62 XCVIII, ACANTHACE£ (CLARKE). | Distichocalyx. 
texture; petiole }? in. long. Heads # in. long, ovoid, 2—9-flowered ; 
bract } in. long, ovate. Calyx 3 in. long, or rather more; otherwise 
as D. strobilinus.—Dischistocalyx sp., Lindau in Engl. Jahrb. xviii. 68, 
t. 1, fig. 26. 
Lower Guinea. Gaboon: Corisco Bay, J/ann, 1863 ! 
With only one collection of each number, it is difficult to guess whether the present 
is “specifically ” distinct from D. strobilinus. T. Anderson and Bentham took it to 
be so. 
7. D. brevifolius, (. B. Clarke. Nearly glabrous, “ herbaceous, 
2 feet” (Mann). Leaves 14} by ? in., acuminate at either end, tip 
obtuse, base produced nearly to the foot of the petiole, somewhat 
leathery. Heads of 2-4 flowers only. Calyx exceeding 4 in. long. 
Corolla light blue (Mann). Flowers, pistil, stamens, pollen, as of the 
last 2 species. 
Lower Guinea. Gaboon: Sierra del Crystal, Mann, 1665 ! 
This, though very closely allied to the preceding two species, appears distinct from 
either. 
8. D. thunbergiiflorus, Benth. in Benth.d: Hook.f. Gen. Pl.ii.1081. 
Glabrous (calyx-tips microscopically pubescent). Stem 4-20 ft. high 
(Mann). Leaves up to 6 by 2 in., acuminate at either end, cystoliths 
many prominent; petiole $-1} in. long. Spikes terminal, elongating 
in fruit up to 3 in., 4-10-flowered, lower flowers solitary, opposite, 
}-+ in. from the succeeding pair ; bract 3-1 in. long, elliptic, deciduous; 
bracteoles hardly } in. long, narrow-oblong. Calyx-lobes 5, ? in. long, 
nearly equal, linear-lanceolate ; the 3 posticous sometimes connate even 
in fruit } their length, sometimes free even in the bud nearly to their 
base. Corolla 2 in. long, upper 3 of the tube much inflated, }—3 in. in 
diam., curved ; lobes } in., round, violet-purple. Filaments glabrous, 
with glands near the top; pollen globose, echinate. Ovary and style 
glabrous ; style-branches one obsolete, one broad ovate-oblong. Capsule 
¢ by 4-5 in., subcylindric, about 16-seeded, seed-bearing from the 
base; seeds ;', in. in diam.—Ruellia thunbergieflora, T. Anders. i 
Journ. Linn. Soc. vii. 24; Lindau in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenf. iv. 
3B. 310. 
Upper Guinea. [Fernando Po, 1300-2000 ft., Mann, 316! 1446! 
17. ACANTHOPALE, C. B. Clarke. 
Calyx divided nearly to the base; segments 5, subequal, narrow- 
oblong or linear. Corolla 1-1} in. long; tube dilated nearly from the 
base, funnel-shaped; lobes 5, short, subequal, contorted in bud. 
Stamens 4, subsimilar; anther-cells 2, linear-oblong, parallel, at equal 
height, glabrous, base rounded ; pollen globose, echinate. Ovary glabrous; 
ovules 2 in each cell; style hairy, one branch linear-oblong, the other 
minute or 0. Capsule broad-oblong, contracted, solid at the base ; seeds 
with many hygroscopic hairs.—Shrubs. Leaves entire, more or less 
crenate, becoming nearly glabrous in age. Inflorescence lax or dense. 
