Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 2.djvu/36

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ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY.


Coorg near Mercara — rare : Munro— Fowers sweet scented. This species very much resembles (*)E. buxifolia Lam, in the foliage, but appears distinct. DeCandolle refers Lamarck's plant to his genus Jossinia and if correctly, which my specimens do not enable me to determine, this species certainly forms the transition from the one to the other.

My specimens and a detailed description, from which the above character is abridged, were communicated by Lieutenant Munro.

2, SUB-GENUS JAMBOSA, D.C. Calyx turbinate attenuated, rarely cylindrical or sub-globose towards the base ; throat dilated, produced beyond the ovary A-cleft, lobes usually persistent : petals free, expanding before falling. Cymes lateral or terminal, flowers usually rather large and conspicuous, sometimes nearly sessile oftener longish pedicelled, fruit often edible.

§. 1. Cymes terminal.

8. * E. (Jambosa) Jambos (Lin. Jamboa vulgaris, D.C— W. and A.)

9. E. (J) aquca (Roxb. J. aquea, D.C— W. and A.)

This seems to be a widely distributed, and, as regards the form of the foliage, a variable species. In some they are nearly oval, in others oblong, and in others nearly lanceolate, they all however agree in being short petioled and, with one exception, in having short peduncles congregated near the summit of branches.

10. E. (J) Muwonii (R. W.— J. aquea, Munro's MSS.) racemes cymose terminal, tube of the calyx much attenuated at the base, lobes of the limb somewhat membranous obtuse : leaves subsessile, slightly cordate at the base, lanceolate upwards, ending in a short blunt acumen, penninerved ; veins meeting and forming a thick coarse nerve within the margin : pellucid dotted. — A slender tree from 12 to 20 feet high, flowers large and conspicuous, apparently from the dried specimen, redish. Fruit edible.

Coorg — Lieutenant Munro. This seems a very handsome species.

§. 2. Cymes lateral.

a. Short or subsessile calyx turbinate.

11. * E. (J) Malaccensis (Lin. Jambosa malaccensis D.C— W. and A.)

12. * E. (.J) purpurea (Roxb.) apparently only a variety of the former.

13. * E. (J) ternifolia (Roxb.) A noble species but only differing from the two preceding ones in having the leaves in verticels of three together, in place of simply opposite.

14. E. (J)formosa (Wall. PI. As. Rar. 2 tab. 108.)

b. Cymes lateral, longish peduncled, tube of the calyx short, hemispherical.

15. E. (J) hemispherica (R. W.) leaves petioled, lanceolate, acuminated at both ends, cymes axillary solitary or paired, shorter than the leaves : calyx tube short, semi-globose, petals orbicular, reHexed : fruit — Ceylon.

A very distinct species, easily known by the unusual form of the tube of the calyx which, in place of being conical like all the others, is dilated and globular. The leaves are about 4 inches long and about I broad at the broadest point, whence they gradually taper to both ends, imperceptibly terminating in the petiol below and a fine point above, sometimes subalternate. The peduncles are slender, either solitary and then accompanied by a branch, or paired, bearing from 6 to 9 largish white flowers. The fruit 1 have not seen. This species forms the transition to Syzygeœ in like manner as E. pauciflora and cylindrica does to Caryophytlœ.

c. Cymes longish peduncled, calyx conical, sometimes cylindrical, long and slender.

17. E. (J?) amplexicaulis (Roxb.)

18. * E. (J) alba (Roxb.)

19. E. (J) bifaria (Wall. PI. As Rar.2.tab. 161.) The specimens communicated by Dr. Wallich under this name appear to me to belong to a totally different plant. The figure represents a plant so very nearly allied to E.alba Roxb. that it seems rather a variety of that than a distinct species, see below E. (S) Wallichii.

20. * E. (J) polypetala (Wall. List No. 361G) E. angustifolia R. not Lamarck.

The numerous petals of this species — 12 to 16 — seem to render it doubtful whether this should be retained in the genus, it is readily distinguished by that character and the verticilled ternate, not opposite, linear lanceolate leaves.

21. * E. (J) laurifolia. (Roxb.) The long slender pedicels of this plant combined with its even, not nerved, delicate foliage, render it a very distinct and beautiful species.

22. E. (J) panciflora (R. W.) leaves short petioled, lanceolate, attenuated towards the base, ending in a long slender acumen : pedicels solitary from the extreme axils, one-flowered : calyx tube cylindrical long and slender, limb 4-cleft, fruit oval.

Ceylon — Courtullum. This species seems very nearly allied to the following, but the solitary one-flowered pedicels common to the plant both as found in Ceylon and on the continent at once distinguish it.

23. E. (J) cylindrica (R. V.) leaves short petioled, ovate, acuminated at both ends : cymes terminal or from the axils of the last two or three pairs of leaves ; calyx tube cylindrical long and slender, fruit ——— ?

Ceylon. The tube of the calyx in both these species is nearly an inch long, slightly ventricose near the middle, where the ovary is situated, and thence tapering downwards to a point.

These three species form the transition to caryophyllus and, had the calycine arrangement here followed, been rigidly adhered to, the cylindrical elongation of the calyx would have placed the two last in that sub-genus : but their affinities being truly with Jambosa I prefer bringing them in here.

3. SUB-GENUS CARYOPHYLLUS (Lin). Calyx tube elongated, sub-cylindrical, limb deeply 4-cleft, lobes persistent : petals cohering, calyptriform, cymes terminal or at least confined to the axils near the summits of the branches.

16. Caryophyllus aromaticus (Linn.) Some, at least, of the other species referred to this genus by DeCandolle, seem scarcely to belong to it but are allied to my E. cylindrica or referable to the following sub-genus.

4. SUBGENUS ACMENA. D.C. Calyx tube elongated,