Dr Graiiain''s Description of' New or Rare Plants. 185 



its inner side with a dense ring of erect white hairs ; upper lip suberect, 

 notched ; lower lip trifid, lobes rounded, nearly equal, reflexed, the 

 middle one emarginate. Stamens 4, didynamous ; filaments adhering to 

 the inner side of the tube to near the faux, erect, straight, distant, 

 nearly colourless ; anthers dark, bilobular, lobes Unear, subacute, spread- 

 ing, and both turned outwards, forming nearly a right angle with each 

 other; pollen white, ^^wato subequal, spreading. 5/yfe fihform, shorter 

 than the stamens, purple above. Germen on a fleshy disk, 4-lobed, lobes 

 obovate, green, smooth. Whole plant perfumed. 



The genus Sphacele was instituted by Mr Bentham in his valuable review 

 of the LabiatcE, now in the course of publication in the Botanical Regis- 

 ter, and characterised in fol. 1289. of that work. The name is meant to 

 express the resemblance to the Sage, which is indeed very great in the 

 present species. Mr Bentham enumerates three species, which he finds 

 in the herbarium of the Horticultural Society, all collected in ChiU bv 

 Mr Macrae, collector to the Society ; and the specific character which I 

 have quoted from Mr Bentham, is contained in a letter to Dr Hooker, 

 from which also I have extracted, with his permission, some part of the 

 above description. Dr Hooker informs me that he also has three spe- 

 cies in his herbarium ; but he does not say whether they are the same 

 as those mentioned by Mr Bentham. 



This species was raised from seed sent to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edin- 

 burgh, by Mr Cruckshank in 1822, [having been gathered by him in 

 Chili, where only the genus has hitherto been found. It has been kept 

 in the greenhouse, and flowered with us for the first time in November 

 1829. It has also flowered in the Botanic Garden, Glasgow, the seeds 

 having been procured from the same valuable correspondent. 



Lobelia mollis. 



L. mollis; annua; caule erecto, ramoso-pubescente ; foliis petiolatis, sub- 

 cordato-ovatis, acutis, supra pubescentibus, subtus ad venas solummodo, 

 mucronulato-duplicato-serratis, superioribus lanceolatis; bi-acteis pu- 

 bescentibus ; pedunculis terminalibus, elongatis, racemosis ; pedicellis 

 laxis ; calyce inferiore, laciniis subulatis, corolla brevioribus. 

 Desckiption. — Annual (1 foot high). Stem erect, branched, slightly 

 flexuose, sparingly pubescent, purplish below, green above. Branches 

 erect. Leaves (8 lines long, 6 broad) scattered, petioled, pale green, soft, 

 ciliated, pubescent on the upper surface, but on the midrib and veins 

 only below, subcordato-ovate, doubly incise-serrated, each vein termi- 

 nated with a httle dark mucro ; the lower leaves less ncute and more en- 

 tire, the upper narrower and more lanceolate, those in the middle of the 

 stem ovato-deltoid and pointed. Petioles half the length of the leaves 

 slightly winged and ciliated. Peduncles terminal, elongated (3^ inches 

 below the lowest pedicel) nearly glabrous. Pedicels (Clines long) fili- 

 form, slightly pubescent, rising from the axil of a subulate, pubescent 

 bractea, which is less than a third of the length of the pedicel. Calyx of 

 5 subulate segments, inferior, subadpressed, green, glabrous, equal in 

 length to the tube of the corolla, raarcescent. Corolla (2.1 lines lon<') in- 

 ferior, glabrous, purplish, marcescent ; limb 5 parted, two seo-ments 

 spreading, and turned up, linear-subulate, three straigiit parallel, pro- 

 jecting downwards and forwards, linear-lanceolate nearly equal to eacli 

 other, concave, broader and paler than the ascending segments ; tube 

 cylindrical, cleft along its ujiper side, equal in length to the calyx. Sta- 

 mens five ; filaments pubescent, flat, colourless ; anthers united, purplish 

 slightly hairy, with two short, white awns, projecting from their lower 

 edge. Pvitil equal in length to the stamens ; germen superior, ovate, 

 green, glabrous, grooved on two sides ; style subcluvate, smooth, colour- 

 less ; stigma subsimple, pale leaden-coloured, bearded ; ovules minute 

 numerous, attached to a central reccjitade. Seeds small, ovate, brown, 

 liaised at the Jiolanic (iarden from Dominica seeds sent I)y Dr Krous in 

 the end of IJi'Jfi, and ilowercd from Sopteniiier to November. 



