Stapelia. | ASCLEPIADE& (Brown). 951 
diam., with recurved lobes, puberulous on the back, transversely 
slightly rugose on the inner face, uniformly dark purple-brown or 
with a few transverse whitish or very pale yellowish lines on the 
lobes ; disk flattish, with the centre depressed, and together with 
the basal third of the lobes thickly covered with erect soft simple 
purple hairs about 2 lin. long ; lobes about 1} in. long, 1-2 in. broad, 
lanceolate-attenuate, very acute, glabrous on the upper 3, thickly 
ciliate to their tips with long simple pale purple hairs ; outer corona- 
lobes ascending-spreading, recurved at the tips, 34 lin. long, linear- 
oblong, acute or obtuse with a minute central point or very rarely 
bifid at the apex, concave down the face, dark purple-brown ; inner 
corona-lobes dark purple-brown, with the dorsal wing free to the 
base, ascending-spreading, usually curved to one side, 14-24 lin. long, 
% lin. broad, linear-oblong, obtuse or toothed at the apex ; inner 
horns connivent at the base, then in a bold curve arching over and 
sometimes beyond the dorsal wings, 44-5 lin. long, rather slender, 
triquetrous-subulate, acute. 
South Arrica ? cultivated specimens ! 
I have been quite unable to find any published description of this plant, 
and describe from living specimens which were in cultivation over 40 years ago 
and probably long before under the name of 8S. virens. I believe it to be a hybrid, 
produced in some European garden. ] 
18. 8. Asterias (Masson, Stap. 14, t. 14); stems 4-10 in. high, 
7-10 lin, square, with compressed angles, nearly flat-sided with age, 
not very prominently toothed, with erect rudimentary leaves 1-1} 
lin. long, velvety-puberulous, green ; flowers 1-5 together near the 
base of the stems, developing successively ; pedicels 3-1} in. long, 
velvety ; sepals 33-4} lin. long, lanceolate, acuminate, velvety ; 
corolla in bud ovate, acuminate, when expanded 3-4 in. in diam., 
star-like with very spreading (or reflexed or somewhat contorted) 
lobes, 14-1} in. long, 7-9 lin. broad, back velvety-puberulous, inner 
surface transversely rugulose on the lobes, dark purple-brown, with 
narrow transverse yellow or whitish-yellow lines on the lobes, not 
reaching the margins, very shining, rather thinly covered with short 
erect purple hairs }-1} lin. long on the disk, often more densely 
and with rather longer hairs along 5 lines radiating to the sinuses ; 
lobes more sparsely hairy to quite glabrous, lanceolate, acuminate, 
convex from the revolute margins, or flattish at the basal part, 
thickly ciliate to their tips with long simple pale purple hairs, half 
of them directed inwards; outer corona-lobes ascending-spreading 
with recurved tips, 2-24 lin. long, linear, slightly concave down 
the face, very shortly 3-toothed or very obtuse and apiculate at the 
apex, blackish or blackish-purple; inner corona-lobes ascending- 
spreading, 24-3 lin. long, dull dark purple-brown, paler towards 
the tips with minute dotting on a lighter ground, dorsal wing free 
or }-adnate to the inner horn, subparallel with and nearly or 
_ quite as long, 3-1 lin. broad, oblong or lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, 
