Page:The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage.djvu/368

332 it, on the "tiemperamento de la Sierra". Hence, too, may arise their absence on Dr. Lindley's S. etuberosum, which is intermediate between two of Mr, Mathews' Peruvian states of S. tuberosum, having the foliage and colour of the flowers of his No. 847, which I have made the second variety of S. tuberosum, and the smooth panicle and small calyx of Mathews' No. 771, or my fourth variety of the same species.

Genus SOLANEIS relatum.

1. spinosa, Ruiz et Pavon, Fl. Per. vol. ii. p. 47. t. 186. ''Don, in Ed. Journ. of Sc.'' 1831. p. 275. ''Hook. Ic. Plant'', t. 33. D. splendens, ''H. B. K. Plant. &AElig;quinoct''. vol. i. p. 157. t. 45.

Staten Land; Mr. Webster.

Much has been written regarding the affinities of this curious genus; for several reasons, I retain it near Solane&aelig;, to which Order it was doubtfully referred by the authors of the "Plantes Equinoctiales," and more recently by M. Endlicher. M. Kunth afterwards suggested its relationship with Theophraste&aelig;, which Mr. Don had also suspected. The last-mentioned author has more recently arranged it in Gentianece&aelig;, and is followed by Dr. Lindley, in 'The Vegetable Kingdom', who had previously placed it in Aquifoliace&aelig; (Nat. Syst. of Bot.). My own impression is that its proper place is nearer to the order Erice&aelig;, an hypothesis strengthened by the observations of my friend M. Planchon, who has studied this plant most attentively, and who pointed out its affinity with the anomalous genus Galax, and particularly with the Arctic European and American Diapensia Lapponica, in the position of the anther and some other points.

Capt. King's collection contains a very curious plant from Port Famine, which, from the nature of the fruit and testa of the unripe seeds, I presume, approaches Erice&aelig;, though wholly differing in habit and in some other points which ally it to Diapensia. Unfortunately all the specimens are out of flower, which I exceedingly regret, for it may afford characters which will throw a light upon these and other obscure genera of Monopetale&aelig;. Its seeds are enclosed in a double testa, a structure which occurs, though rarely, in several orders of monopetalous Dicotyledons.

The geographical distribution of this curious genus is, like that of Gunnera, very extended, from the Andes under the equator, alt. 12,000 feet, to the level of the sea at Staten Island, in lat. 53&deg; south.

1. CALCEOLARIA, L.

1. Fothergilli, Sol. ''in Ait. Sort. Kew.'' vol. i. p. 30. t. 1. ''Cav. Ic.'' vol. v. t. 442. f. 1. ''Bot. Mag.'' t. 348. ''Benth. in DC. Protr.'' vol. x. p. 208. C. Neeana, ''Spreng. Syst. Veget.'' vol. i. p. 44. (Tab. CXVII., left-hand figure).

Strait of Magalhaens; Port Famine, Capt. King. Falkland Islands, very abundant.

Though very inferior in stature and beauty to most of its congeners, this is among the prettiest of the wild flowers of the Falkland Islands, and the attention of the voyager who is familiar with the genus Calceolaria only in the conservatories of Britain, must be attracted by its appearance on the exposed shores of these inhospitable Islands. I have already mentioned several decidedly English plants, which are natives of this portion of the opposite hemisphere; interesting in themselves, they become still more so when contrasted with such foreign-looking associates as the present, or the nodding bells of the Sisyrinchium, which sometimes whiten the plains, or the deep-orange blossoms of the Falkland Island violet, invariably seen growing with this Calceolaria.

Plate CXVII, left hand figure. Fig. 1, ripe capsules; fig. 2, transverse section of the same; fig. 3, seed; fig. 4, longitudinal section of the same:&mdash; all magnified.

2. nana, Sm.; herbacea, glabra v. tenuissime viscoso-tomentella, caule brevissimo, foliis