wight F cat. n. ibe: —Neil- abundantly during the rainy ones. I have not heard gherries.— W. a he frui sitet been tried, nor have I ever had the ‘ A. Prod. p. 3 of t it te ei r common tates climbing shrub, curiosity to taste yenal ai oe is about the size of a wing in pigeon’s 8B sierpie when rj Sianaly ued in greater perfection at the lower levels of XXXI.—CRASSULACE TRIBE. This is a family of succulent “plants, of which a good many are natives of Europe, but many more of the Cape of Good Hope, where succulent plants ofall kinds are most abun- dant. In Indiathey are so very rare, that our peninsular Flora only includes 5 species, * When sheet was passing through the press I received some unpu blished papers of the late Mr. Griffith, who has most betas Meseatod eid delin neat ted the progressive a ee oft the flower of P. Xermesina, from its earliest stages, and concludes xamination, that he coronal p either metamorphos ed p rege nor stam: wee e eed ““ the processes or cilia ght: ulterior, mpi sap nor “the ce “of the calyx) a Pingel until the iomrleosager being coated, andthe anthers so far as to t pa cells. is of late ogg the sepals being h » the he pistillum a three lobed disc before ‘ated signs of proc soisiek O+ NEILGHERRY PLANTS. and one of these a doubtful native. The one here delineated is, however, very common on the Hills, and has moreover been generally introduced into the gardens, probably more on account of the facility of propagation than any thing else, for indeed, nothing can be easier to propagate than this plant. In habit this, the only Neilgherry plant of the order, is peren- nial, very succulent, attains a considerable size, and during the earlier months of the year, is covered with large clusters of yellow flowers which continue appearing in succession, for two or three months. Towards May they have pretty generally disappeared, but plants are still to be had even at that advanced season in flower. This, in common with the whole family, is distinguished by the exact symmetry of its flowers; 4 sepals, 4 petals, 4 carpels,and 8 stamens. These numbers vary in different genera, but the proportions remain the same, and by their regular alternation, this family is readily distinguished from allits neighbours. DeCandolle’s classification of this family does not appear to me by any means a satisfactory one, and has not been adopted by either Lindley or Endlicher, Sazifragee, a family as yet undiscovered on these Hills, seems clearly its nearest relative, but from which it is easily distinguished by the number of carpels, which in this equals the number of petals and are free to the base, while in Saxifragex, two is the number of carpels with usually 5 petals. There is also a difference in the placentation wor- thy of notice in determining affinities. Ihave never heard of any useful application to which this plant has been turned, in Europe the leaves of the Houseleek are esteemed for their refrigerent properties and in my younger days I was familiar with it under the name of, “ Healing leaf,” and thought it a sovereign remedy for all manner of external sores or injuries. Some of the stonecrops are very acrid. KALANCHOE. Calyx 4-partite; the sepals scarcely combined at the base, narrow acute, somewhat distant. Corolla hypo- rateriform ; tube cylindrical: limb spreading 4-partite. Stamens 8, attached to the tube of the corolla at the base. Scales 4, linear. Carpels4. Styles filiform.—Suffruticose fleshy plants. Leaves opposite, irregu- jarly pinnatifid or ovate, ng toothed, thick. Cymes panicled, lax. Flowers jonas or rarely reddish or whitish.— WV. and A. Prod. p. 3 This, tho’ a small genus as respects the number of species, (about 16) but makes up by the extent of ground they are spread over. India, from the Hymalayas to Cape Comorin, Ceylon, Moluccas, China, Arabia, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Cape of Good Hopeand Brazil, all claim indigenous species. Of the 16, four belong to the Indian Peninsula, and are all to a certain extent, variable in their forms to such an extent, as occasionally to render discrimination very difficult. KALANCHOE GRANDIFLORA (Wall.:) glabrous: bluish green or glaucous colour; the upper ones fre- — es broadly obovate, crenated, upper ones obtuse: quently tinged with red and traversed with eeper me corymbose, lax: sepals oblong, acute: segments coloured veins: cymes terminal corymbose, furnished ; hooked m ith conspicuous ovate or suborbicular bracts at cronate point.—Wail.! L. n. 722 3 Wight! cat.n. each division, flowers large quaternary with 8 stamens, 1174.—K. Wightiana, Wall.! L. n. 7225.—Dindy- rising from the tube of the corolla, scarcely excerted, gall hills, at an — ation of 3000 feet. Neilgherries. anthers oblong; furnished with a minute capitulate A. 1. p. 359. appendage: 4 linear — within, opposite the per thie plant vsvaly occurs in rocky places, and when pistils 4, slightly adherent in the centre, each termi- in the neighbourh ood of springs, often attains a large nating in a slender filiform "eilthng style, ovary “with i er th = um weight of their numerous large succulent leaves. Leaves central placenta: fruit somewhat globose, but rarely roundish obovate, crenated on the margin, of a attains maturity. OE Se oem S/S & st se ws ay 4 CVSS , if a SSN \ \ > 9) iY) \ /} EA WA UF lL, N\A . F RA | Gj; A\ . : os ( nS ( (rie \ ALA r * Fivrgyiah del. Kalanchoe guaniliflore / Wall) 1, Lette, NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 65 XXXIL—UMBELLIFER-. This is a large family, very extra-tropical in its habits, and peculiar in its properties. On the plains of India they are almost unknown, but on the higher hills they are not by any means uncommon either as to the number, or the frequency of individual species. In Europe, however, their numbers are out of all proportion greater, here we have at the utmost some 15 or 20 species distributed over an area of probably 1000 square miles; there, in autumn, walking across a meadow, of perhaps less than 5 acres in extent, as many may often be found. In its properties this family is very remarkable. The seed, or more properly fruit of nearly the whole are aromatic and carminative, not even excepting those of the most poison- ous; while the vegetation of allis suspicious and ought to be used with great care until qualified by culture, or ascertained by experience to be innocuous. The Hemlock and Fools Parsley, both very poisonous plants, are members of this family with many others nearly as bad; but so are the true Parsley, Celery, Carrots, Parsnips, Samphire and many others that are in daily use as wholesome articles of food. Notwithstanding this medley of virulent poisons, medicinal virtues, and wholesome properties, the whole family viewed Bo- tanically, is one of the most natural of the vegetable kingdom, and the most uniform in the structure of its flowers and fruit.. An inferior, nearly entire or 5-toothed, calyx, 5 petals, 5 stamens, a 2-celled ovary and fruit with2 pendulous albuminous seed, are points of structure common to the whole order: generally they are herbaceous with hollow stems, sheathing leaves, and umbelled inflorescence. This last varies as in the case of Hydrocotyle, and some others where the flowers are capitate. Owing to this uniformity of the structure of the flowers, fruit and inflorescence, this has proved one of the most difficult families to subdivide and groop into tribes and genera; and these subdivisions, as now limited, for the most part rest on characters so minute, that even skilful Botanists sometimes find it most difficult to make themout. Such being the ease, it has followed as a natural consequence, that various attempts have been made to distribute them in such a way as to facilitate their recognition, but hitherto with indifferent success. That given by DeCandolle, the one followed by us in the peninsular flora, is that now generally adopted ; and those wishing information regarding it, may refer either to that work, or to my Illustrations in which its principles are explained, as it would be out of place in this work to undertake the explanation of such a complex arrangement. As stated above, this, in its economical relations, is an important family ; some valuable articles of food are obtained from it, such as the Carrot, Parsnip, Celery, Parsley : as medi- cine, the aromatic properties of the seed of many render them valuable, as warm, stimulating, carminatives ; while the leaves of the Hemlock, used with judgment, are in some forms of disease a most powerful remedy, but unfortunately uncertain in its operation; apparently owing to its properties varying with the age at which the plant is gathered, and also accord- ing to the season. Several others are virulently poisonous, and are often destructive to cattle to a great extent, especially in spring, None of those found on the Hills are referable to this last class. I do not recollect any having been cultivated for ornamental purposes. NEILGHERRY PLANTS. [a >) I refrain from any remarks on the affinities of this order for the very simple reason, that I do not myself understand them. There is nothing else like it in the vegetable kingdom. The Vine and the Ivy have each points by which they approach them, especially in their sheathing leaves and albuminous seed; Rununculacee also agree to the same extent and are therefore relations, but somewhat distant; the same may be said of the Spermacoceous sec- tion of Rubiacee, but still all are wi idely dist smerred Ranunculacee is, perhaps, that which approaches the nearest in some points, and Aralacee in others. HYDROCOTYLE. Calyx-tube slightly compressed; limb with the margin obsolete. Petals ovate, entire, acute, spreading, their apex straight. Fruit laterally compressed and flattened. Merricarps without vite: primary ridges 5, _ the dorsal and lateral ones often obsolete, the intermediate ones enlarged. Seed carinately compress- erbaceous or rarely suffrutescent plants, usually slender and — Umbels simple. Involucre page Flowers sessile or pedice-led, whitish.