786 



Encephalartus Altensteinii. There are at Chatsworth two splen- 

 did specimens of this species, which are labelled as such. Some of 

 their leaves are two metres long. One of the two specimens has 

 thrown out bulbs, producing offsets of considerable size. On com- 

 paring the leaves of the offsets with those of the parent plant, the for- 

 mer are observed to be much more spinous and smaller than the latter, 

 the number of the leaflets also being much less. This individual 

 therefore affords a decisive proof that such diversities in the leaves 

 may depend upon the age of the plant, or upon other circumstances. 

 Hence it may be inferred, that many individuals, which in our conser- 

 vatories are distinguished by other names, and especially many of 

 those called " Zamia pungens," or " Encephalartus pungens," belong 

 to the Encephalartus Altensteinii of Lehmann and Miquel. Lehmann 

 assigned this name and made his description of the species from the 

 study of specimens directly imported from South Africa. But if the 

 view here taken be correct, the species was already common in Eu- 

 rope under other names. A plant called " Zamia pungens," in the 

 Botanic Garden at Birmingham, agrees exactly in appearance with 

 Lehmann's plate of E. Altensteinii, in his ' Pugillus Sextus ' (Ham- 

 burgh, 1834). The history of two of these plants called " Zamia pun- 

 gens " is remarkable. They are a male and a female, of about equal 

 size and similar appearance, and formerly belonged to Lord Tanker- 

 vihVs collection at Walton-on-Thames. When they were sold, the 

 male plant went to Kew, the female to Chatsworth. Both have 

 flowered, and the flower of each has been represented. An engraving 

 of the female with its cone, produced in 1832, was published by A. 

 B. Lambert, Esq. (see Buckland's ' Bridgewater Treatise,' i. 494 ; ii. 

 plate 59), and Mr. R. Horsman Solly obtained a fine drawing of the 

 flower of the male in 1839 (Proceedings of Linn. Soc. p. 52). This 

 male cone is preserved in the collection of the Linnean Society, and 

 a cone afterwards produced by the same plant is in the museum at 

 Kew. This plant is now putting up a new crown of leaves. Its fel- 

 low, the female at Chatsworth, has been in fruit many months. Mi- 

 quel observes, that this species was formerly cultivated in European 

 conservatories under the name of " Zamia spinulosa," or " Z. spino- 

 sissima." Both he and Lehmann assign the name of "Encephalartus 

 pungens" to an entirely different species. 



Encephalartus Caffer. This species, which in MiqueVs arrange- 

 ment immediately follows E. Altensteinii, differs from it distinctly in 

 the form of the leaves. Also in both species the form of the leaves, 

 and more especially the obliquity with which the leaflets are set upon 



