Volume 4 — PLATE CCXXXI. CERBERA AHOUAI. Oval-leaved Cerbera.

CLASS V. ORDER I.

PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

Contorta. Drupa monosperma. Corolla infundibuliformis.

Flowers contorted. Pulpy seed-vessel, one-seeded. Blossom funnel-shaped.

See Plate 130, Cerbera undulata, Vol. II.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

Cerbera foliis ovatis, acutis, laciniis corollæ undulatis; calycis foliolis reflexis.

Cerbera with egg-shaped, pointed leaves; segments of the blossom waved; leaflets of the cup reflexed.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The Empalement.

2. A Blossom cut open, the Chives in their place.

3. The Seed-bud, Shaft and Summit; with the summit detached, magnified.

The oval-leaved Cerbera is a native of the continent of South America, in Brazil and the other provinces within the tropics; therefore, must be treated as a tender hothouse plant. It is increased by cuttings, delights most in a rich soil, and flowers in July, or August. It is said to acquire the height of ten feet, in its native clime, but, with us, it seldom attains to three; becoming a handsome, bushy shrub. The flowers have a faint smell, as have most of this natural order; the whole plant is replete with a whitish juice, of a most deleterious quality; and the wood when rubbed emits a disagreeable odour. The fruit is considered by the indians as a deadly poison against which there is no antidote. Our figure was taken from a plant in the Hibbertian Collection, Clapham. Introduced to England, (or rather cultivated about that period) says the Kew Catalogue, by Mr. Miller, in the year 1739. [Illustration]