—W. and A. Prod. p. 3 The plants of this genus as the name implies, generally frequent low, wet or marshy grounds, and where they do occur are generally very abundant. On the Hills they are frequent in damp shady woods. Four spe- cies are indigenous ; in them, two frequenting the open grounds, and two more shady woods. They are pro- cumbent straggling plants, the most erect of the set being the one I have selected for representation. It grows with great luxuriance in dark shady woods, in low, wet soil. In such woods about Pycarah and the Ava- lanche, I have often seen it; I do not, however, recollect finding it about Ootacamund, though I dare say, it is also to be found in the woods here. Bak shecoionte POLYCEPHALA (W. and A.:) ic sae heb 2-ribbed on each side, smooth and ting, scabrous or nearly glabrous ; stitniches flat between the ribs—W. and A. Prod. p. 366. peers haa ete ae and the leaves sparingly, on pote in low-lying woods in rich one ‘soil ; both sides, scabrous from short stout hairs: leaves such situations very luxuriant, completely covering attached by the peed orbculr-eniform, 7-lobed; large patches of ground; [have found it in many an lobes scarcely acute, coarsely crenate pedun cles distant stations in similar situations, both on the Con- oary, numerous (6-18) and umbellate in i the axil - tinent and Ceylon. The specimen figured was esi the uppermust shortly petioled -_ = almost as lon at Hullikul, on Mr. Lascelles’ —— where it grew 1 the leaf: flowers all fertile, num S$ (20-30 ane bark ~~ abundance ina wood adjoining his Coffee aes at first capitate and almost soulie, sierwatds : fruit) on short glabrous somewhat permanent pedicels: fruit SANICULA., Calyx-tube echinate; its lobes slightly leafy, persistent. Petals erect, connivent, obovate, with long in- flected points. Fruit somewhat globose, terete, not dividing spontaneously. Merricarps densely clothed with hooked prickles, without ridges, with many vitte. Ca arpophore indistinct. Seeds semiglobose.—Herbaceous perennial plants. Radicle leaves petioled, palmately lobed; the lobes cunate, incise and toothed towards the pex. Stem naked or sparingly leafy. General umbel with few leaves ; leaflets of the involucre few and often lobed: partial one of several rays; the leaflets of the involucel several and entire. Flowers in the same umbel, male, female, or bisexaul—W. and A. Prod. p. 367. This, like the last, is the only genus of the tribe to which it belongs, found in this part of India. I have introduced it here partly on that account, but principally to show a sport of nature by presenting a plant whose general appearance is so unlike that of other umbelliferous plants, that one, not havi: g¢ a practical ac- guaintance with the family, might find much difficulty in finding its place in the system of vegetables. It is very abundant in all the woods about Ootacamund and Dodabet, during the rainy season. SANICULA ELATA (Ham.:) stem dichotomous at An t growing herbaceous plant, common in al- the apex : leaves 3-partite or ternate, glabrous: seg- most every wood about Ootacamund, flowering during ments sessile, ovate, acute, lobed and serrated, cu- the rainy season. It often attains a large size, three neate at the base, the lateral ones often bipartite: or foar feet in height, aioe usually 3-fid, few flowered: flowers ae. us, the males pedicelled, _W. and A, Prod. Aydroty lec Umlellijercee 78 ee Ad ee poy ee seaseeaees ugens Will WEF NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 69 other genera. In Ceylon there is a species of fig that so perfectly associates in habit with Ivy, that any person not knowing the difference would almost suppose, on seeing a wall or trunk ofa venerable tree covered with it, that he was looking on genuine Ivy. The difference between that Ivy-like Fig and our stately Banyan tree, is therefore greater than that between the European and Hill Ivies; for even the most arboreous forms of the Hill lvy when growing along side of another tree or cleft of rock, have a tendency to seek support from it. Both the trees here delineated show that disposition. This is a widely diffused family, and in proportion to the number of species, India has perhaps the largest proportion, there being about 60 Indian species out cf about 200, the remainder being distributed over China, the Eastern Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, America and Europe. Of that number the Neilgherries furnish a list of no fewer than 8 species, (exclusive of one reduced,) with which I am acquainted, and probably more may yet be found when more carefully explored. Allthese I refer to the genus Hedera, not think- ing the genus Paratropia, D. C. under which part of them are described in our Prodromus, sufficiently distinguished. They are all more or less arboreous, the wood in all is soft, brittle and very juicy, the juice having a peculiar terebenthine odour when first exuded. The leaves in all are compound pinnate or palmated. The flowers in umbels, the fruit baccate, generally small, about the size of peas. The nearest relations of this order are evidently Umbellifere and Ampelidee, but both so widely separated that there seems little chance of any of them being confounded, though — all agreeing in some important points. Regarding properties little can be said, none of those on the Hills so far as I have yet heard, are turned to any useful account; but the Chinese Gensing, a medicine in prodigious repute among the Celestials, is obtained from a plant of this ‘family. Its medicinal proper- ties are perhaps somewhat exaggerated among them, but must have some foundation in truth, otherwise it never could have acquired and maintained the high esteem in which it is held by them. HEDERA. Ivy. Margin of the calyx elevated or toothed. Petals 5-10, distinct, or cohering at the apex, and falling off like a calyptra. Stamens 5-10. Styles as many as the petals rarely only 4, converging or combined into 1. - Berry with as many cells as there are styles.—Climbing or erect shrubs, or trees, Leaves simple or com- pound. Flowers umbelled or capitate—W. and A. Prod. p. 376. Between this genus and Paratropia, and some others of this family, I can see no difference in the organs of fructification, the real distinction being one of habit. In both the leaves are compound, but in Hedera they are pinnate, in Paratropia digitate. This difference in my estimation not forming a generic distinction, I have no hesitation in uniting them. According to that difference both the species here represented are Paratropias, and the name haring been already established, I shall so far keep it up as to employ it as a sectional distinc- tion. All the Hill species I have seen are arboreous ; one, H. racemosa, attains a large size, the others are for the most part ramous from the base, and partake more of the character of large shrubs than trees. HH. obovate frequents somewhat lower levels, such as about Coonoor. HH. racemosa is met with in the woods about Oota- camund, but sparingly. In our Prodromus it is remarked that Paratropia appears a natural genus, having the leaves digitate and umbels of flowers arranged in racemes forming thyrses, &c., being now impressed with conviction that, so 70 -NEILGHERRY PLANTS. far as characters derived from the fructification are concerned, no generic difference exists between Hedera and Paratropia, I have referred all the species of the latter to the former genus, but have retained the latter as avery natural and characteristic subgenus, on account of their digitate leaves and thrysoid inflorescence ; these, in the absence of structural difference of the reproductive organs, not being held of sufficient weight to entitle them to generic value. Hepera (P.) opovata (R. W.) arboreous, gla- brous, leaves digitate; leaflets about 5, petioled, cuni- ate, very obtuse or sometimes ob us umerous, solitary on each peduncle : flowers pedicelled : petals, stamens and stigmas eight, rarely six, ovary 8, rarely 6-celled. h : previous year’s wood,) branches racemose, flow : : cuspidate : thyrses panicled, usually lateral, (from the ers dicelled, furnished at the base o small somewhat subulate bractea: petals and stamens styles 5 short; stigmas distinct obtuse: fruit 5- celled. A large tree of rather rare occurrence. A few fine trees 70 or 80 feet high, and large in proportion are growing in the woods behind Kelso land in QOotaca- mund. I have met with it in several other places, but ve i tore, and fr r the right hand side of the road, going down about 100 yards below the 2-mile-stone, furnished the specimen The leaflets vary a goo gured, where it flowers during April and May. Th octonary fructification at once distinguishes this from cuspidate point, under 4 inches all the other species here, independently of the remark- g, and oad, in ttkers they are 6or 7 inches able foliage, long and about 2 broad; much waved. Flowers June racemosa (R. W.) arboreous, and July. The mature fruit scarcely attains the size HepERA ; leaves digitate : leaflets about 7, form oblong, lanceo- ofa moderate sized pea. tak 5 : te acuminated, undulate on the margin, to elliptic XXXIV,.—LORANTHACEE—Mistletoe Tribe. This is a most curious family of (with one exception,) tree parasites. The species are very numerous, but the genera very few. ‘They are always found growing on other plants commonly on branches of trees, but not unfrequently on each other, and I have even seen examples of a new plant parasitic on its own parent. DeCandolle remarks that they grow on nearly all kinds of trees except milky ones. This remark is according to my own ob- servations generally true, but not without striking exceptions, as I haye seen them quite abundant on Fig trees, and one Loranth. Luphorbee R.W. on our milk-hedge (Euphorbia Antiquorum.) The family generally most abounds within the tropies, or in the warm regions of the temperate zone, only two species being natives of Europe; but on these hills, witha temperate climate, they are very numerous, Viscums and Loranthi being found every where, scarcely a tree to be met with being constantly free from their visitation, and among them are some very beautiful species. ‘This last remark applies exclusively to Loranthus, the species of Viscum, though some are very curious, have no beauty to recommend them to our notice; but are not on that account the less deserving of observation, owing to the contrast which they present in habit and appearance, to the tree that supports them, and from which they extract their nourishment. ; The species growing on milky plants show clearl y that they have the power of elimena- tion, and can select such portion of the juices only, as are suitable for their nourishment, their own juices being watery, while those of the supporting plant are milky, an interesting fact in the history of these vegetables, The floral structure of this family furnishes an example of the difficulties which occa- sionally present themselves, as if, to set at nought classification of the vegetable kingdom, eoKP = AUS. oH On a & FERS ¢. ¥ y 50 ta. Yo-R EE | Wee Frm, 3, VY . eon LP ~ ae a > = : Zs » ZB ll ex , laa fp a an nS y * ms NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 71 resting on the assumed uniformity of those organs. Polypetalous flowered families are grouped together in one series; monopetalous ones in another, and apetalous in a third: in this order the three meet—Viscum is polypetalous, Loranthus monopetalous, Misodendron apetalous, and as if that were not enough, we find in Viscum the first and last combined, the male flowers being apetalous, and the female ones polypetalous. Jussieu’s and DeCandolle’s systems are based on the structure of the flowers, Polype- talous, Monopetalous and Apetalous flowers, forming their primary subclasses. Such being the case, it is not to be wondered at that much discrepancy of opinion exists among Botanists, as to the place this family should occupy. By most of the Botanists of the present day, it has been placed among monopetalous orders, mainly I believe, on account of the perfect corolla of Loranthus, the most prominent genus of the order. _ Brown, however, with his usual farsighted discrimination, long ago decided that their proper place is near Proteacee, an apetalous family; an opinion which is gradually gaining ground, as our acquaintance with Thymalaceous orders enlarges, and must ere long be uni- versally adopted, as there can be no doubt that the nearest relations of the family are to be found in that subclass. Proteaceae, Olacinee, Thymalee and Santalacee, are all more nearly allied families than any of those among which they are now generally placed, and all belong to that division of the vegetable kingdom, Viewed in connection with these families this is a most instructive one, as regards ex- isting systems of natural classification of plants, as tending to show that hitherto, probably, too much importance has been attached to the form, perfection and relative position of the flower, and scarcely enough on the ovarium and its contents ; as it is similarity of the latter that furnishes the bond of union by which the genera associated in this family, are held toge- ther, notwithstanding the wide discrepancy among their flowers. Another cireumstance may be mentioned, as incidentally tending to confirm the rela- tionship existing between this order and those mentioned above ; namely, that DeCandolle has placed the genus of Schoepfia among Loranthacee, while Mr. Bentham a Botanist of the highest attainments, has referred it to Olucinee, an order, on the affinities of which I have already offered some remarks, tending to show that it is erroneously placed by DeCandolle and his followers, on characters taken from the flowers, but not confirmed by the ovarium and fruit. I have mentioned at the commencement of these remarks, that the species of this order are “ true parasites,” that is, they send their roots into the substance of, and draw their nourishment from the proper juices of the plant that bears them. In this respect they are unlike epiphites; that is, plants that simply adhere to the bark, but do not penetrate into the substance of the plant. Of this description are ‘numerous Orchidee, and Mosses which are nourished by moisture obtained from the atmosphere, and retained by the rough and porous bark of the trees on which they grow. The process of vegetation can be easily obs ved, probably in all kinds of Loran- thacer, but certainly in numerous species of Loranthus; all that is required being to take mature seed, and stick them by their viseum on any substance. In due time the radicle shoots from one end, becomes curved, swells and dilates at the apex, and attaches itself to 72 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. the body on which the seed adheres. If that body bea suitable one for its support, a grow- ing plant for example, a radicle in due time issues from the dilated sucker-like portion, pene- trates the bark, and extends itself on the wood below. I have seen seed ina state of vege- tation on leaves, stones, and in short anywhere, but of course they can only take root when their support is of a kind to admit of it. The plants of this family abound in the substance familiarly known under the name of, “ Birdlime” or viscum. The Mistletoe, the European representative of this family, is well known, at least by name, on account of the superstitious traditions regarding it, which have been handed down to the present time from those of the Druids, among whom it was venerat- ed as a sacred plant. VISCUM—unisTLETOE. Flowers diccious or moneecious. Calyx with the margin obsolete and entire. Petals 4 (more rarely 3 or 5,) thick, nearly triangular from a broad base, very shortly united at the base into a gamopetalous 4-partite corolla, or distinct, valvate in estivation. Stamens wanting in the female; in the male without filaments, and with the anthers adnate to the petals, and composed of numerous little cells (or bilocular ?) : ovary in the female cohering with the calyx. Stigma almost sessile obtuse. Berry umbilicated, internally mucilaginous. Embryo irregular in its direction, sometimes 2 or 3 in the same seed : extremity of the radicle often (always?) protruded beyond the albumen,—Parasitical shrubs, growing on dicotyledonous trees, all (with one exception,) glabrous. Branches terete, tetragonal, or compressed, often jointed. Leaves opposite or rarely alternate, often wanting or reduced to a'mere scale, Flowers fascicled, or in spikes. f this genus there are about 100 known species. They are generally ramous, pendulous plants, the ate jointed, bearing the leaves and flowers on the joints, the flowers are very minute, and often in the leafy species, required to be looked for before they canbe seen. The fruit is usually an oval, pulpy berry, fre- quently red, when ripe the seed is enveloped in a very visced muscilaginous substance, by which, they adhere to whatever they touch, and if the circumstances are favourable, vegetate. In this way they might be easily propagated. The species of this genus have but little in their appearance to recommend them, hence, except as curiosities, they are not worth the trouble. Not so however many of the species of Loranthus, which are indeed very beautiful plants, and might, I think, be easily turned to account for ornamental purposes. Vis orBicuLAtuM (R. W.) monoicous, fs joints, opposite or in opposite fascicles of 3 page Fei cy four sided, angled: leaves Bot gy orbicu- sometimes nearly verticillate—W. and A. Pr fos p. 380 lar, much waved on the margin, slightly 3-5 nerved: This unlike the preceding, a widely dist tributed flowers senile xilla ary, aggregated, on and female and is found on all kinds of trees, the specim ixed : anthers sessile on the lobes of the calyx, flat, here given, grew on — He dodendron act gr a posed of gor oag little cells, berries oval, oblong, portion of which accompan obtuse a bot Viscum Montiiro eae 8 ‘eroaloides (R. W.) This rare salbaati: the plants from which se variety occurs in the most profuse abundance on the te ey was made being the only ones I have see hills, frequenting nearly all kinds of trees and shrubs, they were growing he branches of Agapetes ar- but is probably most frequent on a species of Iliz. borea. The ai Remnast ea not correctly Be ge: The specimen from which the drawing was taken, the anthers, the other parts of the figure un gre ies of ceptionable. carah River. This variety seems quite diccious ; but Viscum MONILIFoRME (Blu ume) leafless : = I have never met with a male plant among hundreds terete atthe base ; branches opposite or fascicled, that I have examined. Judging from the specimen presse : articulations obovate-oblong, Sere at ‘ths figured, it might well be considered a distinct species. base, 3-4 tim longer than broad, ong the but extended examination of the plant in all its forms, middle but ont striated : flowers pp at rs apex of scarcely warrants its separation from the preceding. Pa 86 fas a. a (| Ponty : A es v 7 we N! Bey) / } Lb <" je © 5 } a 7 A , & th ~~ : : & as Nw SS y sta NG a ae ad Va ay fe eee a7 _Sranthace’ “— . ss ‘3 | t = “= \ o? - ; : iy ~ * \ I . YY . - ay P o/s ‘ we y - on - q ae N O//\x = . ™ . . j 2 s . vty fj Lh. Dumyitey, ote: ae. LRA - y=) ie wearect _Seruanthud Net NEILGHERRY PLANTS, | 7 LORANTHUS. Flowers usually bisexaul. Calyx-tube ovate, rarely turbinate : limb short, truncated or toothed. Petals 4-8, usually 5-6, either distinct or more or less united : estivation valvular. Stamens as many as the petals and opposite to them : filaments adnate to the base of the petals, free at the apex: anthers 2-celled, adnate, or erect, or versatile. Style filiform. Stigma simple, capitate or turbinate. Berry roundish, ovate, or oblong, or turbinate, 1-celled, 1-seeded, usually crowned with the limb of the calyx. Shrubs usually parasitical, rarely growing on the ground. Leaves epposite or alternate, entire, usually thick and coriaceous. Flowers spiked, or racemose, or panicled. The Neilgherry species of this genus are numerous and individually abundant. How many species there may be is very doubtful, but my impression is, that as many as 20 are natives of these Hills, though I have not yet collected so many. Every wood about the Hills abounds with them, and scarcely a tree grows but is subject to their attacks. In their general appearance they greatly vary ; some are stout, erect growing shrubs, some slender, twiggy and pendulous, some with bright foliage, at first of the richest crimson tints, while others are of the most dull and unassuming. The colour and appearance of the fl equally vary ; some are large and richly coloured, others smaller, but still conspicuous for the richness of their colouring ; while others are the dullest imaginable, and as if to conceal the little colour they have, are clothed with dirty whitish or tawny coloured hairs. Many attain a great size, and by their drain on the vital fluids of their support, speedily induce the premature decay consequent on deficient nourishment. Lorantuus NEILGERRENSIs, (W. and A.:) scurely repand toothed : corolla glabrous, ventricose- glabrous : branches terete, young ones obscurely and ly gilbous at the base, equally 5-cleft to beyond the bluntly angled : leaves alternate, elliptic-oblong, short- middle: segments cuneate linear, recurved.