253 



the male flowers appears to be the most important distinguisliiiig 

 character for the separation of the male plants of the two species, 

 and the females may be readily recognised by the nature of the 

 inflorescence. Even when quite young the heads of female 

 flowers of S. sanguinea are laxly arranged and often shortly 

 stalked on the lateral branches, and for a considerable time the 

 discoid stigmas are closely pressed together and completely hide 

 the ovaries beneath. Another character which ma}^ be of some 

 importance is the presence of numerous bracts at the base of the 

 male axis in S. sanguinea. There are none on the East African 

 specimens and they are not visible on the photograph. In addi- 

 tion to the above diiBferences S. Piriei, according to Mr, Battis- 

 combe, is quite odourless, whereas S. sanguinea is described as 

 l^ossessing a particularly obnoxious smelL 



S. Piriei, Hutchinson, sp. nov. Planta omuino glabra, inodora. 

 Tuber irregulariter lobatum, verrucosum, magnum. Tnflorescentia 



5 usque ad 23 cm. longa et 10 cm. diametro, ambitu cylindrica; 

 axis simpliciter ramosus, carnosus; rami dense dispositi^ ascen- 

 dentes, ad 4-5 cm. longi, floribus inclusis circiter 2 cm. 

 diametro; bracteae oblongae vel lineari-oblongae, obtusae, 

 1*5-2 cm. longae, O-G-l cm. latae, chartaceae vel subcoriaceae. 

 FloresS solitarii vel geminati; pedicelli crassi, 2-3 mm. longi. 

 Pevianthii segmenta plerumque 3, rarius 2 vel 4, obovata, apice 

 obtusa ot cucullata, 4-5 mm. longa, 3-3'5 mm. lata, carnosa. 

 Stamina perianthii segmentis vix dimidio brevioria. Inflorcs- 

 centia 5 ambitu subglobosa, circiter 12 cm. diametro ; axis breyis, 

 crassus ; rami donsissime dispositi, breves ; capitula sessilia, 

 globosa, in quoqe ranio circiter 10 disposita. i^Iorej numerosi ; 

 ovarium in reeeptaculo immersum; stigma sessile, discoideum, 

 ovarii latitudine dimidio angustius. — S, sanguinea^ Engl. 

 Pflanzenw, Ost-Afr. C 168; Hemsl. in Dyer FL Trop. Afr. vi. i. 

 436, excL descr. of $ inflorescence, references and synonym, not 



of Sparrm. 



Trofical Africa. British East Africa : Kibwesi, damp low 

 forest at about 1010 m., on the roots of a thorn tree, Sc/zp^er 36.1, 



6 ; Scott Elliot 6293, 3 ; by the side of a stream on the Ngongc* 

 Bagas Hills near IS'airobi, at about 1835 m., Firie in Herb. Battis- 

 combe 815, $ ; on the roots of an Acacia at the south end of the 

 3S"gongo Hills, about 1850 m., McGregor Ross, S and 5. Teita 

 Hills, ea; Engler, Gennan East Africa : TJkami near Pangani, 



es! Engler. 



XLIX.— NIGERIAN FUNGI: II. 



E. 31. Wakefield. 



A small but very interesting collection of fungi has been re- 

 ceived from Mr. C. 0. Farquharson, Govemment Mycologist in 

 the Nigerian Department of Agriculture. Mr. Farquharson has 

 supplied notes as to the habitat of the fungi and other particulars 

 with the specimens, and has also contributed the following re- 

 marks relating to^ ecological conditions. 



*' The collection has been made, roughly speaking, in three types 



