58 CXLIII. COMMELINACEZ (CLARKE). [ Commelina. 
C. B. Clarke in DC. Monogr. Phan. iii. 184; Durand & Schinz, Con- 
spect. Fl. Afr. v. 423; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi. 373; Martelli, Fl. 
Bogos. 88; Rendle in Journ. Linn. Soc. xxx. 429; Hua in Bull. Mus. 
Hist. Nat. Par. i. 120; K. Schum. in Engl. Pfi. Ost-Afr. C. 135, partly. 
C. multicaulis, Hochst. in Schimper, Exsic. 1242. C. schimperiana, Hochst. 
in Schimper, Exsic. 2268. 
Upper Guinea. Cape Verde Isles: Brava, Lowe! Senegal, Bellamy, 573. 
Dahomey, Burton ! 
Wile Land. Eritrea: Keren; 4800 ft., Beccari, 297! Abyssinia: Jaja, 
Schimper, 1242! Agow district ; on mountains near Gageros, 4000 ft., Schimper, 
2268! Somaliland; Ahl Mountains, Hildebrandt, 1473! Wagga Mountains, Mrs. 
Lort-Phillips! oobi, James & Thrupp! Witu, Gregory. Dadaro, 3700 ft., 
Lord Delamere ! 
Also in Socotra, Arabia, and Scinde. 
Mozamb. Dist. British Central Africa: Nyasaland; Mlanji, 6000 ft., Whyte, 
112! 
59. C.spherosperma, (. 2. Clarke. Thinly and obscurely hairy. 
Stems 18 in. long, branched ; internodes 2-4 in. long. Leaves 4—5 by 
3-1 in., narrowly lanceolate, narrowed at the base, when mature ob- 
scurely pubescent on the surfaces or glabrate. Spathes 2—4 together at 
the ends of the branches, 3-3 by 1 in., shortly acuminate, acute, not 
much curved; margins connate for + in. at the base. Petals blue when 
dry. Capsule 1 in. long, obovoid, trigonous, 3-celled, 3-seeded, dorsal 
cell indehiscent. Seeds of the ventral cells ;1, in. long, globose or sub- 
cuboid, black-brown, smooth.—C. Gerrardi, C. B. Clarke in DC. Monogr. 
Phan. iii. 183, as to Trop. Afr. examples. C. albescens, K. Schum. in 
Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 135, partly ; Rendle in Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2, 
Bot. iv. 52. 
Mozamb. Dist. Portuguese East Africa: Zambesi Delta ; at the mouth of 
the River Melambe, Kirk! Lower Zambesi; between Lupata and Tete, Kirk f 
opposite Sena, Kirk! British Central Africa : Nyasaland ; Zomba, 2500-3600 ft., 
Whyte ! 
60. C. opulens, (. B. Clarke. Nearly glabrous. Stems 4-6 in. 
long, decumbent, rooting at the base, densely leafy in the upper half 
with very short internodes. Leaves 4 by 4 in., narrowly oblong- 
lanceolate, not narrowed on the leaf-sheath. Upper branches for 2 in. 
clothed with numerous subsessile spathes. Spathes 3 in. long, ovate, 
shortly acuminate, acute ; margins connate at the base. Capsule 1—} in. 
long, obovoid, 3-celled, 3-seeded, the dorsal cell smaller, indehiscent and 
sometimes sterile. Seeds ;', in. long, very shortly ellipsoid (subglobose), 
smooth.—C. aspera, C. B. Clarke in DC, Monogr. Phan. iii. 180, partly ; 
Rendle in Cat. Afr. Pl. Welw. 78. 
Lower Guinea. Angola: Huilla, 3800-5500 ft., among crops of Penicillaria,. 
near Humpata, Welwitsch, 6592 ! 
Mozamb. Dist. British Central Africa : Nyasaland ; Kondowe to Karonga, 
2000-6000 ft., Whyte ! 
61. C. venusta, (. B. Clarke. Sparsely hairy. Branches 10 in. 
long, undivided, with 1-3 approximated spathes at the end of each 
