GONSPECTUS TABULARUM. 13 
Descr.—Stems several feet long, much thicker than packthread, 
shrivelling when dry. Spicate-cymes solitary or 2-3 together, 1-3 
inches long, interruptedly many flowered. lowers subsessile, solitary 
or in pairs. Calyx lobes very broad and obtuse, enclosing the tube of 
the corolla. Cor. lobes ovate, subacute. Anthers sessile. Squame mostly 
bidentate. 
I copy from one of Mrs. F. W. Barber’s letters the following account 
of this curious parasite :—*“‘ It was found near Fort Bowker, growing on 
a sp. of Lycium (I think L.afrum), Tt has long, twining, strap-shaped 
branches, green and round, with elongated, purple spots, and has the 
appearance among the branches of the Lyciwm of a hopelessly entangled 
fishing-line. It draws its nourishment through the lower surface of 
its branches, where it first clasps the branch of the Lycium ; the corre- 
sponding surface of the parasite is not unlike the suckers on the long 
arms of the cuttle-fish. Its most peculiar method of propagation {or 
rather self-division] is by sending out long, line-like branches, which 
-entwine themselves firmly round those of the Lycium; and after one 
has established itself on a new branch, the connecting link between it 
and the old stock dies away, and a new plant is established on its own 
account. The base of the new plant then becomes broader, and of a 
darker purple, and it soon sends out new branches, which go and do 
likewise! My brother says he looked in vain for a parent stem, or 
starting point.” —I. £. B. in litt. 
Fig. 1, part ofa flowering branch ; 2, part of a fruiting branch; both the natural 
size. Fig. 3, a flower; 4, calyx laid open; 5, corolla laid open; 6, ovary; 7, cross 
section of same; 8, capsule, in the persistent calyx ; 9, embryo; all magnified. 
ae 
120. SISYNDITE SPARTEA, E. Mey. (Zygophyllea.) 
S. spartea, L. Mey. in Hb. Drege, Harv. ¥ Sond. Fl. Cap., vol. i., 
p. 384. 
Hasn.—Between Natvoet and the Gariep, 1000-1500 feet, Drege. Namaqualand, 4. 
Wyley, September. (Herb. T. C. D.) 
Descr.—A glabrous half-shrub, several feet high, with rodlike 
branches and ramuli. Leaves opposite, minutely stipulate, elongate, 
distantly pinnate, the petiole resembling a ramulus, terete and rush- 
like, the leaflets subsessile, obovate, leathery, small, 6-8 lines long, 3 
lines wide, in distant pairs. Stipules minute, ovate, obtuse, woolly 
within. Peduncles one-flowered, terminal, or in the forks of the 
branches, 3-1 inch long. Calyx segments unequal, ovato-lanceolate 
and lanceolate, nearly 2 inch long, the wider woolly within. Petals 
obovate, rather longer than the calyx, striate, thickened at base. 
Hypogynous scales ovate, unequally several-toothed, glabrous. Ovary 
5-celled, very hairy ; style single, columnar. Stamens 10; filaments 
subulate, hispidulous ; anther linear-sagittate, mucronate. Capsule 
5-lobed, clothed with long, golden-yellow hairs. 
