Descriptions of Malayan plants. No. II. / [William Jack].

  • William Jack
Date:
[1820]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Descriptions of Malayan plants. No. II. / [William Jack]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ( 39 ) iica, though unaccountably confounded with it by later authors. Loureiro discriminates between them very well, and his description is on the whole good. Rum* phius’s figure is bad, but preserves several cf the dis¬ tinguishing characters, particularly in the inflorescence and leaves, which however are not sufficiently acumi¬ nate. It grows to the size of a small tree* and the wood is much employed for the handles of kreeses being ca¬ pable of receiving a fine polish. The leaflets are gene, rally five, ovate, terminating in a long acumen which is slightly emarginate at the point, shining and very en* tire, the terminal one considerably the largest. In M. exotica, the leaflets are more numerous and closer, ob- ovate, blunt, and of a much firmer thicker substance. The flowers of M. paniculata are fewer and larger than those of M. exotica, and are sometimes terminal, gene¬ rally one or two together from the axils of the upper leaves. The ovarium is two celled ; the berries are ob¬ long, reddish, and mostly contain two seeds which are covered with silky hairs* The berries of M. exotica are ovate and generally one seeded. The whole habit of the two plants is very distinct. The specific name paniculata is objectionable, as the flowers are much less panicled than in the other species. TheCamunium sinense, Humph. V\ t. 18. f. 1. which is commonly met with in gardens in all the Malay Is¬ lands is quite a distinct genus from the other two Ca*