—/i . and 8 rat fles at 2. ted, ve numerous deep the petiole, bearing an umbel of 3-7, very shortly pe- red, almost crimson coloured flowers, which complete- dicelled flowers : bractea solitary under the ovary and ly coverthe branches, while the young leaves on the i cal SV; CAPRIFOL TACK ER HO E TRIBE, This is a small, but to the Horticultural Amateur, an interesting family, as including within its narrow limits the Elder, the Honeysuckle, the Tinus and Lauristinus, Guelder, Rose, and numerous other ornaments of the shrubbery and arbour. They are the more es- teemed as, being for the most part natives of temperate climates, they are hardy enough to pear the winters of England. In its geographical distribution this family occupies a wide range, extending from Lapland within the arctic circle, where Linnea borialis is indigenous to New Zealand, nearly 50° South of the equator, the native country of the genus Alseuosmia; and all round the world from the Western shores of America, to the Eastern ones of China and Japan. But while thus extensively inhabiting the temperate regions of both hemispheres, they are of rare occurrence within the tropics; except where, as in the instance of these mountains, local circumstances produce a temperate climate. In Nepaul and the Hymalayas generally, they are numerous; upwards of 20 species being described from the valley of Nepaul alone; thence they extend Southward to Ceylon, and Eastward to Japan. On the Neilgherries 6 species are indigenous, two of Lonicera, and four of Viburnum: thereby indicating by their vegetable productions, the extra-tropical ch aracter of the climate of these Hills. 74 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. The order itself, in its Botanical characters, is one of great simplicity, being quinary in all its parts except the ovary, which is usually 3-celled or, in other words, made up of 3 united earpels, each cell usually containing several ovules. I have however specimens of Lonicera Leschenaultii, (the common Hill Honeysuckle,) with four and five celled fruit; this however is a rare and accidental variation probably depending on some local cause. Three carpels, with several ovules in each, is the usual number in Zonicera, and most of the other genera; but Viburnum departs widely from the character of the order in that respect, as I find, in all the species I have examined, upwards of 20 in number; it has constantly a soli- tary carpel witha single ovule pendulous from the apex of the cell. Thinking this structure limited to the Neilgherry species, my first thought was to remove them from the rest of the genus, which nearly all modern Botanists describe in such a way, as_ either to lead to the in- ference, that it has a plurality of cells and ovules, or actually assert, that such is its structure ; and had I not possessed specimens of two common European species which agreed in struc- ture with our Indian ones, I would undoubtedly have acted on my first impressions, on the supposition that the Indian members of the family had been referred to it on external appear- ances only, without sufficient examination ; and as affording a striking illustration of the im- portance of Geographical distribution in the limitation of genera. The case however as it now stands, is less creditable to the leaders of the science in Europe, than I at first supposed. The affinities of this order need not be dwelt upon: it is evidently most nearly related to Rubiacee, from which indeed it scarcely differs except in the want of interpetiolar stipules, a character of great importance as being the only invariable bond of union by which the large assemblage of plants, congregated under that family, are held together. In one tribe hitherto associated with Rubiacew, they are wanting or doubtful, and that has, by Dr. Lindley, been removed from them as a distinct order, under the name of Stellate. The pecu- liar structure of the ovary of Viburnum, furnishes a connecting link with Loranthacee, not previously suspected, an order in other respects far removed. VIBURNUM. Gvusuper Rosz, Lauristinus. with the teeth of the calyx, Seed compressed.—Shrubs. Leaves opposite, petioled, entire or lobed. ‘Corymba terminal. Flowers white, or slightly reddish.—W. and A. Prod. p. 388. This is an extensive genus consisting for the most part of handsome flowering shrubs with some small trees, I am not aware of any of large dimensions; several of the species are much cultivated as ornamental shrubs, and are prised on account of their property of flowering late in autumn or winter, when other flowers are not to be had. According to the most recent enumeration, the genus includes nearly 70 species, natives of Europe, Asia and America. Among the Asiatic species several are from China and Japan, and four are natives of the Neilgherries; a 5th, V. pubigerum described in our Prodromus, I have since ascertained to be an imperfect specimen of V. Wightianum. These are all handsome flowering shrubs generally meriting a place in gardens, though their claims to this distinction are, as will be seen from the plates, very unequal. In the above genuine character which is copied from DeCandolle, and adopted in our Prodromus, the fruit is said to be a “ berry by abortion one-seeded.” This is a mistake: it is one-seeded, but not by abortion, as the analysis of the ovary of all the species will show that the ovary contains only one ovule, consequently no abortion can have taken place when that one comes to maturity, SAMEMUMEEE Rumgiuah dec. Cif cipeleaiwe . 89 Viburnum arnt nan, Wall) GO , We Tee Durryjihy, Ley A NEILGHERRY PLANTS. "15 DeCandolle divides the genus into three sections—Lentago, Opulus and Solenotinus. To the first we have referred V. acuminatum and capitellatum; and to the last V. hebanthum and Wightianum if inthis distri- bution we are correct, these two sections must indeed be very arbitrary and quite inapplicable in practice, as I have never tes best able to apply them: the error, however, may be ours, not his, as none of our species are described by VIBURNUM ACUMINATUM, (Wall :) young bebe ace, petioles, and peduncles dotted with small 3 colour. leaves elliptical, acuminated a nds, ite entire with margin sighty recurved, : upper side shining omit covered with m ning rusty coloured dots beitiyt termin ak wa trichotomiouy, often ret haw the leaves: stig- sessile: berry oval-oblong—W. and A. Prod. *: ; A common and ar amid Anes = rarely, if ever met with,at the elevat ota und : at Coonoor and for ie or frst miles “ere that place, it is ag ommon and wh ower, a Ihave specimens fom several but have never seen it under three or aes thousand feet of elevat on. n some situations it may almost a called a small trees penetally itis a mg ramous shrub. VIBURNUM CAPITELLATUM Ow and A.:) free RNUM HEBANTHUM, (W. and A. :) branches, petiole es, oe general peduncles see cal or o of the nerv — under side, otherwise glabrous : partial peduncles of the corm escent : corolla tubula i oeccinne “So softly pubescent, limb very small, nearly erect, 4-5 % a s —_ t tube: style ct, very — an a Prod, ectiall tree, all over the The specimen from which on a Av mon ahr or higher ranges sof the hills. do east striking a ee Neilgherry species. show its flowers in February, but is not in perkeblin until March pe! sak VipuRNUM WIGHTIANUM, :) ena (Wall petioles, peduncles, pedicel and flowers glabro t the from scales, quite slubrocs except in ‘the axils of the t leaves oval, shor nf fa nated, obtuse att oy cymes : ewhat umbel-shap p ; tite ; flowers umbellate, several together, nearly sessile the nerves oar, ly pubescent and their axils woolly: at the ee ve — ultimate divisions : r-buds cormyb shortly peduncled, somewhat panicle- erate visco stigmas sessile: eee oval- pte seats pubescent and "ciliated corolla hypo bea Wv. id A. Prod. p. 388, eriform ; limb spreading, ee, shinies: 4 The specimens from which accompanying times Sinton than the er ovary linear: style very rawing was made were found in the pte ts te short and thick.—W. a d. of Kotagherr ty. I have other specimens from A moderate tree or sree shrub frequent in — Pulny range, found at a nearly similar beats nd but woods about Ootacamund, flowering in April May, but generally 6 be met with at other seabioe: The fruit in this, like those of the pr eceding, is an ripe. I do not rec so having observed it I aha oval succulent drupe, red and subacid when ri mun ndsome shrub, acy maay “allied to the next, "but seisleiitty distinct. Flowers. duri ing the autumnal months, LONICERA—HoneEYsvckLe. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla tubular, campanulate, or infundibuliform: the limb 5-cleft, often irregular. Sta- mens 5. Style filiform. Stigma capitate. Berry 3- (or by abortion sometimes 2-) celled, the cells few-seeded. Seeds crustaceous. Erect or climbing shrubs. Leaves opposite, sometimes connate, entire or occasionally ightly runcinate, - Inflorescence axillary, various.—W. and A. Prod. p. 389 Many of the species of this genus, like those of Viburnum, are general favourites as ornamental plants, especially among the lovers of arbours, for the construction of which the trailing habit, and the profusion and fragrance of their flowers admirably adapt them. In regard to the limits of the genus different Botanists have taken very different views. Linnzus combined 4 of Tourniforts genera, in the formation of his genus Lonicera, Jussieu took a different view, and divided the Linnean genus into two, Caprifolium and Xylosteon, thereby ob- literating Linnzeus’ generic name. This division was followed by most Botanists until the publication of the 4th volume of DeCandolle’s Prodromus, where he restored the Linnean genus, vastly augmented in the number of its species, though he had himself previously followed Jussieu. Since that time Botanists generally seem to have followed that great authority in reviving Lonicera as the generic name, and reducing Caprifolium and Xylosteon to the rank of subgenera. Lindley, however, in a very recent work of his, ‘ School Botany,” still retains the genus Caprifolium, as distinct from Xylosteon or Lonicera, (the name he has by some oversight em- a "6 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. ployed) though I confess I cannot see upon what grounds, as I cannot help thinking that to keep up both is to retain two most artificial, almost indistinguishable genera; where one most perfect and compact is already form- ed by nature herself for our acceptance. He, I am aware, upholds the doctrine that excessive analysis is pre- ferable to excessive synthesis ; of the truth of which there cannot be a doubt so long as that analysis is based on extensive and careful observation and accurate knowledge of the value of our generic characters ; but not other- wise. Loosely constructed verbose characters very analytical in appearance, but quite the reverse when them- selyes thoroughly analysed, are the bane of natural science : we are too much given to the subdivision of really natural genera on the principle above stated, that excessive analysis is better than excessive synthesis, a princi- ple which, however good in the abstract, can yet be carried too far. Under this conviction it appears to me, DeCandolle has done well to reunite them; as combined, they form a most natural genus, but separated, two very artificial genera. As it now stands, the genus Lonicera includes nearly 70 species drawn from China, Japan, Southern and Northern India, Europe and America: and is divided by D.C. into two sections or subgenera—viz., Capri- folium and Xylosteon, which last is again subdivided into 4 subdivisions; both our Hill species belong to the latter suborder. The plants of which it is composed are only useful for ornamental purposes : forming arbours covering the trunks of a venerable tree, or the face of a wall which it is supposed will look better when richly clothed with luxuriant vegetation thanas a naked surface. The one here given, L. ligustrina possess- ing none of the trailing habit which predominates in the genus, is used asa wabi sks for privit, in the formation of garden fences for which itis well adapted; andis named in accordance, ligustrum, being t generic name of the privit. 