810 MR. W. B. HEMSLEY ON SOME 
‘Icones Plantarum,’ viii. t. 743), a native of the Andes, having 
flowers nearly a foot long, as against those of L. europeus, though 
there are others with much smaller flowers. 
Another remarkable species is L. Beccarii, King, a native of 
Malaya. The flowers are in crowded heads, within an involucre 
of highly coloured bracts, resembling some of the showier species 
of Mutisia (Composite) before the heads have expanded. 
I will now say a few words about some of the parasites of 
the natural order Rafflesiaces. The flowers of the species of 
Rafflesia, including the gigantic R. Arnoldi, R. Br., are sessile on 
the roots of various species of Vitis, springing from a mycelium- 
like tissue that permeates the matrix; but I do not propose 
touching on the larger province of root-parasites. The other 
members of the order are mostly parasitic on the branches of 
shrubs and trees, only the flowers appearing externally. 
To illustrate this order of parasites, I have brought two 
species of Pilostyles. This genus, as distinguished from the 
allied Apodanthes, which has been united with it by some 
botanists, invariably preys on members of the Leguminose ; 
Apodanthes on Casearia and Flacourtia. Pilostyles consists of 
about ten species inhabiting very distant parts of the world; and 
the plants appear as sessile flowers on the host-plants. Pzlostyles 
Haussknechtii, Boiss., is parasitic on various spiny species of the 
genus Astragalus inhabiting Persia and the adjoining countries. 
The peculiarity of this species is that its flowers appear one on 
each side of the base of the petioles of the leaves of the host-plant. 
The seeds germinate in the tips of the shoots and the thallus, or 
mycelium-like tissue penetrates the tissues of the host, emerging 
only where the flowers are formed, the only emergencies being 
the flowers with a few subtending bracts at their base. 
Ihave mentioned that some botanists unite Pilostyles with 
Apodanthes, but I am convinced that Count Solms is right in 
keeping them separate. He distinguishes them as follows :— 
Perianth consisting of four deciduous, subepigynous, clawed 
segments.................................. Apodanthes.. 
Perianth consisting of free segments, with a broad base, persisting 
until the fruit is ripe ........................ Pilostyles. 
f Besides these structural differences, which are not very great, it 
18 true, there is the fact that Apodanthes is parasitic on the allied 
genera Casearia and Flacourtia, whilst, so far as is known, all 
