205 



green 



to a growth, directed all ways, closely placed, ascending or spread- 

 ing, straight or curved or slightly sinuous, firmly flexible, not 

 rigid, nearly or quite smooth, the outer of each tuft much shorter 

 than the inner, concave down the face, very rounded on tlie back; 

 inner or fully developed leaves |-2i ft. long, sheathing, and con- 

 cave-channelled for 2-5 in. at the base, cylindric above, 3-4^ lin. 

 thick at the top of the sheath thence gradually tapering to a very 

 acute spine-like brown or whitish point 1-3 lin. loig, at first 

 without grooves or channels, becoming faintly to deeply grooved 

 on the oldest or shrivelled leaA'es, deep grass green, sometimes 

 inconspicuously marked with narrow darke; 



young leaves and with some slightly darker continuous or inter- 

 rupted longitudinal lines; margins of the basal sheaths with mem- 

 branous white edges. Flower-Hem |-1 ft. high, ^-i in. thick, 

 light green, with 2-3 membranous sheaths f-1^ in. long and 

 tapering to an acute point on the lower half or two-thirds; upper 

 part with a lax spike-like raceme about 2^-3 in. long. Bracts 

 1-1^ lin. lon^, membranous, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 

 acute, spreading. Flowers in pairs, ascending, white; pedicels 

 with the persistent part up to the articulation |-| lin. long, 

 smooth, the deciduous part usually formed by the tapering base 

 of the flower-tube being scarcely pedicel-liEe in this species 

 (except in dried flowers), and is minutely tuberculate, in dried 

 flowers the tubercles disappear; tube (including the tapering 

 tuberculate basal part) ^1 in. long, |-1 lin, in diam. at the 

 slightly swollen base, more slender above; 

 linear, obtuse. 



lobes 



Tropical AfrIca. British East Africa, fairly common at 

 Mazeras, Powell, 11! German East Africa. Without locality, 

 Busse, 299 ! 



Described from living plants sent by Mr. Powell to Kew, where 

 they flowered in Dec, 1910, and Feb., 1912. 



m 



8. S. rorida, N. E. Brown. Stem 3-9 in. high, entirely 

 covered or formed by the sheathing leaf-bases. Leaves, 11-15 

 to a growth, in 2 ranks, the inner or more fully developed 

 ascending-spreading, the outer more spreading, becoming smaller 

 and passing into sheaths. Fully developed leaves ''horn-like,'' 

 cylindric, and with an acute channel down the face towards the 

 apex, becoming flattish above towards the base, 1-1| ft. long, 

 1-ls in. broad, and f-1 in, thick at the base, straight or slightly 

 recurved, gradunlly tapering from the shortly sheathing base to 

 the spine-pointed apex; rigid, green, marked with very numerous 

 darker longitudinal lines on the back and sides, somewhat 

 glaucous; the channel with acute reddish-brown margins, 

 narrowly edged with whitish. Flov^er-stevi about 3 ft high, twice 

 as long as the leaves, slightly flexuose, laxly branched into 

 numerous spike-like racemes at the upper two-thirds, and with 2 

 acuminate sheaths l|-2 in. long clamping and adpressed to the 

 stem on the basal third ; racemes horizontally spreading or slightly 

 deflexed, 3-7 in. long, bearing flower-clnsters nearly to their ba^e. 

 Bracts very small, deltoid, acute, membranous. Flowers, 3-6 

 in a cluster, spreading at a right angle to the branch, and mostly 