1.) stem some- gibbous on one side at the base; . Lonicera (X) LIGUBTRINA, (Wal b shortly petioled, ovate-la ‘eigueacs eg obtuse at the hi base, quite entire, s inte, prinkled on the margin and w wind bene ath with spread- . hai ; peduncles a “little longer than petioles, the clightly ‘sean at the apex, 2-flowered, axillary and racteas, a subulate one at the bac berries net both covered by the common bractea.—W. and A, Prod. very common plant about ssc and like has Ash is much used as a dens for w compac in proportion to the qua ve being considered an orhath ental flowering so o far as general form is concerned, were shrubberies more in vogue on the hills, it would well merit a place i the margin Be eather” teeth oblong, short: in them, cro paberlou, infundibuliform; tube rather short, Trree wv VO, XXXVI. DITNRIAnNyD ma NIATOIAAA CMD Om T ’ Ad In giving names to families, the rule isto select one of the most characteristic genera ofthe group, and alter the termination of the name by an affix, cee, being the one usually em- ployed in Botany. Both the above names are constructed on this principle, Rubiacee being derived from Rubia, and Cinchonacee from Cinchona ; to this extent therefore, they are. both unobjectionable. But the genus Rubia belongs to a small section of the order, and that pre- senting peculiarities which, in the opinion of Dr. Lindley, justify its separation from the rest of the family and elevation, to the rank of a very: distant and well defined natural order. In accordance with this view he gives a new name to theold:-order, and seleeting the-well known Cinchona (Peruvian Bark,) as the type has, in his natural system, called it Cinchonacee, appro- priating Stellate or Galiacee, (from Galium) to the new one by which arrangement the con- fusion apt to originate in appropriating a new meaning to old names, is avoided. The family even after this division, is still a large and important one, contributing greatly to the comforts %, mankind through the powerful medicines (Bark and Ipecacuana,) ey Z vo i7 c JLOWMECELELE M5 Pee 1) NY L foliated DL Dusorhey, Leth Will) waa / ia / NEILGHERRY PLANTS. var which it provides, as well as by the grateful and nutritious beverage (coffee,) which it supplies. “ Its predilections as regards temperature, are decidedly tropical, or subtropical ; not one species—excluding Stellate-—being, so far as I am aware, indigenous even in the South of Europe ; while within the tropics they are estimated to constitute 1-29th of the flowering plants. At this rate and assuming that on the higher ranges of these Hills there are 1000 species of flowering plants, which I dare Say is near the truth, there should he 38 species of Rubiaceous plants. This, I think, is somewhat beyond the truth, though not much. This estimate though derived partly from assumed data, for Ihave never counted the number of species in my hill collections, is I believe very near the truth ; and tends to show that this climate partakes more of the tropical character than some of the examples previ- ously noticed would lead us to expect; and that, although an immense improvement on what we have onthe plains, we must still look upon it as tropical, and inferior to even the South of Europe, as a temperate region, unless it can be shown, that the temperature is modified in its effects on the constitution by the very rarified atmosphere, requiring a greater volume of air, by probably nearly ith, to be respired to yield the same quantity of oxygen to the circulation that would be obtained in a similar temperature on the level of the sea. This is not the place to consider what effect this difference may have in modifying health and disease, though it seems quite in place to advert to the circumstance in connection with facts deduced from a consideration of the natural products of the region. In a purely Botanical point of view, this is a most interesting family; being in some respects most heterogeneous in its composition, while in others it is one of the best market and most clearly defined, Composite perhaps excepted, in the system of plants. The ques- tion will naturally arise how can such a paradox be explained, It is clearly defined by its monopetalous corolla, inferior ovary, and opposite leaves with intermediate stipules. The last is, however, the most constant character, and the one by which only it is “ strictly limited.” We have other orders with monopetalous corollas, inferior ovaries and opposite leaves; but Cinchunacee alone, are these combined with inter- mediate stipules, which is in fact the essential character of the order, and in this respect it is most constant; ex-stipulate plants being almost uniformly rejected. It is on the other hand most heterogeneous in the structure of its ovary and fruit. One tribe Operculariee, has a one-celled, one-seeded fruit. Another Spermacocee has a dry 2 or 4-celled fruit, with one seed in each. Coffeacee has a berried 2-celled fruit, with 1 seed in each. In Pederiee the two carpels are suspended from the apex of a filiform axis, as in Umbellifere. Guettardacee has drupaceous fruit, with from 2 to 10 stones. In all these the cells of the fruit are one- seeded. In Hamdice the fruit has many cells, and the cells many seed. In Hedyotidee, the fruit are two-celled with many seed in each. In Gardeniacee, the fruit is one or two-celled indehiscent with numerous parietal seed, while in Cinchonee, it: is a 2-celled eapsule with numerous winged seed. All these tribes differing so widely in these most essential organs, the ovary, fruit and seed, are yet all bound together by means of the opposite leaves with intermediate stipules, The Stellate want that character, having in lieu of it, a whorl of leaves round the joints of the stem, on which account mainly, Lindley removes them from theorder, Caprifoliacee "8 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. has opposite leaves, but no stipules; had they stipules, they must have been united, there being no other point of structure to separate them. Apocynee in like manner has oppo- site leaves without intermediate stipules, but combined with a superior ovary (a good cha- racter, but not unexceptionable, as there is a Cinchonaceous genus with a superior ovary,) Loganiciee has stipules; but they are supra axillary and sheathing, and combined with a su- perior ovary. They agree, however, so well with Rubiacee, that they have been designated « Rubiacew with a free ovary.” Rubiacee are considered by many Botanists nearly allied to Composite, this relationship does not strike me as near, though it certainly exists. To this order we are indebted for that, to India, most valuable of medicines Bark, and its derivative Quinine also, for Ipecacuana with many others of minor note. ‘The roots of Morinda tinctoria and of Hedyotes (Oldenlandia) umbellata supply very permanent red dyes, especially the latter, which is the basis of the bright Modina red so highly prized among natives of India—and last, but not least, to this family we owe that most delightful and whole- some beverage, Coffee and a few esculent fruits. A few species yield ‘inoftl timber, such as our bastard cedar, the produce of our Hymenodyction excelsum, Nauclea cordifolia, and one or two other species of the same genus, which attain a large size in the Malabar _ also supply timber, but of inferior quality and of a yellow colour. HEDYOTIS. Calyx-tube ovate or globose: limb 4-toothed or 4-cleft, the teeth or segments persistent, without smaller Corolla somewhat regular, infundibuliform, tubular, or rotate, 4-cleft, the segments im- Stamens 4, inserted into the mouth of the tube, or a litttle below it : anthers roundish, oblong, or shurt linear ary crowned with afleshy disk. Stylefiliform. Stigma bifid or 2-lobed, rarely entire. Capsule obovate, ovate or globose, crowned with the limb of the calyx, 2-celled, dehiscing at _the apex within the calyx, ina direction transverse to the dissepiment, at length sometimes splitting to the middle or to the base, and either loculicidal or scepticidal. Seeds usually minute, numerous and angled, rarely few or solitary in each cell—Herbaceous, suffrutescent, or shrubby plants. Stems 4-angled or terete: branches sometimes compressed. Stipules cohering with the petioles, usually fringed with several bristles, Inflorescence various.—W. and A, Prod. p, 405. intermediate ones. bricated (not twisted) in zstivation. le < rarely entire. It is well remarked in our Prodromus, that this is a polymorphous genus not only in habit, but also in characters, for it certainly is such. But though this is the case, they are generally readily recognized. Some certainly have so much the habit of Spermacocee, that dissection of the ovary or fruit, is required to detemine to which of the two tribes they belong. The species of this genus are numerous on the Hills, and many of them most unlike each other; some being large handsome flowering shrubs, and others minute, almost inconspicuous herbs. Here they are found in nearly all situations, and flowering atall seasons. The larger shrubby species are in greatest perfection. about the beginning of the year, February and March, and then they are truly most conspicuous objects, when growing in somewhat moist, sheltered situations. TIS LAWSONI@, (W. and A.: shrubby, Hepyor woods about Ootacamund and e Isewhere, not very neheven’ branches 4-angled : leaves oblong-lanceo- Hills. rare on the The flowers which in fine plants, hie represented, te, acuminated at both ends, petioled ; nerves few an — curved; stipules deciduous, triangular-ovate, minated, the point thickened and demeanor the margin entire: panicle spreading: calyx-lim ; the concrete slightly protrad ile: “Considerably protruded : capsule obovate, dicoccous.