Climbers. The plant from which our plate was prepared was raised in the herbaceous ground at Kew from seed sent by Mr. T. Hay. Unfortunately the plant has since been lost, but reintroduction should not prove difficult as the species is reported to be fairly common around Darjeeling and Simla. The name Herpetospermum first appeared in Wallich's "Catalogue" (no. 6761, Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall.), but there was no description. Bentham and Hooker* adopted the genus and attributed to it Bryonia () pedunculosa Seringe and two other species then undescribed. Some years later C. B. Clarke published three new monotypic genera, Edgaria, Warea and Rampinia, calling the single species of the last R. herpetospermoides, although he recog- nised that it was the plant known as Herpetospermum pedunculosum; he said, "I have no hesitation in giving it a new generic name, the ovules, fruit and seeds being alto- gether unlike those of Herpetospermum as described.".

Bryonia () pedunculosa Seringe in DC. Prodr. III. 306 (1828).