94 CVII. CHENOPODIACEH (BAKER AND CLARKE). [ Basella. 
12. BASELLA, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. 76. 
Flowers 2-sexual. Perianth urn-shaped, fleshy; lobes 5, short, 
incurved over the fruit. Stamens 5, inserted near the top of the 
perianth-tube. Ovary ovoid, free; stigmas 3, linear; ovule 1, on a 
short basal stalk. Utricle globose, thin; seed erect, subglobose ; 
embryo spiral, with hardly any albumen.—Twining much-branched 
herbs. Leaves alternate, ovate, entire. Spikes axillary, peduncled, 
elongating; bracteoles 2, united into a 2-lipped cup, adnate to the 
perianth. Flowers white or rose or violet. 
Species 2, in Asia and Africa. 
Petiole 1-24 in. long. - : . . . ~ de Beale. 
Petiole } in. long . ° : . , ; : . 2. B. paniculata. 
1. B. alba, finn. Sp. Pl. ed. i. 272, eds vw. 390. . Glavrous, 
branched, several feet long, or the cultivated forms yards long, succu- 
lent; stems green or red. Leaves long-petioled, 2—4 in. long, ovate or 
cordate ; in dry weather the plant is often nearly leafless. Spikes 1-6 in. 
long, sometimes branched. Fruits } in. in diam., globose, red, white, 
or black.—Mogquin in DC. Prodr. xiii. ii. 223; Volk. in Engl. & 
Prantl, Pflanzenfam. iii. 1A, 126, fig. 73, A-F. B. rubra, Linn. Sp. Pl. 
Od. 1, 272, ed. . 890 - Hook. 1. Fl. Brit. ind. v, 20. 2: mere 
B. cordifolia, B. ramosa, Moquin in DC. Prodr, xiii. ii. 223, and B. 
see oe 
Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone: cultivated at Kukuna, Scott-Elliot, 4664! 
Cameroons: Cameroon Mountain, 1000 ft., Mann, 1250! 
Nile Land. Abyssinia: Begemeder; Sanka Berr, Schimper, 1447! and 
without precise locality, Plowden. Niamniam: at Nabambisso River, Schweinfurth, 
3040 ! 
Lower Guinea. Island of St. Thomas, Mann, 1088 ! 
Mozamb. Dist. German East Africa: Kilimanjaro; Marangu, 5000 ft. 
Volkens, 739! Usambara: Kwa Mshuza, Holst, 9072! 
Extensively cultivated as a “ spinach.”’ 
2. B. paniculata, Volk. in Engl. Jahrb. xxxviii. 81. Glabrous, 
twining. Leaves succulent (in the dried examples almost horny), shortly 
petioled, ovate, 14 in. long, 1 in. wide, acute. Flowers small, spiked, 
becoming white; spikes forming lax panicles. Sepals ovate, adnate at 
the base with the corolla. Petals broadly oval, connate at the base. 
Mozamb. Dist. German East Africa: Usambara, Engler, 1515. 
Orpver CVIII. PHYTOLACCACEZ. (By J. G. Baker, 
with additions by C. H. Wright.) 
Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual. Perianth inferior, herbaceous 
or coriaceous, rarely coloured, 4—5-partite, regular or nearly so; seg- 
ments equal or unequal, imbricate. Stamens 4-5 or many, usually 