—W. and A. Prod. p. 407. A handsome but fiche spud, found in es form much larger clusters than thos are so much of the lilac colour, that introduced into shrubberies, = some care Pretty i i tion, it might become a passing good s the lilac. In pr exposed sitaations where : Boor, it rarely exceeds two or three feet in Pe ight 3. shady woods with moist andrich soil, it rises o rae or even eight feet, and fis cased with blos~ soms is really a ecinifl object. The upper ae: a JAMEL GA -f [WEA 44). Kee Ge} Jotree: A LD Bh f \ rik lh a” en as = 7! Vo RY Af {7 3 iy Nedyohidew evetcew ¥. St ny RY St = \y Yel ° “> ve yy Caw sy Z q ‘ o> Vy I 2 "| Sg) | ; 2. Y 4 . SVAN | s Ihe Ay Wy We | \\GAR \ \ \ GaN OO t 1 | i Lo Rurgiah ae, Soondeleliete NS EGS RO IS 2 Z oY BE , oS) x ) oS Zoe *e - SAN ays ae r ES a i: \ Y 7 a9 <5: BO \ YRS ¢ NS = <<} i. |] J as ie ¥ A EY eae 2 i) ee eeN ) —<_ —* \\ f Y y Wolk DEVAS AS \, Sy i RW Z's Tae , \d LS ie us) 1S U pate S ork mph so is ay iG <] ds ANS QZ Vindlandia Neloniana tall) NEILGHERRY PLANTS. ing nah only are oS the soit ones be- me nearly round. The drawing was t Ko- taghery i in Pee eles 7 edie into sae ‘ducing the rainy season. TIS sTYLosa (Brown :) slant gla- e coe ete ete or obtusely 4-an- Sceslain acumi- r -calyx- cu : corolla externally slabou us, aiioie in ‘aie mouth onthe segments: filaments conside erably igh : style much ne capsule ovoid, dicoc OK and A. Pr 0 sie a shuch mor idle nt shrt tb than t elevation heogh ane po) in the wo he flowers ib ers 3 white, and itisin flower ee ‘nearly sea He aes be cide rid Sib plostisiadohe 2 cage rous, sea a lanceolate : 8, leafy; lower pairs upper ones approxi imated. _Verti age as long or of leaves dis- tant Opposite > celle d: Btipt ile te ers sessile, capitate and terminal, or verticelled in the sil of the upper leaves : heads from the axils of the low pairs peduncled: calyx segments linear leacotlate os 79 long or longer than the tube of the corolla: Rade see am rm, hairy in ge throat : stamen or less exsérted or inc — € apex, w It grows in ix wet or even e banks of the Pycarah oe it is met with in n considerable abundance, but on th dahs it is being full “of it earlier maeathie fir therefore infer it is in flower ata a very nes sevhion of the genus g with one two Ceylon $ agreeing in its acauline plantago like habit. The ‘tov s are lilac coloured Astin rruptedly panicled on geet ose The leave so nume- rous and closely se ase, that they hold water, hence I have alw tes found a quan i i asi howerer dry the weather, as if they had recently exposed to a shower of rain. When in full nivted itt is erty a beautiful plant. I can see no diffe between this and H. plan fe bane Arno tt, and’ feel confident this last has been adde ed species, owing t he bering specimen to compar d our description having been made from a scape on ot a perfect plant. The proper stems of pe are the same in both—and so are the flowers and seed. gy WENDLANDIA. Calyx-tube somewhat globose, often striated: the limb very short, composed of 5 small persistent es Corolla with the tube longer than the calyx, widest at the throat, glabrous or nearly soon the outside: spreading, 5-lobed ; thelobes oblong or lanceolate, acute or obtuse, imbricated and slightly twisted in zstiva- tion, and forming a globose or oval head to the flower-bud. mens 5: filaments springing from the very Sta top of the tube, often very short: anthers oblong, exserted, oscillatory. Ovary crowned witha fleshy disk. Style exserted, filiform. Stigma of two pretty large, with the limb of the calyx, 2-celled, splitting at the apex, , Leaves coriaceous, oval or lanceclate, petioled. Stipules solitary on each side, broad at the ower Trees or shrubs. base, acuminated. Panicles thyrsoid, terminal, man oval, thickish segments. oculici Capsule globose, crowned eeds minute, numerous in each cell.— Flowers white, small, very shortly pedicel- led, forming spikes or fascicles along the ultimate ramifications of the panicle.—W. and A. Prod. p. 402. There is, so far as I have been able to make out, only one species of this genus on the Hills, and that does not ascend to the higher ranges. About Cooncor and on that level it is very abundant; it also abounds hen about Kaitie Falls, where I obtained the specimen here delineated, in February, just coming into flower’ W in flower this isa very handsome shrub, each branch terminating ina large panicle of whitish or pale rose coloured flowers. WENDLANDIA Notontana (Wall.:) arboreous, th the aoe ng shoots hirsute: leaves rr cae oblong, slightly tapering at both ends; upper side glabro under somewhat glaucous, more or less obey ‘sabe scent, Ashore hope ae glabrous ExcEpe on the nerves 8 ar~ n at the Biles ¢ recurve s of the panicl irsute, somewhat erect, flowers hte forming interrupted spikes : calyx hoary, the teeth triangular, acuminated: corolla glabrous, 6-8 times longer than the limb of the calyx tube widened at the outh; vd i the limb oval, obtuse, recurved ; anthers arly sessile: a sprinkled with short rT Prod. beautif ay se frequent about oom not ascendin als = t ornamental, of- ten attaining a height of from 10 to 15 fe et, with every branch terminated by a large panicle of reddish white flowers 80 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. LASIANTHUS, Jacx—Mephitidia,D.C. Santia, W. ann A. Calyz, limb 4-7 cleft. Corolla 4-7 cleft: throat and limb usually hairy, Stamens 4-7 inserted near the throat : filaments short: anthers oblong, scarcely exserted. Ovary crowned witha fleshy disk, 2-7-celled with a single erect ovule in each: sfyle about the length of the corolla: stigma usually capitate, 2-7-lobed. Drupe globose, containing 2-7 nuts. Nuts usually rugose, or furrowed on the back. Seed erect: albumen fleshy, enclosing a cylindrical erect embryo. Shrubs or small trees. Young branches, petioles and costa of the under surface of the leaves, usually clothed with long matted, or rigid adpressed hairs. Stipules caducous, bearing aring of hairs or filiform bristle-like scales. Leaves short, petioled, usually elliptic, oblong, more or less acuminated at the apex, and tapering at the base; often hirsute on both sides, but generally on the costaand veins, Veins prominent, pinnate, running in curved lines towards the margin, the last pair forming, withthe costa, a 3-nerved termi- nation of the leaf; veinlets conspicuous, passing in nearly straight lines between the costa and veins, giving a culiar and unique character to the venation, Bracteas often large and numerous, copiously clothed with long matted hair, forming athick involucrum round the axillary sessile fascicles of flowers. Flowers always small in all the genuine species I have seen. Calye limb sometimes much produced, and parted to the base, . into subulate or lanceolate teeth; sometimes short and obtusely lobed, rarely truncated, and furnished with short, almost inconspicuous teeth. Cwvrolla small, tubular, lobes of the limb spreading, and, with the throat, generally hairy. Drupe usually succulent, generally blue when ripe. The hairs on all parts of the plant, especially where long and shaggy, are jointed, in some species almost approaching to moniliform, The leaves are said by Blume, to exhale a disagreeable odour: this I have not observed. In this definition of the genus, I have abbreviated the essential character, and extended the na- tural one, in the hope of giving it greater precision and strength. This genus was first established by the late Mr. William Jack, for the reception of some plants, natives of the Eastern Islands. For reasons which I cannot adopt, it was changed by DeCandolle to Mephitidia, I there- fore restore the original name, having fully stated my reasons for doing so ina paper published in the Calcutta Journal of Natural History. When preparing our Prodromus, we found specimens of the accompanying plant in my collection, and as it is somewhat different from the original species of the genus, we supposed formed the type of a new one, which we named Santia. That genas I also reduce, as not being sufficiently distinct from Jack’s, hence the above two synonyms. Before doing so, I availed myself of the ample opportunities I had, of examining our plant in all its varying forms and stages, as well as comparing it with several other species in my collection, two or three of which are natives of the Hills, abounding on the western slopes towards Sysparah. This genus is remarkable for its tendency to variation in the number of the parts of its flower. The calyx is from 4 to 7 lobed, so is the corolla, the stamens and styles vary in like manner from 3 to 7, but in habit, the agreement throughout the whole, is quite remarkable, and is most conspicuous in the variation of the leaves which is quite peculiar. In nearly all, the flowers are axillary and nearly sessile, forming double capitula in the axils, generally furnished with bracteas, in some very large, quite foliaceous ; in nearly all the lobes of the co- _rolla is densely clothed with short hairs, giving it a velvetty appearance, whence the generic name, in all the ovules are erect, a useful mark towards distinguishing them from some other genera, with pendulous ovules, and in nearly all the fruit is a blue berry, The leaves of some exhale a fetid odour, which suggested the name ephitidia. The genus includes about 40 known species, all natives of India and the Eastern Islands, and it seems probable there are many yet to bediscovered. Regarding their asthe nothing is yet known ; most of them are shrubs, LASIANTHUS VENULOSU (R. W. Santia venu- late, as fie as the tube of the ere corolla 4«5 losa W. and A.) shrubby, pa stipules trian- cleft, throat and ob hairy : stam 4-5; style as gular : leaves coriaceous, short petioled, elliptic- long or often lon or tine the connie * : lebed : cells oblong, cuspidate or acuminate, glabrous above ; veins of the ovary equalling the lobes of the stigma ; a single prominent on both sides beneath sprinkled with hairs : erect ovule each cymes axillary, short peduncled, few (3-5) flowered : Saithealy io the woods about Ootacamund, and mall hairy : calyx 4-5 parted, divisions subu- generally distributed over the higher ranges of the ~ COUCOR’ if bed: L A AMM MANE 76 Durryihy are! gis eet kia, ipa /) oT, 7 