Ottccba.] xiii. bixinea; (olivek). 119 



oval-oblong or obovate-oblong, rounded or wedge-shaped at base, shortly 

 acuminate, with rather distant secondary jwfgres, 4-6 »'«• long, 1^-2^ in. 

 broad. Petiole 3-6 lines. Flowers 3-6' lififts in diam. from the branch a 

 little below the leaves, solitary or in fascicles of 2 or 3 on very short peduncles. 

 Anthers linear, without a terminal appendage. Pistillate or hermaphrodite 

 flowers unknown. Fruit on a very short spreading or recurved peduncle, 

 globose, densely echinate, with numerous seeds, about 1 in. diam. exclusive 

 of the spines. 



Upper Guinea. Bagroo river, Mann 1 



14. O. (Mayna) dentata, Oliv. A shrub or small tree, 6-30 ft. 

 high, glabrous or with the young shoots and nerves of the young leaves obso- 

 lete!}* pubescent. Leaves membranous, elliptical or oblong-elliptical, dentate- 

 serrate, especially towards the shortly acuminate extremity, 3-10 in. long, 

 *-5 in. broad. Petiole 1^—7 in. long, often slightly curved near the top. 

 Stipules subulate, 2-3 lines long, deciduous. Flowers about |-£ in. diam., 

 hi loose or interrupted, ascending, axillary racemes, 1-3 in. long. Pedicels 

 slender, 1-6 lines long or flowers subsessile. Sepals 3. Petals 6-10. An- 

 thers muticous ; cells often multilocellate. Style subulate, with a minute, 

 almost or quite undivided stigma. Ovary hairy, soon echinate with spread- 

 ln g acute spines. Placentas 2 (or 3), with numerous ovules. Fruit globose, 

 echinate with rather soft spines, \-\ in. diam. (exclusive of the spines), 1- 

 seeded (in Dr. Welwitsch's specimens). 



This species is strictly referable to Aublet's genus Mayna, the rest of the species of which 

 are tropi ca i American. This genus I have united to Oncoba (vide Journ. Linn. Soc. ix. 172). 



Upper Guinea. Onitsha, Niger, Barter ! Old Calabar river and Cainaroons mouutain, 

 2 '00 ft., Mann ! 



Lower Guinea. Angola, distr. Golungo Alto, and Pungo Andongo, Br. Welwitsch ! 



Count Jaubert in Bull. Soc. Bot. France (December 14, 1866), describes a plant from 

 ^anzibar {Boivin and Grandidier) and Mombaze(Bom«), as the type of a new genus (Gran- 

 aidiera Boivini), but 1 do not find any character of generic importance in which it ditfers 

 ° m Oncoba. It is described as a shrub, with ovate, obtuse, mucronate, entire, membra- 

 Dous le aves, axillary flowers ; the male spicate, female solitary ; sepals 3 ; petals 5 ; pla- 

 centas 3, oo-ovulate ; capsule cristate-alate. I have not seen a specimen. 



tyeke and Grant gathered, in E. tropical Africa, lat. 6' S., long, about 34° E., an Onco- 

 p 0ld Pl*»t, of which we possess too imperfect material for satisfactory description. Captain 

 ?j*Bt described it as a " shrub with snowy-white rosaceous flowers." The structure of the 

 n °wer agrees with Oncoba apparently, but the silky-tomentose leaves are provided with 

 c °nspicuous oblong stipules. 



4. LUDIA, Lam.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. 126. 



powers hermaphrodite. Sepals 5-7, imbricating. Petals 0. Stamens oo ; 

 jWl'ers basifixed, elliptic-oblong, unappendaged, dehiscing longitudinally. 

 " T «ry 1-celled, narrowed into the style, which is either 2-4-fid or the stigma 

 ^-4-lobed; ovules 2-oo in 2-4 parietal placentas. Berry coriaceous.— 

 Shrubs. Leaves venose, shining. Flowers axillary, sessile or shortly pedi- 

 cellate. 



A small genus of the Mascareue group and eastern tropical Africa. 



