230 ON THE ACAULESCENT SPECIES OF MALVASTRUM. 
caput cylindricum instructa, — Carpella circa 90, matura non visa, dorso 
dense stellato-tomentosa. 
Malva acaulis, Dombey ex Cav. Diss. ii. p. 82, t. 35. fig. 2; DC. Prodr. i. 
p. 435; Wedd. Chl. And. ii. p. 274. 
Malvastrum acaule, А. Gray, l. с. p. 150 ; Baker fil. in Journ. Bot. xxix. 
p. 171, partim. 
PERU : Cordillera of Central Provinces, without precise locality, Dombey, 
677 (Herb. Berol)! Huamantanga, А. Matthews, 5971 without precise 
locality, Maclean (Herb. Kew.) | 
The specimens of М. acaule agree very closely with Dombey's description 
and with the figure given by Cavanilles, except that the peduncles usually 
appear to be 1- or 2-flowered, though they are deseribed and figured as being 
sometimes 4-flowered ; in the Dombey specimen at the British Museum the 
majority of the peduncles are 2-flowered. The peduncle appears to split into 
two, each portion terminating in a flower. The flowers are said to be vellow 
and to turn green when dry, which is well seen in the Kew specimens. The 
mass of flowers in the centre of the leaf-rosette is a striking feature of the 
plant. It is unfortunate that the exact habitat of this interesting species is 
very imperfectly known ; it appears, however, that its home must be in the 
Cordillera above Lima, judging from the names of the collectors. With 
regard to the variety of this species which has been described under the 
name В. granatensis from Ecuador and Venezuela, it appears that a mistake 
has been made and that not only are there two distinct furms to which this 
name has been given (M. Purdiaei, A. Gray, and М. Мена», A. W. Hill), 
but also that neither of them is a variety of M. acaule. A further slight 
confusion has been caused owing to the citation by Baker fil. (J. с.) of all the 
localities given by Weddell for M. acaule and its supposed variety under 
the species М. acaule. With regard to the locality in Bolivia quoted by 
Weddell and Baker fil. under M. acaule for D'Orbigny's specimen from Alto 
de Lagunillas, some uncertainty exists, and it may be that this plant * has 
been wrongly referred to M. acaule. 
18. MaLvasrRUM ENGLERIANUM, E. Ulbrich in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. xiii. 
(1908) p. 115. 
Peru: Dep. Ancachs, Prov. Cajatambo, between Tallenga and Piseapaccha, 
3800-4000 m., Weberbauer, 2888 ! 
The flowers are large and conspicuous and the calyx-teeth acuminate. 
The involucral bracts like the calyx, petioles, ete., are furnished with coarse 
hairs. The leaves are glabrous above but bear hairs on the margins and on 
the veins on the lower surface. M. Weberbaueri resembles this species in 
external characters but differs in the characters of the fruits, tomentum, and 
sulphur-yellow flowers which are smaller than those of M. Englerianum. 
* M. Lecomte informs me that no trace of this specimen can be found at Paris. 
