T r m i of the yoi.ng tree s, when
straight, with not more ihi
ing branches, arn led ^vil:
prickles ; otherwi. sc smoot
i e a w j ternate. Leajletse ntire, si
the exterior one n early rer
cordate.
le. ascendnall,
sharp
pair at the Dpex of ihe long portion
rmtnal one,
xils, solitary, perfectly straight, longer
thin this caramon
: the base of cach
n be
of prickles. A pair c
leailets, and another
which siippovts tlie U
SHjmlcoyA, small.
Racemes from the exterior í
than the leaves.
Bracks solitary, three-Howered, ovate
bracte, there is a minute proper
conceived, three-fold, pedicelled, drooping over each other
in an elegant, imbricated form.
Cnl^x entire, subcarapanuíate, smooth, coloured.
Coral: Banner subovaie, boat-shaped, incumbent over the test of
the flowers. mVip shorter than the keel, obliquclyobovate,
greenish. Kcd also greenish, t\vo-parted at the base and apex,
scarce half the length of ti>e statnens.
FHamnls rather shoner tlian the banner, nnited into one body
near the base, alternately longer.
Gem long, pedicelled. S/j/Zi length of the si
ascending.
Legumes pendulous. pcdiceUed, villous, cuspidate, torose at the
seed.
Seeds from live to ten.
Dr. Buclianan sent from Napaul, the seeds to the Botanic
Garden at Calcutta, where, in one and a half year, the plants
blossomed for the first time, in October. In Napaul. Dr.
Buchanan observed it to be a small, branchy tree, ten or twelve
feet high ; here in t ree years tliey were only five or six feet
high, and with but • V branches.
EBYTHRINA RESUPINATA.
Floz^irs numerous, three-fold, pretty large, bright scarlet.
Qdi/x bilabiate.
Cnrol resDpinate. Banner oval-shaped, greatly longer, and larger
than the keel, bright scarlet. Wings obo^•atc, minute, and
neuvly colourless. Keel greatly larger than the wings, unged
with red.
FilamaUs one, and nine-fold, alternately longer ; all are shorter
than the banner, but double the lengtli of the keel.
A native of Hindoostan. In the liotanLc Garden at CalcutW
they blossom in March, at which time no part of the plant is
visible but the raceme.
220. ERYTMRINA RESUPINATA.
Herbaceous. ZMW^ ternate, appearing after the Rowers decay.
Racem radical. leaEess. Carol resupinate. FilamaiU one and
Root perennial.
¿Vm nothing more llian a single, four or five inch high, scarce
prickly, slightly villous shoot, which (with the leaves)
decays abont the close of the rains.
Leaves ternate, ratlier long-petioled : leailets nearly round, entire,
smooth, two or three inches each way.
Pelioles and nerves uf the leaQets somewhat prickly.
Stipules ovate.
radical, short peduncled, appearing long before the herbaceous
stem, roundish-ovate, under six inches in height,
but uncommonly interesting, and beautiful.
221. CYLISTA TOMENTOSA.
Shrubby; the terminal shoots twining. Leaves teTmte. Racemes
ixillary. Divisions of tlie cali/x cuneate. Legvme of one or two
roimd lobes, with one, round, blue-violet, highly-polish ed seed
Stem perennial, short, ^vith but few stunted branches in its native
sterile soil; but in the Botanic Garden at Calculta,
the second year the brandies lengthened much, and
t>N'ined to a considerable extent; the young parts are round
and downy.
Leaves ternate. Lenjlels cordate, entire, downy, from two to three
inches long, and from one to two broad.
Pelioles channeled, downy.
Stipules of the petiole lanceolate ; of the leaflets subulate.
Racemes axillary, shorter than the leaves.
Floivers yellow.
Calyx Í0 the base four-cleft, downy, permanent; divisions cuneate
; the upper one broad and two-parted.
Corel papilionaceous, shorter than the calyx, withering.
Lepme of one, or two, nearly spherical, villous lobes; when of
two, it is about as long as the calyx.
single, round, highly polished, deep-violet blue, of the size
of a pea, in cach lobe of the legume.
Is a native of the Mysore country, where it was discovered by
Dr. Buchanan, and the seeds sent by him to the Botanic Garden
at Calcutta, where the plants thrive well, and blossom about the
close of the rains, and during the cold season ; seed ripe in March
and April.
In the parched soil of Mysore, Dr. Bucliananobserved the plant
to be stunted, and shrubby. In the rich soil of the Botanic Garden
at Calcutta, the whole plant is twining after the first year, and
222. I'LACOURTIA INKRMIS.
Arboreous, tin
Racmes axillary.
med. Leaves elliptic, crenate-serrate, polished,
lort. Flowers hermaphrodite. Sí¿/U 5-cleft.
[7 FI-ACOURTIA INERMIS.
r r w i i s h o r t . soon dividing into numerous brandies, which form
a large, very dense liead of great beauty. Bark smooth,
brownish, perfectly destitute of every thing like thorns, or
Leaves alternate, short-petioled, elliptic, smooth, shining green
on both sides ; when they first expand reddish, and then the
tree is uncommonly gaudy ; length from three to six inches.
