rd 
578 LXV. BEGONIACEZ (HOOKER). [ Begonia. 
20. B. asplenifolia, Hook. f. in A. DC. Prod. xv. pt. 1, 892. Mon- 
cecious. Stem rigid, slender, erect, 12-18 in., from a creeping woody. 
rootstock, dichotomously branched ; branches strigosely hirsute at the 
tips, as thick as a sparrow’s quill. Leaves alternate, subsessile, 1-23 
in., oblong-lanceolate in outline, pinnatisect, lobes 5-7 on each side, 
erecto-patent, distant, narrow, linear-obovate, decurrent at the base, 
lobulate, 1—5-toothed, teeth tipped with a cilia, rachis and ribs strigose- 
hairy, segments sparsely setose above, glabrous except the midrib 
below. Stipules deciduous, oblong, long-ciliate. Cymes in the upper- 
most axils, 1-few-flowered, and all male; pedicels very short; brac- 
teoles lanceolate, laciniate. Male fl.: Sepals 2, suborbicular, 3 in. dia- 
meter. Petals 0. Anthers 10-14, oblong, obtuse; filaments connate 
at the base. Female fl.: Solitary (always ?) in axils below the male. 
Sepals as in the male. Petals 0. Ovary 3-gonous; styles 3; stigmas 
capitate sinuous. Capsule } in. long, hairy, on a curved short pedicel, 
rhomboid, faces ribbed between the wings, dehiscing longitudinally ; 
wings 3, membranous, with rounded, ciliate angles, cellular, whitish ; 
placentas entire. 
Upper Guinea. Top of Mount Naveya, in the Sierra del Crystal, Gaboon river, 
Mann! Fi. July. 
21. B. Annobonensis, 4A. DC. Prod. xv. pt. 1, 315. Moncecious- 
Stem succulent, very stout, with broad stipular scars at the nodes. 
Leaves petioled, 3-3} in. by 1} in., very obliquely falcate, ovate-cordate, 
acute, 2-crenate, palmately 5—6-nerved, glabrous and shining above, 
beneath with very sparse membranous scales; petiole stout, 1-1} im, 
with a few stout sete and a whorl of reflexed fimbriate scales at the 
apex; stipules } in., oval, acute, very membranous, deciduous. Pe- 
duncle axillary, shorter than the leaves, much elongate in fruit, bearmg 
an irregular corymb of pedicelled flowers. Male fl.: Sepals 4, t° 
outer suborbicular, } in. diameter; two inner smaller. Anthers orbi- 
cular-oblong, obtuse, longer than the filaments which are inserted on 8 
small torus. Female fl.: Sepals 5, subequal. Styles 3, very short U 
stigmas forked, branches short, thick : papillose band continuous. Ovary 
3-gonous, 3-celled. Capsule 4 in. long, membranous, 3-gonous, 
winged, broader and truncate upwards; dehiscence longitudinal ; wing 
short, very variable, those opposite the septa smaller, inserted lower 
down ; placentas 2-partite. 
Upper Guinea. Annobon Island, Dr. Curror! 
22. B. rostrata, Welw. ms. Moneecious, annual, erect. Stem 1 
ft., slender or stout, sometimes as thick as the middle finger, cylindric. 
Leaves long-petioled, 3-6 in. by 1}-24 in. very obliquely ovate- 
oblong, long-acuminate, with a reniform base completely on one Si?, 
deeply broadly doubly crenate-toothed, membranous, covered with yi 
long soft scattered hairs, shining when dry; petiole as long 3 - 
blade, with a whorl of hairs at its apex. Stipules small ovate, halt 
pointed, deciduous. Cymes often springing from every axil, very mat 
