which this plant flowers freely, which it usually does in 
June when it blossoms at all, the whole building becomes 
pervaded by its honey-like odour. Another example, 
from which the material for our figure has been derived, 
forms a striking mass which drapes one of the pillars in 
the Succulent House. Like the companion plant this 
only flowers freely in certain seasons ; it did so profusely 
in June, 1913. The species thrives best if planted in 
poor gravelly soil; it may be propagated either from 
seeds when these are produced, or by means of cuttings 
taken from the smaller branches. The figure supplied by 
Burmann, which Linnaeus has cited, appears to be a bad 
drawing; it shows the flowers as fascicled, which is not 
the case with our species. There has been some confusion 
between A. falcatus now figured and its Natal ally, 
A. Sprengeri, the fruit of which has been figured at 
t. 8052 of this work, while its flowers have been figured, 
under the name A. ternifolius, Hook. f., at t. 7728; 
A. Sprengeri has also been figured in Saunders’ ‘ Re- 
fugium” as A. aethiopicus, var. ternifolius. Both plants 
belong to a group of species in the genus Asparagus 
characterised by having flattened cladodia and race- 
Mose inflorescences. But they are readily distinguished 
because in A. Sprengeri the cladodia are straight 
instead of falcate and are but half as broad as those of 
A, falcatus, while the prickles on the main-stem of 
A. Sprengeri are smaller than those of A. falcatus and are 
hooked. The two species agree in having terete. 
branchlets, and in this character both differ from 
A, aethiopicus, Linn., with which they have been confused, 
but which has the branchlets strongly angled. 
Dsscrirrion.— Shrub, widely scandent. Stems stout, terete, woody; 
branchlets slender, flexuous, terete, woody, straw-coloured. Leaves of the 
ak reduced to rigid, sharp, spreading spines. Cladodes along the stem 
1k A — at the ends of the twigs in clusters of 6-8, lanceolate, falcate, 
o"% in. long, 4-3 in. wide, bright green, firm. Racemes axillary, 1-3 together, 
b in. long; pedicels 1-3 together, jointed near the middle, ;—-} in. long; 
Pierce ovate, half the length of the pedicels. Flowers white, sweet scented. 
hese campanulate; lobes spreading, oblong, obtuse, entire, ;); in. long. 
mens rather shorter than the perianth-lobes ; anthers minute. Ovary ovoid, 
narrowed at the base; style sh : vol 
across, usually 1-seeded. ort, roundly 3-lobed. Berry globose, 2 in. 
Tas, 8751.—Fig. 1, a flower ; 2 and 3, stamens :—all enlarged. 