Petioles semicyliiidric.
S/i/mles none.
Racemes axillary, longer than the petioles, few-Eowered. Pedicels
clavate, jointed near the middle.
Bractes ovzit, caducous.
Ca/yj; deeply 4-or 5-parted: divisions reniform, shorter than the
stamens and pistil.
Cord none.
Filaments about twenty, inserted on a Reshy. nectariferous ring,
which surrounds the base of the germ. Anthers two-lobed.
Germ ovate. Sli/le 5-cleft, spreading.
A native of the Moluccas, where the tree is cultivated for its
pleasant edible fruit. It has lately been introduced into the
Botanic Garden at Calcutta, where it thrives well, and blossoms
during the dry season.
18
223. MUSA SUPERBA.
pane
Sjmllm
ribbed, smooth, ferrugi
and do not hccome revoh
Flowrs very numerous, 20-,'?0, on a double series, to each spatl
tiic female-hermaphrodite occupy the base, or lower spathc
and the male-hermaphrodite the exterior.
Petals two, very unequal, ¿AVwor involving the inner like
spathc, leathery, three-parted, though the linear divisie
often adhere by their margins, and soon after expansi
become twisted in one body. Inner petal five or six limes
shorter than the exterior, pale coloured, almost pellucid, and
composed of two siibrotund lobes, with an ensiform process
between tliem ; from the inside of the insertion of this petal,
a veiy large innintity of transparent jelly is discharged.
f{ectary: two filiform scales, inserted over the two fissures of
t h e e
tal.
o far (he male-and fen
laphrodlte flowers agre
5 /m conical. Zffli-ij petioled, but not sheathing. nodding,
Sf/atJtes cordate, many-flowered, those of the female-hermaphrodite
Rowers permanent.
Trunk almost conical, being only three feet to the leaves ; seven and
a half in circumference, close to the ground ; and four and
a lialf immediately under the leaves; and inve.sted with the
numerous, somewhat stem-clasping bases ofthose that are decayed
; height of the whole plant, to the highest part of the
curvature of the spadix, 13 feet.
Leaves numerous, equally surrounding every part of the leafy
stem, petioled, lanceolate, very entire, until broken by
wind, filiform-pointed, smooth on both sides, with numerous
parallel, diverging veins ; length from five to ten feet,
and from two to three broad.
Petioles short (about two feet long); the lower broad, embrace
the stem at the base ; while those near the spadix have long,
•stem-claspingsheaths, semicyliiidric on the underside, deeply
channeled on the upper,
Sjmdix terminal, simple, drooping; before any of the spathes expanding
in succession, broad-cordate, slightly
many-flowered, permanent,
Filaments five, with the rmliment of a sixth on the under side.
Anthers, in the male hermaphrodite longer and thicker than
the filaments ; in the female hermaphrodite wanting, or only
sm.dl, black, withered points.
Cem beneath; in the female-hermaphrodite large, and fertile;
in the male, small and barren, SlyU linear, thick, and fleshy ;
in the female-hermaphrodite twice a.s long as the barren
stamens ; in the male-hermaphrodite only half the length
of the fertile stamens. Stigma in both somewhat threegrooved,
and obscurely .six-lobed, cl.immy.
Berry oblong, size of a goose's egg, smooth, 3-celIed,
Seeds numerous, angular, and black.
A native of the vallies, of the southern part of the Peninsula of
India ; from thence Dr. Anderson of Madras received it into his
garden, where it blossomed and ripened its seed; part of which
he sent to the Botanic Garden at Calcutta, where they were sown
in J u n e 1800, and in March and April 180S, one of the plants
blossomed.
The fruit of this elegant stately species is of no use ; when ripe
it is more like a dry capsule, than a berry. The thick petioles, or
ribs of the leaves, contain a considerable quantity of strong white
fibres, which might be employed for various purposes.
224. TERMINALIA PROCERA.
Branches horizontal, verticillate. Leaves cuneate, polished. Racemes
axillary. Carol rotate. Drupe oblong, obscurely fivesided
: .Míí of the same shape.
Leaves crowded about the ends of the branehlets, short-petiol'd, cuneate
; margins ,siightly waved ; apex rounded, with a large
rather obtuse point ; perfectly smooth on both sides; veins
parallel, and simple, with a small hairy pitin the axil of each,
and two glands on the sides of the nerve near the base ; from
8 to 12 inches long, and from 4 to 5 broad.
Racemes axillary, solitary, shorter than the leaves.
Flowers numerous, small, pure white. HermaphrodiU near the base
of the raceme; Male farther on,
Corel salver-shaped, .spreading flat without any tube.
Stamens alternately short, and incurved,
Dmpe oblong, obscurely five-sided, but not in the least compressed
as in Terminalia Catappa, which in most respects this species
resembles very exactly ; when ripe, yellow. Pulp in large
quantity, of a lively red colour, and pleasant subacid taste.
Nut in shape exactly like the drupe, but the five sides are better
defined than in the entire fruit.
Tomi-tomi of the Malays,