Liberia <*- 



leaves, up to almost i ft. by 2 in. ; flower-stems with slender 

 peduncles (16 in. long) and few-flowered spikes, berries bottle- 

 shaped, 2^ in. long, not grooved ; gregarious, forming extensive 

 reeds ; Cape Palmas, Crnmiiicl. 

 *Renealinia longifolia, K. Schuin. : a very tall perennial herb, with 

 petioled linear-lanceolate long-acuminate leaves, i — 2 ft. by 

 1 1 — 2h in., and terminal narrow erect or nodding panicles 

 of bracteate flowers (corolla unknown) and small ellipsoid 

 red or ultimately black capsules ; Kakatown, PVhyte\ ; in humid 

 forest by the Cestos River near Grand Basa, Di/ikiage, 



1945 ! 



*Il. maculata, Stapf (sp. nov.) : a perennial herb with distinct leaf- 

 and flower-stems ; leaf-stems, including the blades, about i ft. 

 high, with about 4 elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic shortly acuminate 

 purple-blotched petioled leaves, 7 — 9 in. by 2 to almost 4 in., 

 flower-stems rather slender, 3 — 5 in. high, representing a shortly 

 peduncled panicle with short few-flowered branches, supported 

 by more or less persistent and adpressed bracts with spreading 

 pedicels, in the mature state \ — f in. long, and oblong-ellipsoid 

 capsules, \ — | in. by \ in , containing numerous seeds with 

 yellow arils ; Kakatown, Whytc ! — This is similar to R. africana, 

 Benth., but smaller, with more and permanently adpressed 

 bracts and more oblong fruits. 



Costus afer, AVr. : a perennial herb with slender stem.s, 6 — 9 ft. 

 high, lanceolate caudate-acuminate glabrous or (below) more 

 or less adpressly hairy leaves, 4 — 7 in. by | — \\ in., and dense 

 terminal bracteate heads of white flowers (with a yellow centre) 

 supported by an involucre of large foliaceous bracts, the 

 flowers paired in the axils of the bracts ; Monrovia and 

 Kakatown, WJiyte ! ; in humid places in primary forest by the 

 River Cestos, Dinklage, 1640. — -The juice of the very closely 

 allied C. liicaunsianits, J. Braun and K. Schum., is used by the 

 natives of the Cameroons in the preparation of Funtumia 

 rubber. 



C. littoralis, K . Schuiii. : similar to the preceding species, but less 

 tall, with larger leaves and solitary flowers in the axils of the 

 bracts; in bush in the littoral near Fishtown, Dinklage, 1701. — 

 Scarcely distinct from C. afer. 



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