46 



Fig. 1, Plant a little reduced; 2, Spathe valve; 3, Section of flower; 4, 

 Anther, back view ; 5, Anther, front view ; 6, Stigmas ; 7, Section of ovary ; all 

 variously enlarged. 



PLATE 55. 



OSTEOSPERMUM MONILIFEEUM, Linn. 



Natural Order COMPOSITE. 



A much branched erect shrub, 3-10 feet high. Branches terete, light grey, 

 glabrous, young ones green, shining and more or less covered with a deciduous 

 white cobwebby tomentum. Leaves alternate, petiolate, exstipulate, varying from 

 broadly obovate, or orbicular in lower leaves, to ovate or ovato-lanceolate in upper 

 ones, margin coarsely serrate, or subentire, a little thickened and semi-transparent, 

 the teeth usually, but not always sharp ; apex obtuse with a recurved mucro, 

 tapering at base to a flattened' and winged petiole, texture thick, almost fleshy, 

 mid vein plainly visible, lateral ones indistinct ; glossy and shining, but in the young 

 state covered like the twigs with a white deciduous cobwebby tomentum, mature 

 leaves including petiole 3-4 inches long, 2-3 inches wide, but in some specimens all 

 are much smaller than this. Inflorescence in few flowered axillary and terminal 

 corymbs, or sometimes solitary, the whole covered with tomentose hairs, peduncles 

 i-2| inches long ; pedicels i-2 inches long. Heads many flowered, radiate, yellow, 

 involucre of many lanceolate, acute scales, in two rows, the outer row shortest, 

 thinly tomentose-pubescent ; ray florets 7-10, female, ligulate, indistinctly 3 ribbed, 

 5-6 lines long ; disk florets tubular, 5 lobed one third of the way down, tube 

 pubescent, male, with abortive ovary and style. Pappus none. Receptacle convex, 

 pitted. Achenes drupaceous, ovate, green, glabrous, black when ripe, 3-4 lines 

 long, 2 lines wide. 



Habitat : NATAL : Edges of woods, and similar situations from Coast to 

 Drakensberg. 



Drawn and described from specimens gathered near Durban, August, 1898. 



The genus Osteospermum is an exclusively South African one, and includes 

 about 50 species, of which 9 or 10 are natives of Natal, the one here described is 

 the largest, and perhaps the most common one, the remainder being all herbaceous. 

 It is in flower, on the coast at any rate, almost or quite all the year round. The 

 achenes are almost black when ripe, and the succulent or pulpy outside covering is 

 eaten by natives and children. The generic name Osteospermum means bone-seed 

 arid we know of no other genus of Compositse in Natal whose achenes are of this 

 character. The native name of the plant is Btolonja. 



Fig. 1, Twig with leaves and flowers about natural size ; 2, Involucre ; 3, Disk 

 floret ; 4, Ray floret ; 5, Style and stigmas ; all enlarged. 



PLATE 56. 



GERBERA KRAUSSII, Sch Bip. 

 Natural Order COMPOSITE. 



Perennial, herbaceous, stemless. Root fibrous. Leaves radical, petiolate, 

 ovate-oblong, acute or obtuse at apex, tapering or rounded to base, edge finely and 

 distantly denticulate, veins prominent beneath, especially the midvein ; hirsute 

 above, in age sub -glabrous, thickly clothed beneath with a dense white felted 



