Aberia.] xiii. bixtne.e (oliver). 123 



straight, axillary, acute spines |-1 in. long. Young twigs pilose-pubescent. 

 Leaves ovate-lanceolate or ovate-elliptical, acute, sometimes acuminate, mem- 

 branous, softly pilose especially beneath, remotely or obsoletely spinulose- 

 denticulate, 1^-2 1^ in. long, 1-1:^ in. broad. Petiole 1 line. Male flowers 

 very small, axillary, sessile, solitary or two or three together ; female tlowers 

 very shortly stalked or sessile. Perianth 5-8-partite ; segments spreading. 

 Ovary densely and shortly pilose, partially or wholly 3- or 4-celled with 2 or 

 few ovules in each cell, suiTounded by a small undulate or interrupted ati- 

 nular disk. Styles 3-4 short, erect, papillose-lobulate at the tip. Berry 

 pilose-pubescent, much exceeding the perianth. 



Var. j8. lanceolaia. Leaves lauceolate, acuminate. 



Lower Oainea. Angola, distr. Pungo Andongo, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



Dr. Welwitsch collected in Huilla specimens without flower or fruit of a spinose shrub, 

 which will probably prove a fifth species of Aberia. The twigs are minutely verruciilose 

 and glabrous or pubendous at the tips, the leaves subcoriaceous, ovate or ovate-tlliptical, 

 obtuse, entire, glabrous, veiny, 1^-2 iu. long, \-\\ in. broad; petiole 1 line. 



7. DASYLEPIS, Oliv.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. 972. 



Flowers hermaphrodite" (or perhaps polygamous). Sepals 4 (or 5), round, 

 coherent at the base, two outside opposite. Petals 4-7, alternate, im- 

 bricate, slightly perigynous, with as many small, thick, hairy scales adhering 

 to their bases on the^ inner side. Stamens indefinite, slightly perigj'nous, 

 free; anthers linear or linear-oblong, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary free, 

 glabrous, with 2-4 multiovulate placentas. Style simple ; stigma minutely 

 2-3-4-toothed. Fruit unknown. — A glabrous tree with alternate, somewhat 

 coriaceous, penninerved leaves. Stipules deciduous. Flowers of moderate 

 size in many-flowered axillary racemes. 



The following is the only species described. 



1. D. racemosa, Oliv.; Journ. Linn. Soc. ix. 170. Leaves elliptical 

 or oval, with a wedge-shaped base, 6-9 in. long, 2^-3^- in. broad, shortly 

 and obtusely acuminate, slightly denticulate-serrate towards the apex ; lateral 

 nerves prominent below. Petiole 4-6 lines. Flowers 6-8 lines diam., on 

 straight pedicfels 3-6 lines long, articulated to the axis of the raceme. Ra- 

 cemes about half as long as the leaves. Bracts minute, rounded, scale-like. 



Upper Guinea. Caraaroous mountain, 2-3000 ft., Mann I 



Ordee XIV, PITTOSPOREJE (by Prof. Oliver). 



Flowers regular, hermaphrodite. Sepals 5, free or sliglitly connate below, 

 aestivation imbricate. Petals 5, exceeding the sepals, free or connate below, 

 more or less spreading above, aestivation imbricate. Stamens 5, hypog\nous, 

 free, alternate with the petals ; filaments filiform or linear ; anthers dehiscing 

 longitudinally (in the African genus), unappe\idaged. Ovary 2-, rarely 3-5- 

 celled or 1-locular with parietal placentas and indefinite ovules. Style simple, 

 terminal ; stigma minute or capitate, entire or toothed. Fruit (in the African 

 genus) a coriaceous capsule dehiscing loculicidally in two valves each be^iring a 

 septum on the middle. Seeds albuminous, with a minute embryo ; testa smooth 



