Piaranthus.| ASCLEPIADE4 (Brown). 1021 
them are toothed, as represented in Jacquin’s figure of Stapelia serrulata, and | 
have no doubt that that plant and S, decora, Masson, are one species. As Jacquin 
received from England many of Masson’s plants this may have been one of them. 
6. P. disparilis (N. E. Br.) ; stems not seen, “ almost cylindrical, 
same colour as the flowers” (Pillans), probably similar to those of 
P. comptus or P. geminatus ; pedicels 4-4 in. long, glabrous ; sepals 
1 lin. long, lanceolate, acuminate, recurved at the tips, glabrous ; 
corolla rotate, without a distinct tube, 9-10 lin. in expanse ; lobes 
1 in. long, 13 lin. broad at the base, lanceolate, acuminate, convex 
from the margins being slightly recurved, glabrous on the back, 
velvety-puberulous on the inner face, not ciliate, “pale pinkish- 
purple, finely marked with transverse pale yellow lines” (Pillans) ; 
corona-lobes 3 lin. long, closely incumbent upon the backs of the 
anthers and shortly exceeding them, with the tips very slightly 
turned up, yellow, without markings, lanceolate or linear-oblong, 
entire or more or less distinctly 3-toothed at the apex, with the 
middle tooth much the longest and acute, dorsally produced at the 
base into a subquadrate crest, truncate and distinctly toothed 
at the top. 
Cenrran Recron: Laingsburg Div. ; under bushes between Ladismith and 
Laingsburg, Pillans, 57! 617! 
The flowers of this species are similar to those of P. Pillansii, but are very much 
smaller and the crest of the corona-lobes is distinctly toothed, not merely minutely 
tuberculate. They emit an “odour like bad vinegar,” according to Mr. Pillans. 
7. P. fetidus (N. E. Br.) ; stems tufted, }-1} (or under cultiva- 
tion up to 24) in. long, 1-3 in. thick, oblong, ovoid or globose 
obtusely and sometimes indistinctly 4—5-angled, tuberculate-toothed 
with the tubercles tipped with a small acute apiculus having a 
minute tooth on each side at its base, glabrous, green to grey-green, 
clouded or mottled with dull purple where exposed to the sun ; 
flowers 1-6 (but often 2) together near the top or at the middle of 
the stems, sometimes opening in pairs ; pedicels }--j in. long, erect, 
glabrous ; sepals 14-2 lin. long, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 
acuminate, with recurved tips, glabrous ; corolla ovoid to subglobose 
in bud, 7-11 lin. in diam. when fully expanded, rotate, without a 
distinct tube, glabrous and green or tinted with purplish on the 
back, evenly pubescent and neatly marked all over the inner face 
with short transverse purplish-crimson lines or lines and spots on a 
yellow ground, or sometimes the tips of the lobes are almost entirely 
purplish-crimson ; lobes 34-4} lin. long, 1}-25 lin. broad, ovate or 
ovate-lanceolate, acute, convex above, concave beneath, from the 
recurving margins, usually without but sometimes with a sparse 
ciliation of clavate vibratile hairs; corona-lobes 1-1} lin. long, 
closely incumbent upon the backs of the anthers, and equalling or 
shortly exceeding them, linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, acute, 
entire or minutely denticulate at the apex, with raised lines and ~ 
minute tubercles on the back, dorsally dilated at the base into a 
