The Liberian Flora 



Coula edulis, Baill. (Plate 212) : a sparingly pubescent tree with 

 coriaceous elliptic acuminate leaves, short axillary rusty pube- 

 scent racemes of small flowers without a distinct calyx and 

 with 4 — 5 coriaceous petals, \ in. long, and 12 — 20 stamens, 

 and i-seeded almost globose drupes about \\ in. in diameter ; 

 common, according to Mr. Braliam, in Liberia ; //. H. Johnston 

 (fruits !) — The oily seeds arc pleasant to eat. They are known 

 in the Gaboon as " Nkula," hence the generic name Coula, and 

 have nothing to do with the Cola nuts. 



*01ax major, Stapf: a glabrous shrub with yellowish green twigs and 

 leaves, short .sessile racemes or clusters of waxy white flowers, 

 almost t^ in. long ; Monrovia, Whyte ! 



Urobotrya angustifolia, Stapf {\'\2Xc 248) : a slender shrub with lanceo- 

 late leaves, long pendulous racemes of small greenish flowers 

 with long exserted stamens, and, according to Dryander, 

 baccate fruits ; near Monrovia and Kakatown, Whyte ! ; by 

 native tracks, about 70 miles up the St. Paul's River, Reynolds\ 



*U. latifolia, Stapf: very similar to the preceding species but with 

 broad elliptic leaves and stouter racemes ; Monrovia, Whyte ! 



*U. trinervia, Stapf (nov. sp.) : a shrub ; leaves oblong or elliptic, 

 subacute at the base, long acuminate, 6 — ^ in. by 2| in , papery, 

 quite glabrous, with 5 — 6 side nerves of the first order, the 

 lowest 2 almost from the base, very oblique and carried 

 almost to or beyond the middle, where they join the next side 

 nerve, which, like the following, spreads almost at right angles 

 from the midrib ; flowers as in U. angustifolia ; Kakatown, 

 Whyte !— 



The great resemblance of the inflorescences of these three 

 species of Urobotrya and the diversity of the shape and 

 nervation of leaves is remarkable, and they should be compared 

 in the field. 



*Desmostachys vogelii, Stapf (syn. Sarcostigma vogelii, Miers) : a 

 glabrous shrub with lanceolate to oblong papery leaves, 5 — 10 in. 

 by 1 1 — 4 in., and long and slender pendulous spikes of spread- 

 ing tubular whitish (?) flowers, ^ in. long, and red drupes ; 

 Kakatown, Whyte I; Cape Palmas, Voge/, 25! 27! 68! 

 ■ Apoflytes beninensis, Hooh. f : a small glabrous tree or shrub with 

 coriaceous leaves, axillary fascicles of 3 — 10 white flowers, ^ in. 

 long, on fine pedicels of the same length, and with somewhat 



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