446 LYII. MELASTOMACEE (HOOKER). [ Tristemma. 
2. T. coronatum, Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 354. Minutely rigidly stri- 
Stem prostrate, and rooting at the base, ascending, 6—10in. 
igh, rigid, flexuous, terete and rough below with rigid, short, scat- 
tered bristles; branches acutely 4-angled, nodes with very rigid 
bristles, Leaves 24-3 in. by 1-1} in., elliptic-ovate, acuminate, equally 
strigose on both surfaces, petiole }-}in. Flowers solitary; outer 
bracts subfoliaceous, strigose, inner broadly oblong, more glabrous; 
calyx-tube (after flowering) 14 in. long, turgid, with 4—6 rings of stout 
appressed bristles; lobes short, triangular-ovate, acute, minutely ciliate. 
Upper Guinea. “ Maqueba,” Afzelius! Sierra Leone, Don! ; 
Very similar indeed to 7. Schumacheri, but the flowers are solitary, the calyx has 4 
distinct rings of bristles, and the 2 inner ribs of the leaf usually have the midrib a little 
above the 2 outer, which I find to be very rarely the case in I’. Schumacheri. I have 
seen but few and poor specimens without flowers. 
3. T. Schumacheri, Guill. et Perr. Fl. Seneg. 311. Erect ; Legh | 
strigose with short, stiff, appressed bristles ; branches acutely 4-angled. 
Leaves 4-6 in. by 2—24 in., elliptic or elliptic-ovate or lanceolate, acute 
or acuminate, quite entire, equally sparsely strigose on both surfaces; 
petiole }~3in. Flowers many in a subsessile head ; outer bracts hardly 
foliaceous, not much exceeding the flower, very broad, strigose on the 
back; inner coriaceous, obovate, truncate, quite glabrous. Calyx $in., 
tube ovoid, smooth or with a few bristles or with 1-3 rings of bristles; 
lobes very short, broadly cvate, obtuse or acute, very obscurely cilio- 
late. Petals }in., white or pink; anthers 31—,!,in.; connective very 
shortly produced. Crown of ovary bristly. Fruit dry or subbaccate.— 
T. incompletum, Br, in Tuckey’s Congo, Append. 485, 
Upper and Lower Guinea. Gambia, Ingram! Sierra Leone, Afzelius ! Voge U 
Barter! Senegambia, Perrottet! Gaboon, Afzelius! Middleton! Benguela, Curror! 
Congo, Smith! 
Var. B. littorale; more lax, stems and branches more slender; outer bracts often 
foliaceous, calyx eve glabrous.  littorale, Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 353.—F ernando 
Po, by the shore, Vogel! Barter. Mann! Princes’ Island, Barter / 
Var. y. albiflorum ; calyx with usually an incomplete ring of bristles ; petals white 
(Don). Melastoma albiflorum Don, Gard. Dict. ii. 764.—Sierra Leone, Don! 
4. T. hirtum, Vent. Choir. Pl. 35 (in note). Shrubby, 3-4 ft. high, 
hispid or hirsute with long, spreading, curled or straight, pale, stout 
hairs; branches stout, angles with short herbaceous wings. Leaves 
4—6in. by 4—3in., eee or elliptic-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 
quite entire, 5-nerved, hairs scattered and appressed above, more et 
ous and spreading beneath ; petioles }—lin., stout. Flowers crowde 
in globose, involucrate, terminal heads, sessile, 13 in. diameter ; outet 
bracts leafy, inner coriaceous, retuse. Calyx 2in.; tube with 3 mem- 
branous rings crowned by appressed bristles; lobes 5, triangular- 
lanceolate, acuminate, ciliate. Petals } in., rose-coloured. Anthers 
din., all similar. Crown of ovary hemispheric, bristly—Beauv. Fl. 
Ow. et Ben. i. 94, t. 57. Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 354. 
Upper Guinea. Beauvois, Nun river, Vogel! Barter! Nupe and Lago 
Barter! Fernando Po, Mann! Fi. Dec. 
