PLATE 366. 



VERNONU DREGEANA, Sch. Bip. (Fl. Cap. Vol. III. p. 52). 

 Natural Order, COMPOSITE. 



An herbaceous plant with small purple flower heads. Roots fibrous, some 

 swollen or tuberous. Stem erect, angled or deeply furrowed, silky with simple or 

 forked hairs especially in upper portion ; 1 to 2 feet long. Radical leaves several, 

 rosulate, obovate to oblanceolate or oblong, with a few minute scattered silky 

 hairs especially on the midrib beneath, minutely gland-dotted on the lower side ; 

 1^ to 2| inches long, \ to 1 inch wide, quite entire ; petioles very short, thickened 

 and purplish at base ; cauline leaves few, linear, sessile, acute, very strongly 

 recurved, finely and sparingly silky especially so on the midrib beneath, gland- 

 dotted, glabrous and green above, except for a few fine hairs on the midrib ; 1 to 

 3 inches long, i to 2 lines wide. Inflorescence corymbose, few headed, pedicels f 

 to 1| inch long. Heads 4 to 6 lines in diameter when expanded. Involucral 

 scales in 2 to 3 rows, linear-lanceolate, acute, purplish at tips, densely tomentose. 

 Florets homogamous. Receptacle honeycombed, margins of cells fimbrilliferous. 

 Corollas tubular, 5-lobed, lobes linear-oblong, acute, with a few minute scattered 

 hairs. Pappus bristles in 2 series, outer ones short, inner long and lacerate- 

 serrate, white. Stamens 5 ; anthers linear-oblong, sagittate. Style elongate, the 

 arms long, bristly on outer surface. Achenes silky. 



Habitat: NATAL: Williamson, Sanderson, Gerrard and McKen, 316; near 

 Verulam, 30U feet alt, December, Wood, 1193; near Durban, 50 feet alt, October, 



Wood. 



This plant we have seldom seen more than two feet high, the leaves are 

 mostly in a rosette at base of the flowering stem with a few linear ones upwards, 

 the flower heads are small and purple ; it is apparently confined to the coast dis- 

 tricts ; we have not met with it at more than 500 feet above sea level, and it is 

 usually found in moist places. 



Fig. 1 , involucral scale ; 2, floret ; 3, outer pappus scale ; 4, inner pappus 

 scale ; 5, stamens ; 6, style and stigmas ; 7, achene ; all enlarged. 



