50 CXLIII, COMMELINACEZ (CLARKE). [| Commelina. 
Also in Madagascar. 
The variation m the leaves in this species is very great; in Quartin-Dillon & 
Petit, 13, the upper leaves are ovate, sessile, and rounded «t the base, the lower 
lanceolate ; while the lowest has a quasi-petiole 3? in. long. 
Var. loandensis, C. B. Clarke. Leaves (even the upper ones) narrowed at the base 
int> a short quasi-petiole—C. latifolia, Rendle in Cat, Afr. Pl. Welw. ii. 77,. partly. 
Lower Guinea. Angola: Loanda ; about Alto das Cruzes, Welwitsch, 6613 ! 
at Praia de Zamba, near Loanda, Welwitsch, 6616! near Maianza de Povo, Wel- 
witsch, 6618! Ambriz; near the River Quizembo, Welwitsch, 6615! 
33. C. Petersii, /Hassk. in Peters, Reise “Mossamb. Bot. 522. 
Nearly glabrous. Stems 18 in. long, with internodes 2-3 in. long. 
Leaves 4-5 by } in., oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, rather suddenly 
contracted at the base, often very shortly quasi-petiolate. Peduncles 
seattered, near the top of the stem, exserted $—1 in. from the leaf- 
sheaths. Spathes 1 by # in., elliptic or ovate, acuminate, glabrous or 
very nearly so, with obscure longitudinal green nerves; margins nearly 
or quite free at the base. Petals blue. Capsule } in. long, 4-seeded ; 
the dorsal cell sometimes present, usually empty. Seeds oblong- 
ellipsoid, with transverse wrinkles and pits.—Hassk. in Flora, 1863, 
385; C. B. Clarke in DC. Monogr. Phan. iii. 169; Durand & Schinz, 
Conspect. Fl. Afr. v. 427; K. Schum. in Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 135. 
Lower Guinea. German South-west Africa: Amboland ; Olukonda, Schinz, 6! 
Mozamb. Dist. Portuguese East Africa: Lower Zambesi, at Shiramba, 
Kirk ! Mozambique, Peters ! 
This is near C. boissieriana, but differs from that (as from C, Schinzii) by its 
much narrower spathes. 
34. C. latifolia, 4. Rich. Tent. Fl. Abyss. ii. 340. Slightly 
hairy or glabrate. Stem 15-30 in. long, rather weak, with long inter- 
nodes, decumbent and rooting at the base ; roots fibrous, not thickened. 
Leaves 34 by } in,, oblong-lanceolate, sessile, dilated at the base; upper 
leaves often cordate, eared or nearly sagittate at the base. Peduncles 
solitary, 2 or 1 near the top of a branch, exserted 4-1 in. from the 
leaf-sheath. Spathes ? in. long or rather more, broadly ovate, with a 
short acute point, not acuminate, very thinly hispid, slenderly striate ; 
margins very shortly connate at the base. Petals (dried) blue. 
Cxrpsule } by [-} in., 4-seeded. Seeds globose, brown, nearly smooth.— 
Hassk. in Schweinf. Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 295; C. B. Clarke in DO. 
Monogr. Phan. iii. 173 partly; Durand & Schinz, Conspect. Fl. Afr. 
v. 426; Durand & De Wild. in Bull. Soe. bot. Belg. xxxvii. 128; 
K.Schum in Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 135; Schweinf. in Hoéhnel. Zum 
Rudolph-See u. Stephanie-See, ii. 353, and in Verh. Zool.-Bot. Gesell. 
dan a 556. C. sagittifolia, Hassk. in Schweinf. Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 
206, 295. 
Wile Land. Kordofan: Abn Harara, Pfund, 114! Abyssinia : without precise 
Ioeality, Schimper, 1686! Pearce! Somaliland, Donaldson Smith ! 
Lower Guinea. Lower Congo: Sicia, Dupuis ! 
