f 



u 



MK. N. K. imoWN : NEW AND OLD 



§ OBTUSA. 



(n. 10 



Stems of old plants prostrate or 



^r 



underground, up to 5 cnu long, with very sliort briincliep, or plant nearly 

 stemless, branching at the haso. Leaves 2-4 to a gro\vth, une(|uril, 

 17-25 mnu long, G-8 nnn. broad^ and 5-G uwu, thick at the base, one of each 

 pair a little longer than the other, viewed from above linear-oblong or of 

 nearly equal breadth for the greater part of their length and rather shortly 



narrow 



ed to 



an 



obtuse apex according to the figure, but according to 



Haworth "slightly attenuated at both emh j'^artieularl^ downwards^' 

 may, however, have meant when viewed from the j^ide), seniitereie, flat on 

 the upper side, rounded on the back, the hirger of unch pair often dorsidly 

 thickened near the apex or subgibbous, " not glaucous but subglaucoscent or 

 greenish with an obsolete bluish tint/' or " rather of a bluish green than a 

 glaucous colour." Flower solitary, terminal, nearly sessile, with two leaf- 

 like bracts at its base. Calj x thick, 0-lobed ; lobes subequal, obtuse, some of 

 them with membranous margins, reflexed when the flower is fully expanded. 

 Corolla large and showy^ expanding in the morning, with the fades of that 



Iformey Haw. (not 



(25 nnn,) 



apex, bright red or pur})le, somewhat jialer at the base, and more distant 

 (more lax) than in most species. Stamens erect; filaments white, slightly 

 tinted with reddish on the upper part ; anthers white or slightly yellowish. 



soides^ \h\\\. Obs. pp. 135^ 450 



M. oUusiun {a mere change of name for M, jissoides), Haw\ 



Stigmas 6, recurved above, white. — M.f 



Misc. p. 25 (1803) ; Synop. p. 20G ; & Rev. p. SQ: Ait. Ilort. Kew. ed. 2, 

 vol. lii. p. 2X4 : DC. Prodr. vol. iii. p. 418 : Don, Gen. Syst. vol. iii. p, 127 : 

 Sondcr in Fl. Cap* vol. ii. p. 31)1: Bergcr, JNlesemb. p. 273. 



South Africa. Locality unknown. Introduced by Masson in 1792. 



Ilawortl 



1 



i) states that this species is very much like M. fi 



Haw,, but much less glaucous. I have not seen it, but judging from the 



drawing of it at 



( 



plant and theretore typical, it wouM ap[)ear to be a species of much firmer 



/ 



The habit 



M.ji 



spreading/ It appears to me that AJ.j 



be placed in the same 



group as AL maynipundalum. liaworth seems to have changed the specific 

 nam« from mere caprice^ no reason being 



given 



for h; 



ivino* done so. The 



above description is compiled partly from those of Haworth and partly from 



the drawing at Kew, which is 



M 



1 



22nd, 



1825. '* Haworth states that it is a very delicate species^ very liable to be 

 killed by too much moisture. 



Is 



F , 



