Protea. | PROTEACEA (Phillips & Stapf). 607 
close to the ground. In all the dried specimens the flower-heads are scattered, 
but young buds may sometimes be seen close to them. In all cases, however, the 
heads are a long distance from the base of the branches, and this seems to be the 
natural condition. Andrews represents the involucral bracts, the perianth-lips and 
the styles as purple. 
81. P. decurrens (Phillips in Kew Bulletin, 1910, 236); main 
stem underground, throwing out a number of leaf- and flower- 
bearing prostrate or ascending mostly divided glabrous branches ; 
leaves 14-2} in. long, 3 lin. broad, linear to acicular, acute, shortly 
‘ decurrent, glabrous ; heads lateral, solitary or in often large clusters, 
but then usually only one of each cluster in flower, the others 
forming small buds, 1} in. long, about $ in. in diam., obovoid and 
obtuse when young, contracted at the base into a scaly stipes or 
peduncle up to 5 lin. long; involucral bracts 9—10-seriate, very 
densely whitish silky-pubescent to tomentose and ciliate ; outer 
ovate, obtuse ; inner oblong or spathulate-oblong, villous at the 
apex, exceeding the flowers; perianth-sheath 9 lin. long, dilated 
from the middle downwards, 3-keeled and 7-nerved in the lower 
half, thinly membranous above, glabrous ; lip 2 lin. long, 3-toothed 
above, oblong, glabrous, excepting at the fugaciously villous tips ; 
teeth subequal, } lin. long; stamens all fertile ; filaments 4 lin. , 
long, swollen ; anthers linear, 1} lin. long ; apical glands } lin, long, 
ovate ; ovary 2 lin. long, covered with long reddish-brown hairs ; 
style 10 lin. long, strongly curved to sickle-shaped, slender, subulate 
upwards, from the widened and bulbously thickened base keeled ; 
stigma 1} lin. long, subulate, obtuse, obscurely bent at the junction 
with the style. P. humilis, Meisn. in DC. Prodr. xiv. 246, partly, 
not of R. Br, 
Sourn Arrica: without locality, Drummond! 
Coast Recion : Swellendam Div. ; mountains near Swellendam, Zeyher, 3676 ! 
Bolus, Herb, Norm. Austr.-Afr. 1348 ! 
82. P. acerosa (R. Br. in Trans. Linn. Soc. x. 95); main stem 
subterranean, producing erect branched shoots up to 1} ft. high, 
with clusters of flower-heads at their base; branches glabrous ; 
leaves 7-12 lin. long, }; lin. broad, linear, acute, mucronate ; heads 
lateral, often very numerous, but only a few in flower at a time, 
contracted into a slender scaly stipes or peduncle up to 4 lin. long, 
1} in. long, about 1} in. in diam. ; young heads obovoid, obtuse ; 
involucral bracts 12--14-seriate, finely but densely silky-pubescent 
outside ; outer ovate, obtuse ; inner oblong to spathulate-oblong, 
with thinner (often wavy) wide margins, exceeding the flowers ; 
perianth-sheath 7 lin. long, dilated from above the middle down- 
wards, 3-keeled and 7-nerved in the lower half, thinly membranous 
above, glabrous ; lip 13 lin. long, 3-toothed, glabrous, excepting for a 
few minute hairs at the tips, obtuse, ellipsoid ; teeth subequal, 
¢ lin. long; stamens all fertile; filaments } lin. long, obovate, 
swollen, deeply furrowed ; anthers oblong, 1 lin. long; apical 
glands } lin. long, ovate, obtuse; ovary 1 lin. long, covered with 
