Seeds numerous, oblong, appearing cutoff, four-cornered, very smooth.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Renealmia foliis vaginantibus; floribus racemosis terminalibus pendulis; fructu piloso.
Renealmia with sheathing leaves; flowers in bunches terminating the branches, hanging down, fruit hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A miniature representation of the plant.
2. The outer sheath of the blossom.
3. A flower complete.
4. The Honey cup.
5. The Chive, Pointal, and Seed-bud.
6. The Pointal and Seed-bud cleared of the small inner sheath which
surrounds the base of the chive and shaft; with the summit detached and
magnified.
7. One of the small corpusculæ which embrace the base of the shaft,
magnified.
8. The small sheath which crowns the seed-bud, magnified.
9. The Seed-bud, cut transversely, magnified.
Amongst the numerous new plants introduced from China by the late Mr. Slater, of Laytonstone, in the year 1793, this is certainly to be considered as amongst the most beautiful. The only drawback to its general merit, as a hot-house plant, is the great height to which it might attain before it flowers; being in common fourteen or fifteen feet. It propagates by offsets, and is kept with little trouble; as it will flourish in almost any soil, and will flower, if set in any part of the hot-house, so as not to interrupt its growth, the blossoms being produced only from the summit. Although with us the stem is permanent, as with some others of the same natural habit, yet it cannot, we think, with propriety be considered as either a tree or shrub, but rather herbaceous. Some contention, at first, arose whether this plant should be referred to the present Genus; which was formed, by the younger Linnæus, from a plant a native of Surinam, S. America, some of the parts not exactly corresponding, especially the fruit; we have nevertheless made no scruple in placing it to that Genus, with which, upon an inspection of the dissections, it will be found very well to accord. Our figure was taken from a plant which flowers, annually, in the month of July, in the Collection of J. Vere, Esq. Kensington Gore.[Pg 145]
