Oncoba.] xiii. bixinea; (oliver). 119 



oval-oblong or obovate-oblong, rounded or wedge-shaped at base, shortly 

 acuminate, with rather distant secondar\ nerves, 4-6 in. long, l| 2^ in. 

 broad. Petiole 3-6 lines. Flowers 3-6 lines in diam. from (he branch a 

 little below the leaves, solitary or in fascicles of 2 or 3 on very short peduncles. 

 Anthers linear, without a terminal appendage. Pistillate or hermaphrodite 

 flowers unknown. Pruit on a very short spreading or recurved peduncle, 

 globose, densely echinate, with numerous seeds, about 1 in. diara. exclusive 

 of the spines. 



Upper Guinea. Bagroo river, 3fann ! 



14. O. (Mayna) dentata, Oliv. A shrub or small tree, 6-30 ft. 

 high, glabrous or with the young shoots and nerves of the young leaves obso- 

 letely pubescent. Leaves membranous, elliptical or oblong-elliptical, dentate- 

 serrate, especially towards the shortly acuminate extremity, 3-10 in. long, 

 2-5 in. broad. Petiole 1^-7 in. long, often slightly curved near the top. 

 Stipules subulate, 2-3 lines long, deciduous. Plowers about ^-| in. diam., 

 in loose or interrupted, ascending, axillary racemes, 1-3 in. long. Pedicels 

 slender, 1-6 lines long or flowers subsessile. Sepals 3. Petals 6-10. An- 

 thers muticous; cells often multilocellate. Style subulate, with a minute, 

 almost or quite undivided stigma. Ovary hairy, soon echinate with spread- 

 ing acute spines. Placentas 2 (or 3), with numerous ovules. Fruit globose, 

 echinate with rather soft spines, \-\ in. diam. (exclusive of the spines), 1- 

 seeded (in Dr. Welwitsch's specimens). 



This species is strictly referable to Aublet's genus 3/<jyna, the rest of the species of which 

 are tropical American. This genus I have united to Oncoba {vide Journ. Linn. Soc. ix. 172). 



Upper Guinea. Onitsha, Niger, Barter ! Old Calabar river and Camaroons mountain, 

 2500 ft., Mann ! 



IiOT^er Guinea. Angola, distr. Golungo Alto, and Pungo Andongo, Br. Welwitsch ! 



Count Jaubert in Bull. Soc. Bot. France (December 14, 1866), describes a plant from 

 Zanzibar {Boivin and Grandidier) and Morabaze(5(??ye«), as the type of a new genus {Gran- 

 didiera Boivini), but I do not find any character of generic importance in which it differs 

 from Oncoba. It is described as a shrub, with ovate, obtuse, mucronate, entire, membra- 

 nous leaves, axillary flowers ; the male spicate, female solitary ; sepals 3 ; petals 5 ; pla- 

 centas 3, co-ovulate ; capsule cristate-alate. I have not seen a specimen. 



Speke and Grant gathered, in E. tropical Africa, lat. 6' S., long, about 34° E., an Onco- 

 boid plant, of which we possess too imperfect material for satisfactory description. Captain 

 Grant described it as a "shrub with snowy-white rosaceous flowers." The structure of the 

 flower agrees with Oncoba apparently, but the silky-tomentose leaves arc provided with 

 conspicuous oblong stipules. 



4. LUDIA, Lam. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. 126. 



Flowers hermaphrodite. Sepals 5-7, imbricating. Petals 0. Stamens oo ; 

 anthers basifixed, elliptic-oblong, unappendaged, dehiscing longitudinally. 

 Ovary 1-celled, narrowed into the style, which is either 2-4-fid or the stigma 

 2-4-lobed; ovules 2-oo in 2-4 parietal placentas. BeiTy coriaceous.— 

 Shrubs. Leaves venose, shining. Flowers axillary, sessile or shortly pedi- 

 cellate. 



A small genus of the Mascarene group and eastern tropical Africa. 



