216 xxvi. sterculiacEjE (masters). [Sterculia. 



Follicles woody or leathery dehiscing, when ripe. 

 Leaves oblong, obovate, entire, uuicostate. 



Leaves pilose at least beneath \. S. Tragacantha. 



Leaves glabrous on both surfaces 2. S. oblonga. 



Leaves roundish, angular or lobed, palrnicostate. 

 leaves subglabrous. 



Lobes of leaves pointed 3. S. Triphaca. 



Lobes of leaves rounded or none 4. S. cordifolia. 



Leaves downy on both surfaces. 



Lobes of leaf acute, not white underneath 5. 5. tomentosa. 



Lobes of leaf acuminate, white underneath 6. S. cinerea. 



Follicles membranous, thin, splitting before the seed is ripe. (Sect. 



Firmiana.) 7- S. Barteri. 



1. S. Tragacantha, Lindl. Bot. Reg. t. 1353. A tree 40-50 ft. high, 

 with rugged greyish bark ; younger shoots as well as the leafstalks, under 

 surface of the leaves, pedicels, calyx, and outer surface of the follicles, 

 clothed with rufous down. Leafstalks 1-2 in. long. Leaves leathery, ob- 

 long, obtuse at the base, blunt or subacuminate at the apex or even slightly 

 3-lobed, entire or sinuous, unicostate, feather-veined. Flowers small, nu- 

 merous, in much-branched clusters ; pedicels jointed. Calyx funnel-shaped, 

 red, 5-toothed ; lobes oblong, cohering at the apex. Column shorter than 

 the calyx. Anthers in 2 rows. Follicles 5, stipitate, oblong acute or slightly 

 cuspidate, covered with close reddish down, 2-4 in. long, l£ in. across. — 

 S.pubescens, Don, Gen. Syst. i. 615. S. obovata, R. Br. PI. Jav. Ear. 233. 



Upper Guinea. Cape Coast, Brass ! Niger, Barter ! Senegambia, Heudelot ! Sierra 

 Leone, Don ! 



Lower Guinea. Congo, Smith ! 



2. S. oblonga, Mast. A tree 50 ft. in height with spreading branches 

 {Mann). Leafstalks flattened, 1-2 in. long. Leaves longer than their 

 stalks, rounded at the base, oblong acute or roundish, rarely subacuminate, 

 sinuous at the margins, unicostate, glabrous on both surfaces. Flowers nu- 

 merous, small, in terminal, leafless, much -branched, panicled cymes. Bracts 

 small, deciduous. Flower-buds oblong, obtuse. Calyx downy on both sur- 

 faces, cup-shaped, deeply 5-parted ; segments oblong, obtuse, at first valvate, 

 ultimately spreading. Staminal column slender, hairy at the base, shorter 

 than the calyx. Anthers numerous, in a globose head ; lobes parallel. Ovary 

 and fruit not known. 



Upper Guinea. Fernando Po, Mann ! 

 Apparently a distinct species, but imperfectly known. 



3. S. Triphaca, R. Br. Pi. Jav. Rar. 221. A large tree, with thick, 

 greyish, rugose branches. Leafstalks 4-5 in. long, as long as the leaves, 

 subglabrous. Leaves cordate, roundish or 3-lobed ; lobes entire, acuminate, 

 central one longest, nearly glabrous on both surfaces. Flowers numerous in 

 much-branched axillary panicles. Peduncles downy, 2-3 in. long; pedicels 

 jointed, shorter than the flower. Calyx less than £ in. long, downy on the 

 outside, smooth and pink within, divided halfway down into 5 "ovate-lanceolate 

 spreading segments. Column smooth, shorter than the calyx; anthers 

 clustered at the top of the column or in 2 rows round the base of an abortive 



