362 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



Arbor excelsa, novellis ferrugineo-tomentosis ; rami fructiger; 

 incrassati. Folia breviter petiolata, tenuiter coriacea, lanceolata 

 20-30 cm. longa, 8-10 cm. lata, cito glabrescentia ; costa crassa 

 siibtus elevata ; venae primariae laterales numerosissimge, tenues 

 fere rectos. Floresvetusti sine corollis tantum visi ; pedmiculi crassi 

 rigicli, circiter 1-5 cm. longi. Calyx ferrugineo-toraentosus ; tubus 

 brevis ; segmenta 6, biseriata, cleltoidea, obtusa, circiter 5 mm 

 longa, 3 exteriora coriacea, sinubus latis ; 3 interiora tenuiora. . . 

 Ovarium mox post anthesin valde hirsutum, loculis 6, quorum 5 

 jam vacuis. Fructus subglobosus, 4-6 cm. diametro ; pericarpium 

 coriaceum, tenue. Semen fructui conformum, castaneum, ex- 

 albuminosum ; liilum magnum, pallidius. Embryo, amygdalinus. 



Mahe : Home, 248 ; Button ; Baty. 



Home's specimen consists of a small branch bearing three 

 leaves, more or less injured by insects, and a seed. Button's 

 consists of flowers in an advanced stage, after the fall of the petals, 

 with the ovary enlarged to one centimetre in diameter, and ripe 

 fruits. Baty's material is a single leaf sent to Kew by the late 

 A. F. W. Schimper. The largest seed I have seen of N. Hornei 

 girthed just over 21 cm. longitudinally, and, allowing an additional 

 2-5 cm. for the pericarp, the fruit would be 23-5 cm. in its greater 

 girth. Yery rarely indeed two seeds are developed in a fruit, in 

 which case the seeds present a flat surface, where they are applied 

 to each other, and an outer, hemisphaerical surface. 



Plumbagine^. 



Plumbago parvifolia Hem si. , sp. n. ; species foliis maximis 

 circiter 1 cm. longis in ramorum apicibus confertis. 



Fructiculus praeter calyces glandulosos glaber, caulibus ramisque 

 gracilibus rigidibusque multistriatis. Folia in ramis brevibus 

 lateralibusterminalibusque conferta, subcarnosa, breviter petiolata, 

 lanceolata, spathulata vel fere orbicularia, 5-10 mm. longa, api- 

 culata. Inflorescentia perfectanon visa, sed flores breviter spicati, 

 1-5-2 cm. longi, ut videtur colorati. Calyx glandulis capitatis 

 dense vestitus ; lobi lanceolati, acuti, erecti, tubum gequantes. 

 Corollas lobi obcordati, in sinu caudiculati. 



Aldabra : Fryer, 115. 



It is possible that this may be a leafy condition of P. wphylla 

 Bojer, but it has a different aspect and the leaves are of a different 

 shape and texture from those casually occurring on the barren 

 stems of P. aphylla. 



Plumbago aphylla Bojer; Baker in Kew^ Bull., 1894, 148; 

 Schinz in Abhandl. Senckenb. Naturf. Gesellsch. xxi, 88; Dupont, 

 Pieport, 37. — Saepius omnino aphylla, sed nonnunquam foliis 

 paucis lanceolatis 5-10 mm. longis in ramis sterilibus. 



Aldabra : Thomasset, 257. Astove : Fryer, 2. 



Dupont gives the following distribution of this singular plant : — ■ 

 Astove, Cosmoledo, Assomption, Aldabra, and Gloriosa. It is also 

 abundant in Europa Island. 



