742 CXXII, EUPHORBIACEE (HUTCHINSON). | Microdesmis. 
Leaves oblong, oblong-elliptic or oblong-obovate, more or less caudate- 
acuminate, acumen mucronate, cuneate and unequal-sided at the base, 
14-6 in. long, ?-2 in. broad, dentate or subentire, thinly but firmly 
chartaceous, dotted with numerous pellucid glands, glabrous on both 
surfaces or slightly pubescent on the nerves beneath ; lateral nerves 4-6 
on each side, prominent below, looped and freely branched well within 
the margin; tertiary nerves lax and reticulate, very distinct on the 
lower surface; petiole 2-4 lin. long, sparingly puberulous or nearly 
glabrous; stipules very small and deciduous. Male flowers fasciculate 
in the leaf-axils of the young shoots; pedicel up to 1} lin. long, 
puberulous or almost tomentellous. Sepals 5, oblong-ovate, subacute, 
4 lin. long, densely puberulous outside, nearly glabrous within. Petals 9, 
obovate-oblanceolate, narrowed to the base, about 3 lin. long, rather 
fleshy, puberulous on both sides. Stamens 5, inserted at the base of 
the rudimentary ovary ; filaments short. Rudimentary ovary columnar, 
short, slightly swollen at the apex, puberulous, Female flowers few or 
solitary in each leaf-axil; pedicel stout, up to 14 lin. long, puberulous. 
Sepals 5, broadly ovate, slightly mucronate, } lin. long and broad, 
coriaceous, ciliate and adpressed-pubescent outside, glabrous within. 
Ovary ovoid, rather fleshy, shortly setulose ; styles very short, laciniate. 
Fruits globose, muricate, 3 lin. in diam.—Hook. f. Niger Flora, 514, 
t. 26; Baill. Adansonia, i. 65; Miill. Arg. in DC. Prodr. xv. il. 1041 
(excl. Mann’s Gaboon and Welwitsch’s Angolan specimens); Pax m 
Engl. Pflanzenr. Euphorb.-Cluytiee, 106, partly. UM. puberula, var. 
Chevalieri, Beille in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, lv. Mém. viii. 84. 
Upper Guinea. Senegambia, Heudelot, 832! Sierra Leone: various 
localities, Don! Scott-Elliot, 3941! 4386! 5543! 4729! 4784! 4838! French 
Guinea: Ivory Coast; Bingerville, Chevalier, 15220! 15222! 15223! 15225! 
15528! 16224! Gold Coast: Aquapim Hills, Johnson, 589!  Aburi, Johnson, 
479! 955! Brown, 321! Fundu, Smythe, 206! Assin-yan- Kumasi, Cummins, 
161! Lagos: various localities, Rowland! Millson! Millen, 6! 191 25129! 
Chevalier, 13982! 14191! 14112! Irving, 89! Foster, 114! Southern Nigeria: 
various localities, Barter, 282! 1640! 1805! Unwin, 69! Holland, 109! 
Fernando Po, Vogel, 169! 175! Barter, 1725! Manz, 86! 
Sir A. Moloney states that the leaves when boiled are used for feeding babies, 
and they are said to cure them of spleen. 3 
In many of the specimens the inflorescence is paniculate, a condition which 
appears to be abnormal and is probably caused by the presence of a gall. 
Several specimens which I have not seen, collected in the Congo State and 
quoted by De Wildeman as this species in most of the Belgian publications, are 
probably M. Zenkeri, Pax. 
2. M. Zenkeri, Pax in Engl. Jahrb, xxiii. 531. A shrub 6-10 ft. 
high ; branchlets slender, slightly flexuous, pubescent. Leaves elliptic, 
oblong-elliptic or narrowly oblong, rather abruptly acuminate, mien 
running out into a hardened point, mostly broadly cuneate and unequa 
sided at the base, 3-6 in. long, 1-3 in. broad, margin closely crenate, 
dentate, undulate or quite entire, very thinly chartaceous or @ oN 
membranous, glabrous on both surfaces except the puberulous midri 
and lateral] nerves on the upper surface ; lateral nerves 6-8 on each side 
