1018 ASCLEPIADEZ (Brown). [ Piaranthus. 
G. Don, Gen. Syst. iv. 113; Decne in DC. Prodr. viii. 650 ; N. E. 
Br. in Journ. Linn. Soc. xvii. 163, and Gard. Chron. 1879, xii. 9. 
P. punctata, Schultes, Syst. Veg. vi. 9. _Stapelia punctata, Masson, 
Stap. 18, t. 24; Willd. Sp. Pl. i. 1289, Pers. Syn. Pl. 1. 279 ; Pour. 
Encyel. vii. 386; Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, ii. 92; Link, Enum. Pl. 
Hort. Berol. i. 258; Spreng. Syst. Veg. i. 841; Dietr. Syn. Pi. 
ii. 887. Obesia ? punctata, Haw. Syn. Pl. Succ. 43. Caralluma 
punctata, Schlechter in Journ. Bot. 1898, 478. 
Western Recon: Little Namaqualand, Masson. 
Only known to me from Masson’s figure and description. 
2. P. cornutus (N. E. Br.); stems procumbent or ascending, 
4-14 in. long, 4-2 in. thick, globose or oblong, very obtusely 
4-angled, with 3-5 tubercle-like teeth along the angles, greyish- or 
glaucous-green ; flowers in pairs above the middle or at the tips of 
the stems, erect ; pedicels }-3 in. long, glabrous ; sepals § in. long, 
lanceolate, acute, glabrous ; corolla very deeply lobed, without a 
distinct tube ; lobes about 5 lin. long, 14 lin. broad at the base, 
lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous on the back, velvety-puberulous on 
the inner face, very pale yellowish or whitish, dotted with purple 
(or crimson); corona-lobes about 1 lin. long, narrowly linear- 
lanceolate or lanceolate-subulate, incumbent at the base upon the 
backs of the anthers and produced beyond them into connivent- 
erect acute tips, dorsally produced at the base into a subquadrate 
crest, truncate and tuberculate-denticulate at the top, yellow, with- 
out markings. P. decorus? N. E. Br. in Hook. Ic. Pl. under 
t, 1924, 
Var. 8, grandis (N. E. Br.); corolla-lobes 6-7 lin. long, colour unknown ; 
otherwise as in the type. 
Sone Rearon: Var. 8: Victoria West Div. ; near Victoria West, Barkly, 
25 bis ! 
Western Recion: Little Namaqualand, Barkly, 25 ! 
This is one of the plants which in Hook. Ic. Pl. under t. 1924, I referred 
doubtfully to P. decorus, but upon comparison with that species I now find that 
the corona is quite different. 
3. P. geminatus (N. E. Br. in Journ. Linn. Soc. xvii. 163); 
stems procumbent or decumbent, 1-1} in. long, }—} in. thick, very 
obtusely or obscurely 4-angled with about 4 minute teeth } lin. long 
along each angle, glabrous, light green ; flowers in pairs or solitary — 
(rarely 3 or 4 together) at the tips of the stems ; pedicels }-} in. 
long, glabrous; sepals 14-2 lin. long, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 
acuminate, glabrous; corolla 1-1} in. in diam., rotate, without a 
tube ; lobes widely spreading, 5-7 lin. long, about 2 lin. broad at the 
base, lanceolate or gradually tapering to the acute apex, with 
revolute margins, glabrous on the back, velvety-puberulous all over 
_ the inner face, not ciliate, yellow, dotted with blood-red ; corona 