AN) ass pn ins 4 (> > \ ee te outs vonulosn iz 4, Me MEPUMMOSH |W 4 A AM = os > yf oe | 7) Ske SL Fe ee | AWE pe ae : CG ge : 7 aia \\ ! San, £.. Sa) = BOC SLO a St lane BV 1 EE SSS Past SN ~~ N WS) q mS . Ty —_—> = ; MLSE CAEA LY” adel’. G7. a of. Chil titcege Se He p 177k i he Nt VAN EN NNO LG We | es ; «= <— ‘ \ oy p vA () e apa\ : a 1 ~ 7 7 () | (ine a Ny Y 4) oe SN Canthium u ebdlabim KR. 4) NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 81 Hills—a very ramous shrub: Ieaves from 2to4inches about the size of a pea, succulent, blue. The lon long by about half as much broad, of a light picks g meth of J at of this species, is very characteristic, green colour, sometimes acuminate, oftene uspi- inflor is essentially cymose, but the pe- ate, Flowers pale yellow or cream eelouted, diitites dines ns reorient reduced to one flower CANTHIUM, Calyx-tube ovate ; limb short, 4-5 toothed. Corolla with a short tube, bearded in the throat; lobes 4-5, Bpreading. Anthers 4-5, inserted into the throat, scarcely exserted. Style filiform exserted. Stigma thick, ovate-globose or mitriform, undivided or bifid at the apex. Drupe globose or compressed, crowned with the {sometimes inconspicuous) calycine teeth, fleshy, 2-celled. Seeds solitary in each cell, inserted near the apex, inverted, incurved. Albumen fleshy. Embryo central: radicle long, superior —Shrubs, with branches un- armed or thorny, Leaves opposite, somewhat coriaceous. Stipules interpetiolar, solitary on both sides, Pe- duncles axillary, short, several flowered. The plants composing this genus are for the most part thorny shrubs; the one here represented, however does not partake of that character, and is, I believe, the largest and handsomest species of the genus : so far as the flora, this part of India is concerned, it certainly is. There is another species very like this in every thing except one point, the inflorescence, which is sufficiently abundant on the plains of India, this I have never seen except as an Alpine plant. The other, C. didynum, differs from this in having a loose cyme . flow- ers in the axils of the leaves, while here all the branches which go to form the cyme in that, are united into one, forming together a thick, short peduncle, the somewhat dilated apex of which is covered with longish jadietod flowers, forming a simple umbel, whence the name. The genus itself is not considerable, including only about 24 or 25 species, and of these not one of any note. It belongs to the Coffea section of the order, distinguished by having a two-celled ovary with a single more or Jess pendulous ovulein each. ‘The flowers of this genus possess a peculiarity not elsewhere met with, ‘so far as I am aware, the throat is full of hair, the lower series of which, in place of being directed upwards towards the surface, nae downwards like a curtain within the tube. In the flowers of our plant, this is not so species, and requires to be looked for, to be properly seen, and has evidently eacupel the observation of the artist, who has not done justice to that part of the analysis. ‘The stigma of all the species is large, more or less mitriform. These are the only points of any note, and in truth, may almost be said to constitute the character of the genus, which seems so little distinguished from several others in its vicinity, each consisting of few species, that one can scarcely avoid thinking some of them might have been dispensed with by merely giving a slight extension to the character, among which Damnacanthus, Plectronia and Psydraz may be mentioned ; Dondisia, D. C. has been already referred here. CaNTHIUM UMBELLATUM (R. W.) shrubby or also founditin great abundance on the tops of the subarboreous, unarmed ; young branches four-side Hills at Shevagherry in full ean ~ September. It leaves short petioled, oval acuminated glabrous, oar very nearly allied to C. m from rico - aceous : flowers axillary umbelled on a short thick scarcely differs except in the “s aaaroabg anc su peduncle: calyx limb my —: tube of the = when th habit of the plese generally : the mea the low: &. corolla hairy gia e $ pointing down- when the two are compared are found much larger wards: stamens 5: style exerted ; stigma mitriform, and more coriaceous in this, but its most striki 2- Te ei obovate didymo' ee is the union of all the branches of the 1 er ater on the Neilgherries cyme intoa single stout peduncle from the dilated ear the seven of Kotagherry, whereintheOrange apex of which, the flowers rise on short pedicels— Valley I found it forming a moderate sized tree. I Flowars white. : GRUMILEA.—PSYCHOTRIA. Grumiura (Gert.) Calyx-tube obovate, very short; limb i en 8 truncated and 5-toothed. Co- rolla infundibuliform; tube short, villous in the mouth: limb 5-partite, segments incurved at the point ; wsti- vation valvular. Stamens 5, inserted upon the tube: filaments a anthers oblong, exserted. Style filiform, the length of the tube or of the corolla, surrounded at the base by a short cylindrical or 5-lobed fleshy disk. Stigma bipartite (occasionally 3-partite); divisions thick. Berry crowned with the converging limb of the 82 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. calyx, ovate-globose, somewhat coriaceous, 2- (or decnsinbally 3- sometimes from abortion 1-) celled. Seeds solitary in each cell, plano-convex or angled. Albumen somewhat cartilaginous, grumose (divided into small lobes by numerous chinks and fissures). Embryo erect, small, slightly curved, somewhat dorsal; cotyledons lanceolate. —Glabrous shrubs. Leaves opposite, petioled, attenuated at the base. Stipules usually with hair at their base on the inside, often caducous. Corymbs terminal. Flowers sessile-—W. and A. Prod. p. 432. Psycuorria (Linn.) Calyx-tube ovate; the limb short, 5-lobed, 5-toothed or somewhat entire. Co- rolla infundibuliform, usually short, 5- (or rarely 4-) cleft, regular: throat glabrous or bearded; limb spread- ing or recurved, segments incurved at the point: estivation valvular. Stamens 5 or rarely 4; the anthers exserted or included within the throat of the corolla. Stigma bifid. Berry drupaceous, containing 2 nuts, crowned with the limb of the calyx, usually marked with 10 ribs by drying, sometimes 4-angled and with 4 furrows, sometimes even. Nuts chartaceously coriaceous, ribbed, angled or even, 1-seeded. Seed erect, with a cartilaginous solid (not ruminated) albumen. Trees or shrubs, rarely herbaceous plants.. Leaves opposite, petioled. Peduncles usually terminal. Flowers panicled or corymbose.—VW, and A. Prod. p. 432. These two generaare, in my opinion, part and parcel of the same, the former only constantly differing from the latter in one point, of all those enumerated in these two long characters—that one point is stated in these few words under Grumilea, “ Albumen somewhat cartilaginous, grumose.” Beyond that there is not a single character assigned to Grumilea, that is not to be found among the numerous species of Psychotria. For these reasons, I have come to the conclusion that the two genera ought to be united, and I therefore club them together here, considering them but one. The species are all shrubs, many of them very handsome, not on account of their flowers, which are gene- rally small, and so much concealed among the leaves, as to be little conspicuous, but on account of their coinpact form and bright shining foliage. In this point of view, the Grumilea is a shrub well deserving a distinguished place in every ornamental shrubbery, as it might, on the hills, supply the place of the Holly in English gardens. The Psychotria is also a pretty shrub, but according to my taste, not equal to the other. There are two species of Grumilea currently met with on the Hills, and so very like each, that they may easily be mistaken for each other, as they are only distinguishable by the inflorescence, the one, namely, here represented and another which I have called G. elongata, in reference to the flowers which form an elongated panicle like cyme. I introduce the distinctive characters of both to prevent their being confounded. I shall conclude these general remarks on the two genera which perhaps I should have united under the older name by appending a few observations extracted from my Icones just published. “Ons. These two genera Grumilea and Psychotria ought to be united as they are truly one in every thing except the ruminated albumen of the former; a character, which, however good in a mere carpological system, is too limited for a vegetable one (which requires its generic characters to be taken from more organs and structures than one) as it can only be made out from ripe seed. If both are preserved, I believe, I may almost predict that probably half the present genus Psychotria must ultimately be transferred to Gru- milea and then, without specimens furnished with ripe fruit no man can tell whether an unknown species be- Jongs to the one or other genus. Our P. bractiata | feel certain will, when the ripe seed is found, prove a Grumilea: Wallich’s P. truncata I am all but certain is a Grumilea, and I think identical with our G. congesta -—Genera in a natural system surely ought not to rest on a solitary character, unsupported by habit, and still less so when that is only to be found in the ripe seed which, as distinct from Psychotria, is certainly the case with Grumilea.” GrumiLea ELoNGATA (R. W.) shrubby glabrous: broadly triangular, cuspidate, caducous: corymbs leaves fre — obovate oblong, cuspidately acu- sessile, at first compact and scarcely longer than ths min : penninerved; becoming yellowish in drying : stipules, sa aitee larger but also compact or rarely aeiguiel eadacas, ovate oblong, broad soheed; cymes oa eading when in fruit, naked : calyx-li ewhat elongated, cle-shaped, compact when in flower, bluntly B-toothed : tube "of the corolla short, scarcely prunes sccnstohiat: fruit : limb minutely longer pe Mp e calyx-limb: berry-ovoid, not farrow~- 5-toothed: tube of the corolla short, throat pis ed.