Protomegubaria.| CXXU. EUPHORBIACEX (HUTCHINSON). 657 
and lateral nerves beneath ; lateral nerves 10-17 on each side, diverging 
from the midrib at an angle of 45°, looped and branched near thé 
margin, prominent only on the lower surface ; tertiary nerves parallel, 
rather slender ; veins scarcely visible ; petiole 13-2 in. long, swollen and 
wrinkled at the top, glabrous ; stipules not seen, soon falling off. Male 
racemes about 24 in. long; axis sulcate, glabrous; outer bract ovate- 
rotundate, slightly ciliate; inner bract in the shape of a cup enclosing 
the three closely packed flowers whilst in bud, central flower over- 
topping the two others; bracteoles at the base of each pedicel ovate, 
ciliate and pubescent ; pedicels short. Sepals 5, oblong, inflexed and 
fringed at the apex. Stamens 5; filaments about half as long as the 
sepals. Disk-glands 5, large and fleshy, glabrous. Rudimentary ovary 
bipartite, segments slightly papillose towards the apex. Female racemes 
about 14 in. long; axis suleate or angular, glabrous ; bracts ovate-lan- 
ceolate, obtuse, 14 lin. long, } lin. broad, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. 
Sepals 5, one smaller than the rest, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, 2 lin. long, 
coriaceous, glabrous on both sides. Disk adnate to the base of the 
sepals, glabrous. Ovary slightly trilobed, glabrous; styles 3, free to 
the base, at first erect, at length recurved, bifid or bilobed, glabrous. 
Capsule subglobose or oblong-ellipsoid, 14-14 in. in diam., septicidal, 
exocarp partially splitting from each end into six pieces, the cocci falling 
away and leaving the persistent central axis; exocarp crustaceous, thin ; 
endocarp horny, nearly $ lin. thick. Seeds not seen.—Megabaria obova- 
tum, Pierre ex Hutchinson in Hook. Ic. Pl. sub t. 2929. Maesobotrya 
stapfiana, Beille in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, lvi. Mém. viii. 121. 
_ Upper Guinea. Ivory Coast: Malamalasso, Chevalier, 16249! Gold Coast: 
Eastern Akim 3 Kankan, Johnson, 596! Kwahu district, Thompson, 92! 
Lower Guinea. Gaboon: in the neighbourhood of Libreville, A/aine (coll. 
Ang. 1897 and 1898, May 1899, and Jan. 1902), 575! without date, 2314! 
2. P. macrophylla, Hutchinson in Hook. Ic. Pl. sub t. 2929. 
A small tree about 20 ft. high; branchlets stout, glabrous. Leaves 
oblong-elliptic or elongate-obovate, shortly acuminate, slightly rounded 
at or narrowed to the base, 7-15 in. long, 2-34 in. broad, rather 
rigidly chartaceous, entire, glabrous on both surfaces; lateral nerves 
0-20 on each side, diverging from the midrib at an angle of 45°, looped 
and branched near the margin, prominent only on the lower surface ; 
tertiary nerves subparallel, rather faint ; petiole 14-24 in. long, swollen 
and slightly wrinkled at the apex, glabrous; stipules nct seen, evidently 
Soon falling off. Male inflorescences solitary or geminate, 4—5 in. long ; 
*Xis angular or deeply sulcate, glabrous ; outer bract broadly ovate, } lin. 
ong, glabrous ; intermediate bract cupular as in ?, stapfiana, innermost 
tacts obovate or oblanceolate, membranous, margin minutely ciliolate ; 
Pedicels very short, glabrous. Sepals ovate, obtuse, glabrous outside, 
wry Sparingly pilose within towards the base. Stamens 5; filaments 
Short. Disk-glands 5, large and fleshy, glabrous. Rudimentary ovary 
very short, columnar, entire, glabrous. Female inflorescences as in the 
Male. Flowers solitary in the axil of each bract, with two connate brac- 
teoles at the middle of the pedicel; bracts ovate, obtuse, ? lin. long, 
VOL. VI.—sgrcr, 7 20 
