59 



view ; 6, Stigma, front and side view ; 7, Calyx, opened ; 8, Vertical section of 

 ovary ; 9, Cross section of ovary ; all enlarged. 



PLATE 72. 



ONCOBA KRAPSSIANA, Planch. 

 Natural Order BIXINE*. 



A small tree bearing large white flowers, staminal only, and perfect on the 

 same tree. Bark rough, ash coloured, branches glabrous, twigs finely pubescent. 

 Leaves alternate, exstipulate, oblong, obtuse at both ends, entire, glabrous, midrib 

 prominent beneath and lighter in colour than the lamina, dark and glossy on upper 

 surface, paler and dull beneath, 1-b inches long, f-2 inches wide, edge slightly 

 recurved. Flowers solitary, or two or three on a common peduncle, white, 

 pedicels 1 to 3 inches long, terete. Sepals 3, concave, unequal, deciduous, 

 imbricate in bud, green, the inner with broad white membranous edges, the next 

 with one edge white and membranous, the outer dark green ; 8 to 10 lines long, 

 4 to 5 lines wide. Petals 10 to 12, twice as long as sepals, spathulate, white, 

 veiny, with a few scattered hairs on margin Stamens many, in several rows, in- 

 serted under the ovary. Filaments filiform, white, anthers basifixed, linear, 

 splitting at edges, yellow. Style cylindrical, stigma flattened and irregularly cut 

 into 3 or more short rays. Ovary superior, pubescent, 1 celled, many ovuled, 

 with 3 or 4 parietal placentas. Berry tough and leathery, when ripe yellow, and 

 splitting irregularly. 



Habitat: NATAL: Coast districts, common. 



Drawn and described from specimens gathered on Berea, October, 1898. 



Known to the natives as um-Naim.a,mi, and often called by colonists " Dog- 

 rose " on account of the similarity of the flowers. The only difference between 

 the perfect and the imperfect flowers appears to be that one contains an ovary 

 while the other does not. We are not aware that the plant is applied to any use. 

 In the Genera Plantarum this genus is described as polygamous, but we have only 

 seen two kinds of flowers, staminate and perfect, never pistillate only. The descrip- 

 tion of the genus and species in the Flora Capensis are both inaccurate. 



Fig. 1 , Branch with leaves and flowers ; one flower perfect, and two male, about 

 natural size; 2, Calyx, ovary and style; 3, Style and stigma; 4, Stamen, front 

 and side view ; 5, Section of ovary ; all enlarged ; 6, Berry natural size. 



PLATE 73. 



ERiosPERMrM NATALENSB, Baker. 



Natural Order, LILIACEJE. 



Rootstock a large tuber 1 to 2 inches or more in diameter emitting fibrous 

 roots from all parts of its surface. Leaves 1-2 to each tuber, on long petioles the 

 blade orbicular, or oblate-orbicular, obtuse at apex, cordate at base, the lobe 

 ing over, then meeting by their edges and forming a split tube at apex of petiole ; 

 minutely pubescent above, glabrous and shining beneath, 2| to 4 inches long and 

 broad; petiole terete, finely and distantly pilose. Peduncle slender, ten 

 glabrous; 12 to 18 inches Ion?, having at base an ovate amplexicaul leaf wh 

 1-2 inches long, f-l| inches wide. Raceme lax, 6-8 inches long length 

 fruit. Pedicels erecto-patent, 1-lf inches long, bracts minute, 1-2 lines long, 



