Tar. 7818. 



PLEOTRANTHUS Mahonjt. 



Native of British Central Africa, 



Nat. Ord. La.bia.t.e. — Tribe Ocimoidk^. 

 Genus Plectkanthus, UHer.; {Benth. <^ Hook,/. Gen. Plant, vol. ii. p. 1175. 



pLECTRAXTiius (Germauea) Mahonii; herba perennis, erecta, ramosa, ramnlis 

 puberulis, foliis 3-5-poll. longis petiolatis ovatis obtusis groase crenatis in- 

 ferioribus in petiolum augustatis superioribus basi cordatis supra glabris 

 laete vindibus subtus puberulis pallidis, racemis sessibbus J5-8-pollicaril)ns 

 simplicibus laxifloris puberulis, verticillastris 3-6-flori8, pedicellis ^-^ 

 pollicaribus, bracteis parvis ovatis viridibus, calyce J poll: longo cam- 

 panulato ad medium bilabiato, labio superiore late ovato erecto, iuferiore 

 3-dentato dentibus deltoideis, corolla declinata puberula violacea, tubo 

 cal-^ce pauUo longiore, faiice tumido, limbi f poll, longi laliio postico 

 3-lobo, lobo Ruperiore erecto b'lobula+o lateralibus rotuDdaiis niiillo 

 niajore, inferiore cymbiformi, filamentia liberis, antheris dorao glaudu- 

 loais, disco crasso lobato. 



P. Mahonii, iV. JS. Brown mss. 



ColeuR Mahonii, Baker in Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. vol, v. p. 434. 



The genus Plectranthus, a very large one, confined to 

 the Old World, is represented in the "Flora of Tropical 

 Africa," by seventy-eight species, a number rapidly 

 being added to as collections arrive from that botanical ly 

 little explored country. Owino- to the difficulty of deter- 

 niining in herbarium specimens the freedom or connation 

 of the filaments, the characters that separate FlerAraitthii.<i 

 from Col ens (of which there are seventy-seven described 

 African species), P. Mahonii was first described under 

 the latter genus. 



The specimen here figured was raised from seed sent to 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew, in 1898, by Mr. John Mahon, of 

 the Botanical Department of British Central Africa, from 

 Zomba, a mountain up^vards of five thousand feet liigh, 

 situated a little to the West of Lake Shirwa, in lat. 15^^' S. 

 It flowered in a greenhouse in November, 1000, and 

 continued in flower throughout the winter. 



Bescr. — Stem three feet high, acutely four-angled, and 

 branches puberulous. Leaves three to four inches long, 

 the lower narrowed into the petiole, the upper cordate, 

 February I&t, 1902. 



