This species, which was growing with P. isochiloides 
Summerh. (see Bull. Mise. Inform. Kew 1939, p. 498), 
seems naturally placed in sect. Affines on account of the 
habit, inflorescence and hairy flowers. The flower is, 
however, much narrower than in other species and_pos- 
sesses a very distinct and shortly cylindrical mentum. 
The lip is also very characteristic, having a triangular- 
lanceolate or subhastate blade and narrow parallel-sided 
claw ; the front lobe is almost entirely covered by a dense 
cushion of the floury articulate hairs so common in the 
genus. 
Polystachya fusiformis (7ouars) Lindley in Bot. 
Reg. 10 (1824) sub t. 851. 
Polystachya minutiflora Ridley in Journ. Linn. Soe. 
Lond. Bot. 20 (1883) 330. 
Polystachya composita Kraenzlin in Fedde Repert. 
Spec. Nov. Beih. 89 (1926) 1083—Summerhayes in 
Hutchinson & Dalziel Fl. West Trop. Afr. 2 (1986) 
429, 
From careful examination of the above I am unable to 
discern any but individual differences, the various speci- 
mens showing a range of characters such as is to be ex- 
pected from a species with such a wide geographical 
distribution. I have seen specimens from Fernando Po, 
Cameroons, Uganda, Tanganyika ‘Territory, Belgian 
Congo, Northern Rhodesia and Madagascar. I do not 
find any segregation of character combinations justifying 
the retention of P. minutiflora as a distinct species, the 
characters given by Schlechter (Fedde Repert. Spec. 
Nov. Beth. 88 (1924) 159) showing no correlation in the 
various specimens examined. Kraenzlin’s key character 
(l.c. pp. 100, 101) of presence or absence of a mentum 
for separating P. composita from P. fusiformis appears to 
me to be entirely imaginary. In spite of the somewhat 
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