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r V- 



84 



MU. N. E. BROWN : NEW AND OLD 



the Prince of Salm in the year 1823/' and dated '^Nov. 24tli, 1823," and 

 partly from a living phmt. This species is allied to J7, rosfratinn, Linn., but 

 is not so stoutj of a niach bluer-orrecn (not of such a whitish) colour and very 

 much more thickly dotted all over the back ; the purplish basul part is also 

 a distino'nishinii* feature, for I have never seen the slieaths of ]\L rostratam 

 coloured in that nmnner. 



M. iiOBUSTUM, Haw, (PI. 9. fig- 37). Stem prostrate, in old plants 2-G in. 

 (5-15 cm.) long, stout, branching, woody. Branches very short, stout, 

 about 12 mm. thick in the drawinnr^ clustered. Leaves (acconiino- to tlie 

 drawing, very stout, about 5^ cm. long, 15 mm. broad at the base^ thence 

 tapering to an acute apex:) subulate, liidE-cylindric at the base, wlieres tliey 

 are gil)bous-pustulate on the upper side (keeled on the back), trigonous at 

 the Jipex, rathiU' obtuse (in siile view) ^ glaucous-green, dotted (alt over on 

 the up]>er surface and back, according to the drawing). — M, rohastumj Haw. 

 Misc. p. 28 (1803); Synop. p. 211 ; k Rev. p. 01: Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, 

 vob iii, p, 21G; Sonder in PL Cap. vol. ii. p, 395 : Bcrger, JMesemb. p. 251b 

 South Africa. Locality unknown. Introduced by Masson in 1705, 

 The above description is a translation oC that given by Ha worthy combined 

 witli characters taken from a drawing by Mr. Duncanson (no. 205) at Kew, 

 labelled ^' Mesemh. roJnfstum^ TLiw./^ which I have cojued on Pb 9. Althougli 

 the drawing' Js not dated it was probablv made betwe(Mi 1823 ami 182(1, anil 

 doubtless rej)reseiits typical M, rohtf.sfuinj Haw. It wonbl appeiir tliat this is 

 even a stouter phuit tlian d/. rostiuliau^ Ijimi. (^^, qttadnfuhiut. Haw.), since 

 Ilaworth states (Misc* p. 20) that M. quadrijldaui resembles M, vohaslum^ 

 but is smaller, with more obtuse and less 'dotted leaves. The leaves may 

 not nlways be more obtuse than those of d/, rostratnm^ for, as I have 

 pointed out on p. 58, alternating pairs of leaves often vary in this character 

 on the sanu* growth, but accor<ling to the drawdng the dots on d/. vohnsfnm 



are very much more numerous than tliey ever are on J/, rostvatum. 



M. ROSTRATOIDES, Ilaic. (Pb 7. fig. 27). Stem prostrate, 2-3 in. (5-7^ cm.) 

 long, branching (according to the drawing, about G-7 n)m, thick, with 

 branches 3-4 mm, thick). Leaves subulate-subtriquotrous^ convex on the 

 back at the base, ohtuse, the older spreading, pustubite-gibboas at the base 

 on the up[)er side, glaucous, dottiul. {The drawing represents the leaves as 

 being 12-25 mm. long, 7-0 muK broad, and 3-1 mm. thick, witli the flat 

 upper surface tapering from the base to an acute a2)ex, the bark keeled and 

 the ajiex in side view obtusely rounded or more or less acute, at the base 

 they are connate into a sheath 5-10 mm. long; the upper surface as well as 

 the back of the older leaves is re])resented as doited). Peduncle terminal, 

 long, cylindrrc, smooth, with 2 leaf-like bracts at the base. Calyx unecpially 

 5-lol)ed, the 3 snudler lobes with membranous nuirgins. Corolla yellow, 

 almost as in M, canum] petals uniform, acute. Stamens erect ; filaments 



