Flora Medica

BARRINGTONIEjE.BARRINGTONIE^E.BARRINGTONIA.Calyx-tube ovate limb : 2-3-4-partite lobes ovate, obtuse,;concave, persistent. Petals 4, coriaceous, attached to the ringat the base of the stamens. Stamens numerous, in several rows :filaments filiform, long, distinct, combined at the base into ashort ring, all bearing anthers. Ovary 2-4-celled, surmountedby an urceolus sheathing the base of the :style ovules 2-6 ineach cell. Style filiform. Stigma simple. Fruit fleshy, moreor less 4-angled, crowned by the limb of the calyx, 1-celled.Seed solitary. Embryo large, fleshy, not separable into cotyledonsand radicles, formed of 2 concentric homogeneous combinedlayers. Trees. Leaves crowded about the ends of the branches,opposite or verticillate, obovate, quite entire or crenated or serrated,without pellucid dots. Flowers racemose. W. and. A.161. B. racemosa Roxb.fi. ind. ii. 634. DC.prodr.W. and Am. i. 333. Eugenia racemosa Linn. sp. 673. SamstravadiRheede iv. t. 6. Stravadium racemosum Jussieu.Jungle of Malabar.iii. 288.Leaves cuneate-oblong, acuminated, serrulated or crenulated. Flowers(large) forming a long pendulous raceme ; pedicels scarcely so long asthe flower, with a single bract at the base. Calyx 2-3-cleft. Ovary2-celled ;ovules attached to the middle of the dissepiment. Fruitovate, bluntly 4-angled endocarp ;scarcely separating from the epicarp.W. and A. Root slightly bitterbut not unpleasant. It is consideredby the Hindoo doctors valuable on account of its aperient, deobstruent,and cooling properties. The bark is reputed to possess propertiessimilar to those of Cinchona. AinsUe.GUSTAVIA.Tube of the calyx turbinate ;the limb entire or 4-6-8-lobed.Petals 4-6-8, ovate, nearly equal. Stamens 00, monadelphousat the base, and somewhat adnate to the claws of the petals.Ovary 4-6-celled ; ovules numerous ; style short ;stigma obtuse.Capsules ovate or subglobose, 3-6-celled, coriaceous, indehiscent,withan umbilicated eye, formed of the remains of the calyx.Seeds a few in each cell, ovate, with a coriaceous integument,suspended by a long plaited cord to a central column. Embryofleshy ; cotyledons 2, large, equal, plano-convex radicle obtuse,;scarcely prominent. Trees. Leaves alternate, large, not dotted,serrated or entire, smooth. Racemes terminal, few-flowered.Flowers white, showy, with a pair of bracts. DC.78