Visewm. | CXIX. LORANTHACEA (SPRAGUE). 399 
Cymules axillary and terminal, solitary or ternate, peduncled, 3-flowered, 
flowers moneecious, tetramerous, all of one sex in thesamecyme. Male 
cymule: Peduncle about 1? lin. long or less, produced nearly } lin. 
beyond the bracteal cup. Bracteal cup boat-shaped, 1} lin. long, sub- 
apiculate at both ends. Flower-bud ellipsoid, 2 lin. long. Flower 
§ lin. long, solid base } lin. long. Receptacular tube about 4 lin. long. 
Petals ovate, about 4 lin. long, 3-} lin. broad. Anthers suborbicular, 
t lin. in diam., or elliptic, 3 lin. long, } lin. broad. Female cymule: 
Peduncle 2-3 lin. long, more or less produced above the bracteal cup. 
Bracteal cup minutely ciliate, acute at both ends, finally becoming 
crescent-shaped. Receptacle subcylindric, slightly narrowed into the 
base, ? lin. long, hardly 4 lin. in diam., or compressed, } lin. broad, 
% lin. deep, smooth. Petals ovate-oblong or deltoid-ovate, 4 lin. long, 
t-} lin. broad. Stigma projecting }-} lin. above the insertion of the 
petals. Young berry oblong-ellipsoid.—V. obscurum, var. decurrens, 
Engl. in Engl. Jahrb. xx. 132; De Wild. Etudes Fl. Bas- et Moyen- 
Congo, i. 30, 237. 
Upper Guinea. Lagos: Eppah, on Guttifere, Barter, 3314! Southern 
ol i by the Old Calabar River, on Symphonia globulifera, Linn. f., Mann, 
Lower Guinea. Gaboon: Munda; Sibange Farm, Dinklage, 574! by the 
Gaboon River, on Symphonia globulifera, Linn. f., Mann, 984! Lower Congo: 
near Leopoldville, Gillet ! 
es decurrens has been hitherto regarded as a variety of V. obscurum, Thunb. (a 
native of South Africa), with which it has little in common. V. obscurum has a 
sessile inflorescence and long-pedicelled berries. 
_6. V. Fischeri, Engl. in Engl. Jahrb. xx. 132. Brownish in a 
dried state. Branches subterete or obtusely quadrangular, grooved, 
i-1 lin. in diam. 4—6 in. below the apex, the uppermost internodes 
slightly compressed ; internodes 1-2} in. long. Leaves narrowly oblong 
or obovate-oblong, rounded at the apex, cuneate into the base, 1-2 in. 
long, 5-9 lin. broad, coriaceous, glabrous, distinctly 3-nerved, finely 
wrinkled and slightly glossy in a dried state; petiole 14-24 lin. 
Jong. Cymules axillary and terminal, solitary or ternate, peduncled, 
-7-flowered ; flowers diccious, tetramerous. Male plant not known. 
Female plant: Peduncle 2-3 lin. long, stout, produced beyond the 
bracteal cup. Bracteal cup at first boat-shaped, 1} lin. long, minutely 
ciliolate, afterwards crescent-shaped owing to the ends being deflexed. 
Flower 1§ lin. long. Receptacle oblong, very slightly narrowed down- 
wards, somewhat compressed, 1-1} lin. long, wrinkled in a dried state, 
Soon becoming ellipsoid after pollination. Petals slightly patulous, 
ovate, 3 lin. long, 3,7, lin. broad, deciduous. Stigma projecting # lin. 
above the insertion of the petals. Young berry ellipsoid or ovoid, 2} 
lin. long, apex broadly depressed-truncate, crowned by the persistent 
Sstigma.—Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 167. 
Wile Land. British East Africa: near Nairobi, Linton, 225! 
Mozamb. Distr. German East Africa: Ligaijo, Fischer, 568! 
