subject of our illustration, which has leaves that are more 
numerous to a growth, and are much shorter and thinner, 
with a whitish in place of a green tip and red or whitish 
margins. In S. aethiopica, too, the flowers are larger than 
they are in S, zeylanica. The plant which has supplied the 
material for our figure was transmitted to Kew in 1895 by 
Mr. C. Howlett, Curator of the Botanic Garden at Graaf 
Reinet, and was collected by him in the Uitenhage division 
of Cape Colony. From Uitenhage it extends inland to 
Griqualand West, the Transvaal and Rhodesia, but without 
pene eastwards as far as Natal or westwards to Namaqua- 
and, Grown in a warm greenhouse S. aethiopica thrives 
_ well and flowers at intervals; the flowers figured were 
produced in July 1909. Like other species of the genus, 
S. aethiopica is easily propagated, either by division of the 
rootstock or from sections of the leaf, which strike readily 
when placed in sandy soil in a warm house and soon form 
a basal growth bud. 
Descriprion.— Undershrub, suceulent, stemless. Leaves 
13-30, somewhat tufted, suberect or somewhat spreading, 
5-16 in. long, 3-2 in. wide, }-1 in. thick, linear-lanceolate, 
acute and ending in white tips 3-1} in. long, concavely 
channelled, very convex on the back, dark green but at 
times transversely banded, somewhat glaucous, with reddish 
or white edges. Injlorescence 16-30 in. long, with 5-7 
acuminate, membranous sheaths each 3—23 in. long near the 
base, the upper half spicately racemose ; bracts membranous, 
spreading or reflexed, }-} in. long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, 
each subtending 4-6 Howers with pedicels 3-1 in. long, 
jointed above the middle. Perianth white, tube 2-1 in. 
Jong, slightly swollen at the base; lobes 3-¢ in. long, 1 lin. 
wide, subspathulate linear, revolute. Svamens far exserted. 
Style longer than the stamens ; stigma very small, capitate. 
Fig. 1, a flower; 2 and 8, anthers; 4, an entire plant:—all enlarged except 4, 
which is much reduced, 
