Lipocarpha. | CLVI. CYPERACEH (CLARKE). 473 
brown. Style 0, or hardly any; branches 3, most minute, not ex- 
serted. 
Upper Guinea. Niger Territory: Nupe, Barter, 1585! 
10. L. pulcherrima, Ridley in Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2, Bot. ii. 
162, Glabrous. Stems annual, tufted, 4-14 in. long, slender. Leaves 
as long as the stem and setaceous, or }~2 the length of the stem and 
linear, Head of 5-1 spikelets; bracts 3-2, similar to the leaves, 
spreading, lowest up to 24 in. long. Spikelets 1 by 5}, in., dense, con- 
spicuously squarrose from the recurved glume-tips. Glumes obovate, 
truncate, with a linear tip as long as the glume, the sides blackish-red, 
the back with the tip yellow-green. Hyaline scales about as long as 
the glume (without its tip); lower broad-elliptic ; upper narrow-elliptic. 
Nut } the length of the scales, narrowly-ellipsoid, trigonous, smooth, 
black-brown. Style 0, or hardly any; branches 3, minute, hardly 
exserted.—C. B. Clarke in Durand & Schinz, Conspect. Fl. Afr. v. 
650, and in Dyer, Fl. Cap. vii. 266; Rendle in Cat. Afr. Pl. Welw 
n. 129, L. tenera, and L. atropurpurea, Boeck. Cyp. Nove, i. 21. 
Hypelyptum pulcherrimum, K. Schum. in Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 127. 
Nile Land. British East Africa: Mount Kenia, Gregory, 87! River Tana, 
Gregory, 97 ! 
Lower Guinea, Angola: Pungo Andongo; marshes in the Presidium and 
hear Quilanga, Welwitsch, 6774! marshes at Catete, Welwitsch, 6785 partly! 
Huilla; in Sorghum fields, Welwitsch, 6775! Huilla to Humpata, Johnston / River 
Nene, Newton / 
South Central. Congo Free State: River Kasai, Luja, 220! 
Mozamb. Dist. British Central Africa: Nyasaland; Shire Highlands, 
Buchanan, 63169! 
Also in South Africa, 
15. ASCOLEPIS, Nees; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Pl. iii. 1054. 
_Glumes densely packed in the spikelet, numerous, imbricated on all 
sides, minute, narrow-oblong, obtuse, hidden among the squamelliw 
Which are larger and longer, containing perfect flowers. Squamella 
between the nut and the glume, parallel to the glume, with an elongate 
flattened conic beak, holding the nut in a hollow or pocket near its 
base. Style small, linear; branches 3 or 2, linear, minute. Nut very 
small, narrowly obovoid, trigonous or biconvex, smooth, brown-black.- 
Glabrous. Stem without any nodes between the basal leaves and the 
1 head of 1-6 spikelets. 
Species, the 9 here described; eademie in Tropical Africa, except that i 
Species is also in South Africa, 1 also in Madagascar and South America. 
The large squamella appears made up of 2 lateral organs coalescent completely 
on the anticous side, imperfectly or not at all on the posticons side. They would be 
2 lateral bracteoles (prophylla), not known in any other genus of Cyperacee. 
*EUASCOLEPIS.—Lower part of squemella narrow, thin, hollowed slightly to hold 
the nut ; upper part elongate-conic. Style 3-fid.—The species of this group differ 
little but in the size and colour of the heads. 
