Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 2.djvu/546

 Bovsl.] NATURAL msToY. 521 served upon the North-west Coast, where also Abroma, hitherto linCted to the tropical parts of New South Wales, has been discovered bearing flowers and young fruit. One species of Commersonla was gathered at widely-difFerent parts of the north-western shores, and Laslopetalum, whose species are more general at both extremes of the parallel of the colony ot Port Jackson, has been also seen just within the tropic on the East Coast, and at Dirk Hartog's Island, ofF Shark's Bay, on the opposite shore. CA,,smDs.MAt least tots species of Capparis have been discovered upon the coasts of Terra Australia, for the most part within the tropic, but of these the fructification of two are wanting. A few have been detected on the East Coast, but they are more frequent and various in their species upon the north-westeru shores of the continent. Within an area on this extensive coast, not exceeding four degrees of lon- gitude, on the parallel of 15 �th, a tree of very remark- able growth and habit, has been traced, having all the ex- ternal form and bulk of Adansonia of the western shores of Africa. At the respective period of visiting those parts of the North-west Coast, this gouty tree had previously cast its foliage of the preceding year, which is of quinary insertion, but it bow ripe fruit, which is a large elliptical pedieellated uniiocalar capsule, (a bacca corticosa) containing many seeds enveloped in a dry pithy substance. Its flowers, howex;er, have never been discovered, but from thecharacters of the fruit, it was (upon discovery) referred to this natural family. M. Du Petit Thouars has formed a new genus of Capparis pauduriformis of Lamarek, a plant of the Island of Man- titins, which he has named Calyptranthus. It has one divi- sion of the calyx so formed, that by its arcuated concavity (before expansion) it conceals the whole flower, and the

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