PLATE 336. 



ANTIDESMA VENOSUM, E.M. (Thes. Cap. Vol. II, t. 169.) 

 Natural Order, ETJPHORBIACE^;. 



A small dioecious tree bearing dark red berries, and yellow-green flowers. 

 Young branches, twigs, petioles and veins of the leaves pubescent. Leaves alter- 

 nate, petiolate, stipulate, oblong to ovate, rounded to base, tapering to an acute 

 apex, margins quite entire, veins conspicuous ; 2 to 4 inches long, f to 2|- inches 

 wide, young ones pubescent, older dark green, shining, glabrous except on veins 

 beneath ; petioles 2 to 3 lines long, swollen ; stipules lanceolate, deciduous, as 

 long as the petiole. Inflorescence in simple or branched axillary pendent racemes, 

 from 1^ to 4 inches long. Calyx of staminal flowers deeply 3 to 5-lobed, the lobes 

 a little imbricate, and ciliate with a few minute hfjrs, pilose inside at base of disk; 

 disk annular. Stamens 3 to 5, exserted, opposite calyx, lobes, filaments free, ovary 

 rudimentary. Calyx of pistillate flowers similar to the staminate one ; disk 

 annular. Stamens none. Styles 3 to 5, short, recurved, sometimes 2-lobed. 

 Ovary sessile, 1 -celled, 2-ovuled, one ovule abortive. Fruit a 1 -seeded glabrous 

 berry, red when ripe. 



Habitat: NATAL: Coast and midlands; near Durban, December, Wood, in 

 Colonial Herbarium, No. 1465; same locality, January, Wood, No. 9130. 



Drawn and described from Wood's No. 9130. 



A small tree of coast and midland districts, bearing in the season pendent 

 racemes of small berries, which are eaten by natives and children ; they have been 

 thought to be poisonous, and they are certainly unwholesome and indigestible. 

 From the figure in Thesaurus Capensis, the inflorescence would appear to be erect, 

 the drawing having been made from dried specimens, in reality they are as shown 

 in the figure. The genus Antidesma includes about 60 species found in the warmer 

 parts of the old world, none in America. The one here described is so far as at 

 present known the only Natal species, but there are 2 species in South Africa, 3 

 in Central Africa, and 2 in West Africa. Our species is known to the natives as 

 isi-Bangaumloti. 



Fig. 1, portion of branch with pistillate inflorescence; 2, branch with staminal 

 flowers ; 3 pistillate flower with bract ; 4, disk, and portion of ovary ; 5, portion of 

 staminal raceme ; 6, disk of staminal flower with rudimentary pistil and portion of 

 filaments ; 7, stamen, front view ; 8, same, back view ; 9, calyx ; 10, bract ; except 

 figures 1 and 2, all variously enlarged. 