—W. and A. Prod. p. 432. with hairs : te embraced at the base by a Both ire frequent in ae w “er about Ootacamund, = hare Fie disk, — exserted, dilated, 2- lobed. Talso possess specimens of t chen from several EA coNGesTA (W. and A.) erect: leaves other stations, Foc galiein: pede &e. The shoe petioled, bong xiii nate at both ends, are unquestionably very nearly allied ‘Bs each cee penninery g yellowish by drying: stipules but are, I think, abundantly distinct species, as g 4 ' SUMMAAMT CELE JERE AE bd af} t Cop 998 EX my’ fo 2 a enone mae a pene “Oy, TE fl oe a Pe i Yremiler LO 19) / ther’ / lb i ae Lge eas ‘fp Ly: OGLAMEL thal tacece: y AY N . \ ‘ 2g mY ie a Se . , ne \y bat oi \ O AY ae T, Ja _ ZI =o" z (; 74 4 y : : << Cifiew alpestus/ AMY Lt y ° 7 Cyffeaceit’ bialiacee /0/ NEILGHERRY PLANTS, 83 by character as habit; the two bushes, even when ramifications : ig aoc 5-lobed ; lobes tee t tube of t throat, growing side by — generally Te 7 different ovate: e corolla bearded in the seasons. The flowering sea of the latter is the about Sloe the lee of the calyx-limb : lamnents autumnal months, aia of the: Dene at spring ones, exserted; anthers oblong: stigma nearly included, 8 RIA BISULCATA ( -) shrub- short and thick, bipartite: berry ovate, 4 furrowed by diffuse, glabrous: leaves with 4 short petiole by drying: seed and albumen flat on the inner side, slightly dilated at the b oblong-lanceolate, taper- with two deep dorsal furrows and an intermediate ing @ ots sah base stipules triangular- acuminated, ca- broad clunt ridge_W. and A. Prod. p. 434. orym al, peduncled, vail, few- In woods about Ootacamund but rather mp caf termin deaed, bechstonees or with the primary rays in The leaves are = a lively green, and dry alm fives, with minute acute bracteas subtending the un —- in c COFFEA,—COFFEE, Calyx-tube ovate, globose or turbinate; limb small, 4-5-toothed. Corolla tubular, infundibuliform : 3 limb spreading, 4-5 partite, the lobes oblong: zstivation twisted. Stamens 4-5, inserted on the summit or middle of the tube, exserted or included. Style bifid at the apex, the lobes rarely cohering. Berry umbili- cated, naked or crowned with the calyx-limb, containing two somewhat parchment-like 1-seeded nuts. Seed convex onthe outer side, flat and marked with a longitudinal furrow on the inner. Embr ryo erect in a horny albumen; radicle terete, obtuse ; cotyledons foliaceous.—Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite. Stipules. interpetiolar. This character is adopted from DeCandolle, except what we have added relative to the estivation of the corolla: we fear it is not sufficient to distinguish the genus from several others; and moreover it is exceedingly doubtful that several species, of which the fruit is unknown, do accord with it: the anthers in all the specimens we have seen are long-linear,— A. Prod. p. 435 This is an extensive genus of fine flowering shrubs including fully 50 species. It seems doubtful how- ever whether its limits are well defined. DeCandolle remarks the probability of its requiring to be divided, while Dr. Arnott in the above note doubts whether the characters are sufficient to distinguish it from several others. Be that as it may it seems sufficiently certain that, as regards the flora of Southern India, it is suffi- ciently distinct, at least if 1 am correct in referring here the two species described below, which I see no very obvious reason to doubt as they correspond well with one exception with the character, the exception being the _ clavate not bifid stigma and that I cannot consider of sufficient importance to nullify all the rest, especially on considering that they do sometimes cohere. Assuming then, which I think I may safely do, that both are true Coffeas, there can be no difficulty in distinguishing this genus from all the others ‘yet found in this part of India by the above generic character whether adequate or not as applied to the flora of the world. The genus as at present constituted occupies a very wide range—Africa, Asia, and America—both North and South—claim indigenous species, but all confined to the warmer regions, either actually within the tropics or within a’few degrees of either side. In Mexico, Brazil, and Peru they abound—there are several from Africa while India and her islands claim about } of the whole number. On the properties of Coffee I conceive it quite unnecessary to offer any remark, but it may be observed that the Coffea Arabica is the only one which contributes towards the support of man, and it, history informs us, has been in use as an aliment from a very ancient date, as records actually exist proving its use in Persia in the Sth century of the present zra, how much earlier it is impossible to say, and in the middle of the 16th century its use had become so far intro- duced into Europe that Coffee houses were established for its sale in both Paris and London, Now it has sone almost a necessary of life all over Europe, the Western portions of Asia, and adjoining pro- es of Africa, and it is much to be desired that its greater abundance in India enabled it to supersede the Adaaion Toddy, so generally consumed by nearly all the lower classes of Hindoos.. Let us hope therefore that this much to be desired result, which is already in progress, may soon be brought about by the activity of commercial enterprize so wee embarked in the production of Coffee. Correa Auprstris (R. W.) shrubby, glabrous: term: Sal joek oda: five cleft ; ~toeig much leaves Minndhaea. cuneate towards the base, pointed, ae eee , lanceolate, obtu anthers. coriaceous: peduncles axillary, confined to t the upper exserted style :. ‘scien near the base, bait: stigma. leaves, longer than the petioles, aggregated, forming clavate, glabrous ; berry oval 2-seeded, 84 NEILGHERRY PLANTS. _ Qotacamund’in. woods flowering “March and April. forming terminal corymbs: corolla 5-cleft, throat A low very ramous shrub the branches nearly naked, hairy, divisions oblong elliptic obtuse; anthers ex- he ramuli. covered with closely approximated coria- serted: style not gibbous: stigma clavate, slightly ceous shining leaves: peduncles confine the ter- cleft at the apex: berry ovoid, crowned with the per- minal axils, generally about 3-flowered; flowers white sistent calyx. with a hairy throat and line of hairs extending along A large shrub or small tree, in low woods by the the segments of the corolla. roa r OFFEA GRUMELIOoIDES (R. W.) shrubby or ‘This seems to beararer species than the preceding subarboreous, glabrous : leaves obovate cuneate, short- and is confined to a lower range of elevation. Though ly and bluntly acuminate, coriaceous: peduncles ia many respects like C. alpestris this is certainly a s $8 fc axillary, confined to the upper axils, about 3-flowered, distinct species. GALLIUM.—Bedstraw, Cleavers, &c. Calyx-tube obovate-globose or oblong, with scarcely any limb, Corolla 4- (very rarely 3-) partite, rotate. Stamens short. Styles 2, short. Fruit didymous, roundish, rarely oblong, dry, composed of 2 indehiscent. i-seeded mericarps.—Herbaceous branched plants, Leaves with the stipules forming a verticil._—W. and A. Prod, p. 442, I mentioned above that Dr. Lindley proposed separating the section Stellatee including Gallium, Rubia, C.. from the rest of the order, and elevating it to the rank of a distinct order, mainly on the grounds of the plants composing it not having stipules, but in their place verticels of leaves. He has not succeeded in persuading other Botanists to adopt this view, as they object that all except two of the leaves of the whorl are in fact. sti- pulary appendages, since they, however much they resemble leaves in form and appearance, are not truly such. being destitute of axillary buds. This objection has scarcely been met by Dr. Lindley. He argues thus—‘ The only ground on which this is intelligible is that taken by DeCandolle and others who con- sider the apparent leaves of Stellate to be in part true leaves, and in part leaf-like, stipules. To this verbal but not real distinction there is this objection, which I conceive quite fatal to it, If part of the leaves of eac whorl of Gallium were stipules, they must bear a certain proportion to the true leaves; suppose the whorl to consist of two leaves, each will have two stipules, and consequently the whole. number of parts in the whorl must be six, and in all cases the number must be some power of three.” Such not being the case in nature, he considers “ an incontrovertible proof that the apparent leaves of Stedlate are true leaves and not a modifix cation of stipules.” To all this of course the simple answer is, if they are leaves, where are their axillary buds which all true leaves have? if not, why should not their number vascillate as readily as the number bristles on the stipules of a Spermacoce or Hedyotis. So far as Dr. Lindley has carried out his answer to DeCandolle’s “verbal distinction,” it can only be viewed as special pleading, as he has failed to prove by any decisive mark, that the apparent leaves are true ones, nor has he shown that viewed as stipules their number might not vary the same as the number of bristles ° in. Spermacoce, which, if they became developed, might in like manner-assume the form of leaves. Such was the state of the question when the late Mr. Griffith took it up, and by showing that the. appa- rent corolla is simply acoloured dilatation of the calyx, and that there is in fact no corolla, established on. some- thing like reasonable grounds, the correctness of Lindley’s view in severing this section from the rest. of the order, which Lindley has certainly failed in doing for himself, According to Mr. Griffith’s views of its. struc- ture Galiacee or Steliate should rank near Nyctagynie, in the monochlamedious class of. DeCandolle. The genus Gallium is one of great extent, including in all about 200 species, and is truly cosmopolite, being found in all parts of the world, but is rare in the tropics.. In India, the very few species we have are all alpine, and of little interest or value, unless perhasin connection with the Botanical question we have just been discussing. The genus Rubia, one of this tribe, has 2 species which are valuable as yielding excellent red dyes— namely, R. tinctorum the Madder of Europe, and R. cordifolia,the manjettie of the ‘T'amools. The latter’ is abundant on the slopes. of the, Neilgherri ] might be collected in quantities with little trouble or expense © and, as I believe it bears.a high price in markets where its value is known, might yield a profitable return to.. article, PAPA g speculators in that 402 Cliactte pa b 4? y, Lith. fed! aa NEILGHERRY PLANTS. yee = i alicd a (W. 2 nial : airs; under more Boe ema ay 2 optacgapl on the nerves and margin: pedun- cles axillary or hai isi s rowing pro Sctmbent pe which, but for the large pistes it forms, would be lite - spicuous from the grass among which i I 85 “The late Mr. Griffith was of opinion that the Stel- late division of Rubiacee were misunder. stqpd and er- r casey described in calling the yellow petaloid part the flower, a @ once Vv o the order an ll d in the same relationship to Spermacocee that pO gm does to Plumbaginee,”’—Wight’s Icones, No, 1042