Page:Miscellaneousbot02brow.djvu/309

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OF PLANTS CALLED COMPOS IT/E. 293

In the 12th edition of Systema Naturae, Linnaeus added to his genus Calea a fourth species, namely Calea sco- paria ; for what reason it would be difficult to discover, as it does not resemble, either in its fructification or habit, ciw any of the three genera of which, as has been shown, Calea was originally composed. This fourth species, which he had at first referred to Chrysocoma} is now known to be dioecious; — Browne, by whom it was first described and figured, and one of whose specimens I have examined, Linnaeus, and even Swartz when he published his Obser- vationes Botanicae, being acquainted with the male plant only ; which, however, all of them considered hermaphro- dite : nor is there any reason to doubt that Gaertner's genus Sergilus is also the male of this species ; although he has ventured to describe the colour of the embryo, de- ceived, probably, by the size of the imperfect ovarium, and the colour of its inner surface.

Professor Swartz has since given a more satisfactory account of Calea scoparia, and has referred it to Bacchar.is , 2 to which genus as Richard 3 and Jussieu 4 have proposed to limit it, namely to the dioecious species of America, it unquestionably belongs. This limitation of Baccharis it may, upon the whole, be expedient to adopt ; by doing so, however, a name of Dioscoricles is applied to a genus of plants found only in the new continent; while, notwith- standing the contrary opinion is expressed by M. do Jussieu, 5 sufficient distinctions exist between those species

4-fidi : Masculi : Antheris exsertis ; Stigmatibus acutis hispidulis : Feminei : Staminibus sterilibus ; Stigmatibus acutis recurvis. Achenium v. parallelo- compressum v. augulatum ; angulis (2-3) aristatis : arisiis persistentibus, antrorsum denticulatis.

Arbor (Tnsulse S Ue Helena?). Folia opposila, indivisa. Panieula terminal}*, brachiata. Involucrum oblongum. Palete receptaculi squamis involucri sub- uniiles. Corollulse ochroleucce, tubo arcuato-recurvo {ut capitulum primo intuitu radiatum videatur). Mas. Antheris nigricantibus, bast emarginatis, append ice apieis bvevissimo, acuto ; loculis vestigio septi longitudinal is instruct is. Fein. Staminibus sterilibus distinctis, antheris sagittatis cassis.

1 Anioen. Acad, v, p. 404, et Syst. Nat. ed. 10, vol. li, p. 1206.

2 Elor. Ind. Occident, iii, p. 1339.

3 Mich. Flor. Bor.-anier. ii, p. 125.

4 Annal. du Mus. d'Hist. Katur. vii, p. 3S5.

5 I.e.

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