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 230 ON THE ASCLEPIADEiE.

has been more difficult to determine than tins : it is, how- ever, perfectly natural and distinct, and is evidently the 56] connecting link between the true Asclepiadege, and the Periploceae, which follow. I have examined five species, of which two are published plants, viz. Periploca secamone Linn, and emetica of Betz. and Willdenow. The third is a climber, a native of India, discovered by Dr. Roxburgh ; and two are erect shrubs, natives of the tropical part of New Holland.

��III. Periploce,e.

Massce pollinis 5-20, granulosa^, (granulis e sphserulis 4 compositis), solitarise, usque quaternatim apici dilatato corpusculi singuli stigmatis affixse.

Filamenta partim v. omnino libera.

HEMIDESMUS. [Periplocse sp. Linn.

Char. Corolla rotata, squamis 5, sub sinubus, obtusis.

Filamenta basi connata, supra distincta. Antherce co- hserentes, a stigmati liberae, imberbes, apice simplices.

Massas pollinis 20.

Stigma muticum.

Folliculi cylindracei, divaricatissirai, laeves. Se?nina comosa.

Habitus. Frutices volubiles, glabri. Folia opposita, nitida. Flores interpetiolares, congesti, parvi.

Patria. India Orientalis.

57] Obs. This genus, whose name is derived from the partial connection of the stamina, is composed of Periploca Indica, and two very nearly related unpublished species. Its strict affinity to Periploca is unquestionable, but the differences in the structure of its flower appear to me suffi- cient to justify its separation from that genus.

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