PLATE 367. 



CEBATOTHECA TBILOBA, E. Mey (Bot. Mag. t. 6974). 

 Natural Order, PEDALINEAE. 



A tall pubescent herb with the habit of a foxglove. Stem 5 feet high, erect,, 

 stout, herbaceous and rather succulent, with short branches from the base, simple 

 higher up, obtusely 4-angled, the angles rounded, the faces deeply grooved. 

 Leaves polymorphous, lower long-petioled, from broadly ovate-cordate or almost 

 rounded to broadly triangular and 3-lobed, with the lateral lobes spreading, 

 margins coarsely crenate, surfaces more or less pubescent ; broadest leaves 8 

 inches across the lobes ; petiole 5 to 6 inches, stout, hairy ; floral leaves narrowly 

 ovate, much shorter than the flowers, but longer than the calyx. Flowers in oppo- 

 site pairs, very shortly pedicelled, pedicels erect, with a minute imperfect flower 

 at the base of each, consisting of a truncate 5-lobuled calyx, 5 rounded lobules 

 representing the corolla and a minute 2-lobed stylode. Calyx erect, obscurely 

 2-lipped, divided to the base into 5 narrowly lanceolate erect deciduous hairy 

 sepals, half an inch long. Corolla 3 inches long, pilose; tube with a gibbous 

 decurved base, trumpet shaped at the tip, gradually expanding into the very 

 oblique 5-lobed, sub-two-lipped limb, of which the 4 upper lobes are broadly 

 shortly ovate and recurved, the fifth or lower is pendulous, oblong obtuse. 

 Stamens inserted on the tube just above the gibbous base, filaments glabrous ; 

 anthers linear-oblong, slightly hispid at the base. Disk lobecl. Ovary cylindric, 

 pubescent, top rounded; style slender with 2 short subulate spreading stigmatic 

 arms. 



Habitat: NATAL: Inanda, 1,800 feet alt, Wocd, 140. Common in the coast 

 and midland districts; a variety with pure white flowers was also found at Inanda, 

 but is apparently very rare. 



The above description is copied verbatim from the Botanical Magazine, where 

 the plant was described by Sir J. 1). Hooker; he also says as follows : 



" A native of Natal, closely allied to the common cultivated Indian and 

 Oriental Sesamum indicium, Linn, but a very much handsomer plant. Indeed 

 Ceratotheca differs from the older genus in no important characters but the 2- 

 horned capsule, and might well be regarded as a section of it. Ceratotheca itself 

 has been subdivided into two genera, but, as has been pointed out in the ' Genera 

 Plantarum ' on imaginary grounds, for Sporledera, which was invented for 0. 

 trilobn, does not even form a section of Ceratotheca. C. triloba has been collected 

 by many travellers, and over a wide tract of country, including Natal, the Trans- 

 vaal, Bechuanaland, and Matabele country. The Kew Garden specimens which 

 were raised from seed sent by Mr. Wood from the Natal Botanical Gardens are 

 very much taller and more luxuriant than the native ones; they were raised from 

 seed that arrived in December, 1886, and flowered in September of the following 

 year. 



Fig. 1 , calyx ; 2, base of corolla tube showing insertion of stamens ; 3, ovary, 

 disk, style and stigmas ; 4, cross section of ovary ; 5, longitudinal section of same ^ 

 all enlarged 



