Pilea.] oxxiiiD. URTiCACEiE (Rendle). 273 



7. P. sublucens, Wedd. in DC. Prodr. xvi. i. 130. A glabrous 

 dioecious herb. Stem erect from a creeping decumbent base, H in. 

 to 1-J ft. high, laxJy branched ; branches ascending or erect, remotely 

 leaved below, more densely so above. Leaves of a pair more or less 

 unequal, ovate, sometimes with a trapeziform base, apex acuminate, 

 margin crenate-serrate, serratures apiculate, 3-nerved, the lateral 

 nerves passing beyond the middle, |-2i in. long, \-\\ in. wide or 

 sometimes smaller, thinly membranous when dry, cystohths when 

 present linear, sometimes numerous especially on the upper face ; 

 petiole slender, shorter or sometimes longer than the leaf. Stipules 

 small, ovate-triangular, deciduous. Inflorescence (female) opposite, 

 axillary, sometimes apparently paired in the leaf-axils, laxly pani- 

 culate, |— If in. long or less, peduncle about half the length, slender 

 as are also the few branches ; cynmles forming the short densely 

 flowered ultimate branchlets. Achene compressed-ovate, narrowly 

 winged, about J lin. long, brown, the persistent median perianth- 

 segment oblonji, rather broadly keeled, enveloping it to about the 

 middle ; lateral perianth-segments inconspicuous. Pedicel ulti- 

 mately exceeding the achene in length. — P. Preussii, Engl, in Engl. 

 Jahrb. xxxiii. 123. 



tipper Guinea. Cameroons : Buea, 3300 ft., Preuss, 573 ! 953 ! Fernando 

 Po : Clarence Peak, 4000 ft., 3Iann, 030 ! 



8. P. bambuseti, Engl, in Mildhraed, Wiss. Ergehn. Deulsch. 

 Zentr.-Afr. Exped. 1907-8, ii. 190. An erect herb, 20-30 in. high. 

 Stem simple or slightly branched, somewhat densely leaved above 

 the middle, lower internodes |-1|- in. long, upper 5-7 lin. long. 

 Leaves spreading-erect, oblong-lanceolate, long-acuminate, base 

 obtuse, margin serrate except at the base, 3-nerved, lateral nerves 

 spreading and slightly curving, with the densely reticulate veins 

 somewhat prominent on the lower face, i^ in. long, including the 

 1 in. -long tip, 1-lJ in. wide, at first sparsely hairy on the nerves but 

 soon becoming glabrous ; petiole slender, shortly hairy above, one- 

 third the length of the leaf, reaching 1 in. in the larger leaves. Sti- 

 pules small, triangular. Inflorescences paniculate, equal to or up 

 to three times the length of the petioles, f to 2^ in. long, lateral 

 branches short, 1-7 lin. long. 



South Central. Belgian Congo: Rugege foi-est, in damp sliady plates, 

 <)200 ft., Mildbracd, 1044; Kissenye, on the Ninagongo, 8500 ft., SlUdbracd, 

 1354 ; Bugoyer, bamboo forest, 8000 ft., Mildhraed, 1470. 



Near P. HoUtii, Engl., but distinguished by the lanceolate leaves. 



9. P. Johnstoni, Oliv. in Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2, ii. 349. A nettle- 

 like herb, with erect glabrous generally unbranched shoots, apparently 

 I2-3 ft. high, sometimes smaller. Leaves long-stalked, those of a 

 pair equal, ovate to broadly ovate, acuminate, extreme apex blunt, 

 base broadly rounded to obtuse, extreme base often minutely cordate, 



