Uncaria
(from uncus, a hook; the old petioles are converted into hooked spines). SYNS. Agylophora, Ourouparia. ORD. Rubiaceae. A genus comprising about thirty species of stove, climbing shrubs, all tropical Asiatic, except one African and one American. Flowers yellowish, in globose, axillary, pedunculate, solitary or paniculate heads; calyx tube spindle-shaped, the limb five-lobed or parted; corolla tube long, funnel-shaped, the limb of five valvate lobes; stamens five, on the glabrous throat of the corolla; peduncles often headless, converted into hooked tendrils. Leaves opposite, shortly petiolate; stipules entire or bifid. U. Gambier, the only species calling for description here, thrives in a compost of loam, sand, and peat. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, inserted in sand, under a glass, in heat. U. Gambier (Gambier). Gambier Catechu. fl. pedicellate; calyx tomentose; corolla 1/2in. long; peduncles all axillary, bracteate in the middle, rarely more than 1in. long. May. l. ovate or ovate-lanceolate, obtusely sub-caudate or acuminate, 4in. to 5in. long, coriaceous, glabrous. h. 10ft. India, 1825. The gambier of commerce is obtained from this species. (B. M. Pl. 139.)