An unpublished genus of New Holland, which I have named Hymenanthera, in Sir Joseph Banks's herbarium, agrees with Alsodeia in its calyx, in the insertion, expans:on, and obliquely imbricate æstivation of its petals, and especially in the structure of its antheræ, which approach more nearly to those of Violeæ properly so called. It differs, however, from this order in having five squamæ alternating with the petals; and especially in its fruit, which is a bilocular berry, having in each cell a single pendulous seed, whose internal structure resembles that both of Violeæ and Polygaleæ, between which I am inclined to think this genus should be placed.
CHAILLETEÆ. The genus Chailletia was established by M. de Candolle[1] from a plant found by Martin in French Guiana, and which, as appears by specimens in Sir Joseph Banks's herbarium, had been many years before named Patrisia by Von Rohr, who discovered it in the same country. At a still earlier period, Solander, in his manuscripts, preserved in the library of Sir Joseph Banks, described this genus under the name of Mestotes, from several species found by Smeathman at Sierra Leone. Both Dichapetalum and Leucosia of M. du Petit Thouars[2] appear to me, from the examination of authentic specimens, to belong to the same genus; and in Professor Smith's herbarium there is at least one additional species of Chailletia different from those of Sierra Leone.
Of the two generic names given by M. du Petit [443 Thouars, and published somewhat earlier than M de Candolle's Memoir, Leucosia will probably be considered inadmissible, having been previously applied by Fabricius to a genus of Crustacea; and Dichapetalum is perhaps objectionable, as derived from a character not existing in the whole genus, even allowing it to be really polypetalous. It seems expedient, therefore, to adopt the name proposed by M. de Candolle, who has well illustrated the genus in the memoir referred to. It appears to me that Chailletia,
