BOTANY OF TERRA AUSTRALIS.

25

Good Hope, in equinoctial and North Africa , in the differentregions of America , in New Zealand , in India , very sparinglyin North Asia , and lastly in the South of Europe , where, css3however, only.two species have been observed, namely,Anagyris fcetida, and Cercis siliquastrum ; but the latterhaving a straight embryo and a habit approaching to thatof Bauhinia, rather belongs to Lomentacese.

Among the Diadelphous genera of Terra Australis themost remarkable in habit and structure, namely Platylobium,Bossisea, Hovea, Scottia, and Kennedia, are found chieflyin the principal parallel and higher latitudes; within thetropic the greater part of these cease to exist, and most ofthe genera which there occur are common to other coun-tries, especially India .

ATHEROSPERMEiE. 1 2 Jussieu, in his excellent me-moir on Monimiese 3 has referred Pavonici of Ruiz andPavon and AtJierosperma of Labilardiere to that order, fromthe other genera of which, namely, Ambora, Monimia, andRuizia, they appear to me very different, not only in the in-sertion of the seed, the texture of the albumen, and relativesize of the embryo, but in having antherse similar to thoseof Laurinae. I separate them therefore into a distinctfamily with the name of Atherospermb.e. The proprietyof this separation is confirmed by the discovery of two NewHolland plants, evidently belonging to this family, butwhich have hermaphrodite flowers; a structure not likelyto occur in Monimieae, in which what has been termedcalyx is more properly an involucrum.

1 Atherosperme.®. Flores diclines vel kermaphroditi. Calyx monopliyllus,limbo diviso : laciniis srepe duplici serie, iuterioribus omnibusve semipetaloideis :Squamulce funds in femineis et liermaphroditis. Corolla nulla. Stamina inmasculis floribus numerosa, fundo calycis inserta, squamulis aueta; in her-maphroditis pauoiora, fauoo imposita: Anthera adnatse, biloculares, loculis val-vula longitudinali a basi ad apicem deluscenti. Ovaria uno plura, saepiusindefinita, monosperma, ovulo ereoto : Styli simplices, nunc laterales v. basilares :Stigmata indivisa. Pericarpia clausa seminiformia, sf.ylis persistentibus plu-mosis aristata, tubo aucto calycis inclusa. Embryo erectus brevis, in basi al-buminis carnosi mollis.

Arbores. Polia opposila simplicia exstipulata. Pedunculi axillares, uniflori.

2 Annales du museum, 14, p. 116.