242 



Berries 1-3-seeded^ |— } in. in diam. in the dried state, apparently 

 green, but perhaps not ripe. . . 



Abtssiisia. On monntains near Dschana (Jana), 4000-5000 ft. 



Schimper^ 1468. 



om 



in the Paris Herh 



According to Schimper's note with the specimens, this plant is 

 known to the natives of various tribes as Bisca^ Besca and Eggiia. 

 Its fibre is used for making ropes. 



Probably the following specimens [S. ffuineensis, Schweinfurth 

 in Bull. Herb. Boiss. vol. ii, Append. 2, p. 79; Pirotta, Flor. 

 Col. Eritrea, p. 253, and Fiore, Boschi e Piante Legn. Eritrea, 

 p. 104, not of Willdenow) also belong to this species: — Eritrea, 

 Plain of Keren, Steudner^ 475; Mai Golgol, Schweinfurth and 

 Riva^ 1270; Mogod Valley, Schweinfurth and' Riva, 1609; near 

 Acrur, Schiveinfurtli and Riva, 1763, but the material I have 

 seen is too imperfect for proper indentification. Schweinfurth 

 also quotes his Xo. 1835 for this plant, but at Kew this belongs 

 to S, Ehrenheraii. 



42. S. chineiisis, Gentile Liste PI. Cult. Jard. Bot. Brux. 

 1907, p. 171, name only (fig. 18), Stemlcss, with creeping root- 

 stock, 1-1^ in. thick. Leaves 3-6 to a growth, erect or ascending- 

 spreading, nearly straight or slightly recurving, rigidly cori- 

 aceous, nearly smooth, l|-2^ ft. long, l;^-4 in. broad, varying 

 from nearly strap-shaped to lanceolate, acute, with a subulate 

 pale brownish or whitish and rather soft point, 2-6 lin. long, 

 narrowing from above or below the middle into a concave- 

 channelled petiole 2-7 in. long, wavy, with reddish-brown or 

 whitish margins, sometimes having a broader membranous edge, 

 which nearly or quite disappears with age, both sides about 

 equally marked with transverse dark green and lighter green 

 bands, slightly or distinctly glaucous, with the under-surface 

 scarcely paler than the upper, not marked with longitudinal lines 

 on either side. Flower-stem 2-2| ft. high, light green, without 

 spots; the lower part about ^ in. thick with 5 membranous 

 sheaths f-3^- in. long, gradually tapering from the base to an 

 acute point; the upper part a rather compact raceme 1-1^ ft- 

 long and 4-4^ in. broad. Bracts 3-4 lin. lon^, linear-lanceo- 

 late, acute, white and membranous, or at. first with a green 

 central stripe. Flowers 2-3 in a cluster, and sometimes 2 or 3 

 clusters crowded together, so that each cluster may appear to 

 be 6-8-flowered ; pale greenish-w^hite ; pedicels 2-|-3| lin. long, 

 jointed at the middle, with the persistent part 1|— 2 lin. long; 

 tube 1 in. long, 1 lin. in diam,, slightly inflated at the base; 

 lobes 10-12 lin. long, linear, obtuse, spreading and more or less 

 revolute. 



OuiGm "UNKNOWN. Cultivated plant. 



Described from a portion of the type, sent from Brussels 



M 



1909 to Kew. where 



it flowered June 1st, 1910. Monsieur Gentil informs me 



received it from some other garden under the name of S. 



cJdnensis, which he sup:gests is a gardener's corruption of S. 



guineensis, a name indiscriminately applied to several species in 

 cultivation. 



