Randia
(named in honour of Isaac Rand, formerly Praefectus of the Botanic Garden of the Society of Apothecaries at Chelsea). SYNS. Cupia, Oxyceros, Stylocoryne. ORD. Rubiaceae. A genus comprising about ninety species of erect or climbing, unarmed or spiny, stove, evergreen trees or shrubs, allied to Gardenia, inhabiting tropical regions, mostly in Asia and Africa. Flowers white or yellow, rarely pink, small or large, solitary, corymbose or fascicled, axillary, very rarely terminal; calyx tube ovoid, obovoid, or turbinate, the limb usually tubular, rarely toothed or lobed; corolla funnel-shaped, campanulate, or hypocrateriform, with a short or elongated tube, a glabrous or villous throat, and a limb of five (rarely more) acute or obtuse, twisted lobes; stamens five. Leaves obovate, oblong, or lanceolate, usually coriaceous. A selection of the introduced species is here given; they are shrubs, except where otherwise indicated. For culture, see Gardenia.
R. aculeata (prickly). Indigo Berry. fl. white, axillary, sessile, solitary, hypocrateriform; corolla tube twice as long as the calyx teeth. July fr. the size of a small cherry. l. obovate, highly glabrous, sub-sessile, cuneate at base. Branchlets glabrous: spines rigid, opposite the axils, spreading. h. 12ft. West Indies, 1733. SYN. Gardenia Randia (B. M. 1841).
R. dumetorum (bushy). fl. white, at length yellow; calyx tube longer than the lanceolate corolla lobes; corolla silky outside. July. Fr. large, ovate-cordate, shining. l. opposite or fasciculate, obovate-cuneate, smooth. h. 5ft. East Indies, 1825. A much-branched shrub or small tree, with axillary, rigid spines. SYN. R. floribunda.
R. fasciculata (fascicled). fl. white, sweet-scented, at length yellowish; fascicles sub-sessile. July. l. ovate-oblong, sub-sessile, smooth. h. 4ft. East Indies, 1824. A much-branched shrub, with axillary, spreading spines.
R. floribunda (bundle-flowered). A synonym of R dumetorum.
R. horrida (horrid). fl. white, in trichotomous, sub-terminal racemes. May. fr. black. l. ovate-lanceolate, glabrous. Branches reclinate; branchlets decussate; spines large, opposite, horn-like. h. 5ft. Cochin China, 1825. R. macrantha (large-flowered).* fl. pale yellow, axillary or terminal on the ultimate branchlets, solitary; calyx lobes somewhat leaf-like; corolla tube very long. June. l. obovate-oblong, acuminate, shortly petiolate, membranous, obsoletely pubescent beneath and on the veins. h. 9ft. to 30ft. Brazil, 1815. Unarmed climbing shrub or small tree. (B. M. 3809, under name of R. Bowieana; B. R. 1846, 63, under name of Gardenia Devoniana.)
R. maculata (spotted).* fl. white; corolla almost glabrous or scarcely puberulous, with a very long tube. April. l. subcoriaceous, shining, highly glabrous, oblong, very shortly petiolate. Sierra Leone, 1843. A small, unarmed, highly glabrous tree. (B. M. 4185, under name of Gardenia Stanleyana.)
R. malleifera (hammer-bearing). fl. white, solitary, terminal, tomentose; corolla tube cylindrical, club-shaped, expanded into a broad, funnel-shaped limb. July. l. ternate, obovate, cuspidate, cuneate at base, shortly petiolate, highly glabrous. h. 4ft to 6ft. Sierra Leone, 1843. SYNS. Gardenia malleifera (B. M. 4307), G. Whitefieldii.
R. rotundifolia (round-leaved). fl. white, solitary, sessile; corolla twice as long as the calyx. July. fr. yellowish. l. subrotundate or ovate, pubescent on both sides, wrinkled. Branches and spines sub-verticillate. h. 6ft. Peru, 1820.