67 



Corolla, front view ; 4, Corolla, opened to show insertion of stamens ; 5, Calyx and 

 style ; 6, Stamen ; 7, Ovary and style ; 8, Capsule and Calyx ; 9, Section of ovary ; 

 all enlarged. 



PLATE 82. 



INDIGOFEKA MICRANTHA, B. Meyer. 

 Natural Order LEGUMINOS.S. 



A slender, erect, much branched woody shrub, with light coloured bark. 

 Leaves unequally pinnate, in 4 to 5 pairs, opposite or alternate, with minute 

 glandular stipules; f to 1 inches long, including petiole; common petiole below 

 the leaves 1 to 1-J lines long. Terminal leaflet the longest, the rest successively 

 shorter, the lowest 2 lines long, dark green above, glaucous beneath, broadly ovate 

 or obovate, mucronate, thin, microscopically strigulose beneath, 3 to 5 lines long, 

 2 to 4 lines wide. Racemes very slender, laxly few flowered, 1 to 2 inches long. 

 Bracts very minute. Calyx glabrescent, shortly 5 toothed. Petals puberulous. 

 Stamens diadelphous, 9-1. Anthers apiculate. Legumes subcompressed, glabrous, 

 straight, several seeded, f to 1 inch long. 



Habitat : NATAL : Spring Grange near Durban, January to May. Sydenham 

 near Durban, May, Wood No. 6086. "Without precise locality, Gerrard & McKen 

 No. 1. 



Drawn and described from specimens gathered near Durban, January, 1899. 



In the Flora Capensis this plant is placed in the Section Producteae, one of 

 the characteristics of which is, that the leaves are opposite, but we find them both 

 opposite and alternate on the same plant. The flowers are white, but not plenti- 

 fully produced. It is not a rare plant, but is confined to the coast districts as far 

 as at present known. Plants belonging to this genus yield the Indigo of commerce, 

 and some of the species which are indigenous to Natal yield the dye plentifully. 

 In Wood's Preliminary Catalogue of Natal Plants 30 species are enumerated, and 

 several have been added since its publication. Members of the genus occur 

 throughout South Africa, but it is often difficult to distinguish them specifically, 

 especially when legumes are not present. 



Fig. 1 , Portion of branch ; natural size; 2, Flower with pedicel and bract ; 

 3, Corolla with the petals separated ; 4, Stamina! tube opened ; 5, Calyx, stamens 

 and ovary ; 6, Calyx, ovary and stamens removed ; 7, Stamen ; all variously en- 

 larged. 



PLATE 83. 



POLYGALA CAPILLABIS, B. Meyer. 

 Natural Order POLYGALACE.B. 



An erect herbaceous plant. Stems solitary, erect, simple or branched, very 

 slender, a little angular, glabrous, 6-15 inches high to base of raceme. Racemes 

 terminal on stems and branches, densely many flowered, 1 to 3 inches long. 

 Leaves very few and distant, alternate, linear, acute, glabrous, sub-sessile, 3-4 

 lines long, ^ J line wide. Pedicels much shorter than the flowers. Bracts 

 lanceolate, two thirds as long as the minute, white, or pinky white young flowers, 

 deciduous. Alae oblong-ovate, obtuse or mucronate, 3 veined. Anterior sepals 2, 

 lanceolate, half as long as alae, and one third their width ; posterior one broadly 



