100 IX. CAPFABiDACEiE (oliveb). [CratcEVO. 



Nile Land. Madi, Speke and Grant ! Sennar, Kotschy ! Cienlcowski ; White Nile, 

 12° N. lat., Dr. Brow^ell ! Abyssinia and Kordofan {Schvoeinf. et Asch. Enum.). 



I do not consider that C. Roxburghii, R. Br., of India, is specifically distioguishable from 

 Ihe above. R.* Brown pointed out the closeness of their relationship. 



11. BITCHIEA, Brown ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. 110. 



Sepals 4, valvate in aestivation. Petals 4 or indefinite, linear-oblong with 

 a long claw, or elongate narrow-linear, wavy. Stamens 12-oo, inserted upon 

 the torus ; filaments filiform, free. Ovary oblong or oval, often sulcata, upon 

 a long gynophore, and 1-locular with 2-4 multiovulate placentas or the ovary 

 at least partially divided by the cohesion of the placentary plates. Stigma 

 sessile or subsessile, broad or subpeltate. Pruit (immature) ellipsoidal, ob- 

 scurely costate, obtusely pointed. Ripe seeds unknown. — Erect or climbing 

 shrubs. Leaves 3-5-foliolate or simple, firmly membranous or subcoriace- 

 ous, glabrous. Flowers large, greenish, pedicellate in terminal and lateral 

 corymbs. 



A small genus, confined to W. tropical Africa. 



I am unable to find any satisfactory ground for referring the numerous 3-foliolate speci- 

 mens in the Kew herbarium to more than one species. The form and size of the leaflets and 

 sepals, the number of petals, the number of placentas, and the degree to which they cohere, 

 appear to be characters variable in the same gathering. 



Leaves simple, oblanceolate or obovate-oblong. Petals numerous . . \. R. simplidfolia. 

 Leaves 3-foliolate ; leaflets elliptical or from obovate- to ovate-ellip- 

 tical. Petals 4-20 2. TL.fragrans. 



Leaves 5-foliolate {see noie^ p. 101). 



1. R. simplicifolia, Oliv. A shrub of 4-6 ft. Leaves numerous, 

 rather coriaceous, simple, oblanceolate or obovate-oblong, shortly acuminate, , 

 narrowed to the petiole, glabrous ; midrib and looping lateral veins promi- 

 nent beneath, 6-8 in. long, 1|— 3 in. broad above the middle ; petiole 4-6 

 lines. Flowers in few-flowered, terminal or axillary, short corymbose fasci- 

 cles, which are sometimes clustered together ; pedicels f-1 in. Sepals ob- 

 long-elliptical, shortly acuminate ; margin tomentose. Petals numerous 

 (about 20), elongate, narrow-linear, about 1 line broad or less. Stamens in- 

 definite, inserted upon a very slightly {\ a line) raised torus. Ovaiy narrow, 

 oval-oblong, very slightly narrow^ed to the broad stigma, 1-celled or the pla- 

 centas partially cohering above. 



Upper Guinea. Camaroons river, Mann ! 



2. R. fragrans, Br. in DenTi. et Clapp. Jpp. 20. A shrub, more or less 

 erect or scandent, often attaining 15-20 ft. Branches terete, smooth or 

 ven-ucose, glabrous. Leaves 3-foliolate or on twining branches sometimes 

 1-foliolate ; leaflets firmly membranous or subcoriaceous, glabrous, shortly 

 petiolulate, articulated to the petiole, elliptical or varying from obovate- to 

 ovate-elliptical, shortly acuminate acute or rather obtuse, often with a slender 

 mucro ; median leaflet 4-8 in. long, 1^-3^ in. broad; the lateral leaflets 

 usually rather shorter and more or less oblique. Flowers in short, terminal 

 or axillary corymbs, large, pale yellowish-green. Pedicels y-3 in. Buds 

 apiculate. Sepals elliptical or oval acute ; margin minutely tomentose. 



