494 FLORA NIGRITIANA. 
organs, with all their sepals, as well as the bract, reduced to 
glochides. In the luxuriant West African specimens, most of 
the fascicles consist of one perfect fertile flower, two perfect 
sterile ones, and four reduced to glochides, and this is the state 
described by Thonning. In the East Indian specimens, all the 
lateral flowers are usually reduced to glochides, with the ex- 
ception of two or three sepals, and occasionally a small ovary 
and andrecium in the centre. But I have observed all these 
states in different parts of one spike. The South African Cyathula 
cylindrica affords a very good example of many-flowered 
fascicles, with a number of sterile flowers in different degrees of 
abortion. 
2. Cyathula geminata, Moq. in DC. Prod. 18. 2. p. 330?— 
Fernando Po, Vogel. 
Near C. prostrata, but the spikes are shorter and more dense, 
and the flowers nearly as large as in Achyranthes aspera, the 
sepals being from 14 to 13 lines long. The fascicles usually 
consist of one perfect and fertile flower, a sterile one (on one 
side of it), more or less complete in its parts, with a rudimentary 
one on each side, reduced each to two or three glochides ; on the 
other side of the fertile flower are usually two or three glochides 
only. The staminodia are rather more conspicuous than in C. pros- 
trata. The lateral spikes are occasionally unequal, one being 
nearly sessile, the other on a longish stalk, as described by 
Thonning ; but more frequently they are equal, and both nearly 
sessile. In other respects his description agrees. 
l. Pupalia lappacea, Moq. in DC. Prod. 13. 2. p. 331.—Cape 
Coast, Vogel; Senegal, Nubia, Abyssinia, and East India. 
The P. atropurpurea, Moq., extends likewise from Senegal 
and Guinea over East Africa and East India. 
1, Iresine (Philoxerus) vermicularis, Moq. in DC. Prod. 13. 9. 
p. 339.—Sands of the sea-shore, from Senegal to Benin, 
Vogel, Don and others ; also in Tropical America. 
The 7. aggr egata, Moq., from the same localities, does not 
appear to have any character to distinguish it, the breadth and 
thickness of the leaves being very variable. 
1. Alternanthera nodiflora, Br.—Moq. in DC. Prod. 13. 2- 
