169 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF CENTRAL 

 MADAGASCAR. 



By J. G. Baker, F.R.S. 



(Continued from ]). 140.) 



Vernonia (Distephanus) scariosa, n. sp. — A shrub, with angled 

 branchlets coated with brown tomentum. Leaves nearly sessile, 

 oblanceolate or oblanceolate-oblong, l|-2 in. long, -^^ in. broad, 

 acute, entire, or obscurely toothed, subcoriaceous, glabrous on both 

 sui'faces, triphnerved in the lower third, the veinlets prominent 

 over both surfaces. Heads solitary, on short tomentose peduncles. 

 Involucre campanulate, ^ in. diam. ; bracts very numerous, linear, 

 firm in texture, nearly black, tomentose on the back. Flowers 

 30-40 in a head. Achene l-12th in. long, subterete, densely per- 

 sistently pilose. Pappus of about 30 bright red persistent uniform 

 bristles under ^ in. long. — Central Madagascar, Dr. Parker ! 

 Gathered previously by Bojer. Native name Kojejalah}/. A near 

 ally of D. ccqjitatus and D. trinervis, Bojer. There is a fourth 

 species gathered in Central Madagascar by Bojer, LyaU, and 

 Meller (F. arbutifolia, Baker), which is nearly allied to these three. 

 It is marked by its crowded obovate cuneate rigid leaves not more 

 than ^ in. long, not tomentose beneath, but lepidote principally on 

 the upper surface, 1-3-nate sessile terminal 10-1 2 -flowered heads, 

 multiseriate involucre ^ in. diam., with dark brown lanceolate rigid 

 bracts with a fimbriated cobwebby margin, a pilose achene, with a 

 bright red bristly pappus, the outer set^e of which are not more 

 than a quarter as long as the inner. This is the plant mentioned 

 in ' Genera Plant.,' vol. ii., p. 228, as connecting Distephanus and 

 Lepidaploa. 



PsiADiA AURicuLATA, n. sp. — Suffruticose, with almost woody multi- 

 sulcate greenish brown branchlets clothed with short unequal flat- 

 tened spreading white bristly haks. Leaves alternate, distinctly 

 petioled, with a pair of large suborbicular foliaceous auricles at the 

 base of the petiole, which clasp the stem ; blade oblong, acute, 

 crenato-repand, 2-3 in. long, membranous, green and slightly 

 pilose on both sides. Heads numerous, in terminal corymbs, on 

 pilose pedicels ^-f in. long. Involucre campanulate, ^ in. diam. ; 

 bracts 2-3-seriate, subrigid, lanceolate, green, pilose. Flowers very 

 numerous, the outer female ones furnished with minute yellow 

 ligules \-^ as long as the style. Achene cylindi'ical, glabrous, ^ lin. 

 long, with 1-2 strong ribs on each face. Pappus | in. long, of 

 about 20 uniform ciliated bristles. — Central Madagascar, Dr. 

 Parker! Nearly allied to Microglossa hispida, DC, Prod. v. 321, 

 which is referred by Bentham in Gen. Plant, to Psiadia. 



Dichrocephala latijolia, DC. — A weed in the garden of the queen's 

 palace at Antananarivo, Dr. Parker ! — A frequent weed in cultivated 

 fields of the Betsileo country. Baron ! 



CoNYZA BELLiDiFOLiA, u. s]). — A perennial herb, with tufted simple 

 erect pilose stems ^ ft. long. Leaves crowded towards the base of 



