Silene.'] xwii. caryophyllace.e (olivek). 139 



Flowers in unilateral racemes or solitary. 



Flowers 2-6 ; lowest pedicel about 1 in. Petals scarcely ei- 



scrted, with fleshy 2-lobed appendix 2*. 5. BinfrfB. 



Flowers usually 3-9 ; pedicels very short. Petals with claw 



equalling calyx and 2-fid appendix Z. S. Burchrllii. 



Floft'ers usually solitary. Petals with claw equalling calyx ; ap- 

 pendix obsolete . ' " .... 4. .9 tlammuUefolw. 



1. S. Macrosolen, Steud.; Rich. Fl. Adt/ss. i. 44. A p'labrous, pale 

 or somewhat glaucous perennial, brnnohin<^ from the stook ; flowerin^^-stciris 

 erect, smiple or forking, apparently a little viscid above, 2 3 ft. high. 

 Leaves narrow-linear, tapering to a fine point, with a prominent midrib be- 

 neath, scarcely } in. in breadth. Flowers in a loose forking panicle. Calyx 

 elongate, narrowly tubular, a little wider above, 1-1^ in. long; teeth short, 

 ovate, cuspidate; nerves not prominent nor coloured. Petals considerably 

 exserted (limb 2-fid with obtuse lobes, Rich.). Carpophore much exceeding 

 the capsule. 



Nile Iiand. Abyssinia, Schimper ! and others. 



2. S. Biafrse, Hook.f. in Journ. Linn. Soc. vii. 183. Flowering-stems 

 erect, 1-3 ft., simple or slightly branched, pubescent. Leaves linear, rather 

 fleshy; the upper very narrow, acute, scabrid-pubescent, 1-2 in. long. 

 Flowers 2-6, not exceeding f in. in length, erect, in unilateral cyraose ra- 

 cemes ; pedicels of the lowest flower about 1 in., of the upper much shorter. 

 Calyx oblong-campauulate, with 10 dark, hispid-pubescent nenures; teeth 

 triangular-lanceolate. Petals fleshy, about equalling the calyx ; lamina 2- 

 fid, with obtuse lobes ; appendix 2-lobed, very short, fleshy. Carpophore 

 about one-third the length of the capsule. 



Upper Guinea. Camaroons mountain, 8000-10,000 ft., Mann ! 



3. S. Burchellii, Otth. in DC. Prod. i. 374. An erect, puberulous or 

 scabrid-pubescent perennial of 1-2 ft., branching from a woody stock or oc- 

 curring as an annual. Lower leaves linear-lanceolate to oval, narrowed be- 

 low, usually acute, more or less scabrid-pubescent, ciliate below ; upper leaves 

 linear, tapering to each end, acute. Flowers usually 3-9, in erect, unilateral, 

 spicate racemes, very shortly pedicellate or the upper subsessile. Calyx cla- 

 vate, |-| in. long, with narrow-triangular acute teeth and more or less darkly 

 coloured nervures. Claw of petals equalling calyx ; limb rather thick, ob- 

 tusely 2-fid, with 2 squamiform appendices. Carpoi)h()re about as long as 

 the capsule. — S. Oliveriana, Otth. in DC. Prod. i. 373, S. Chirensis, Rich. 

 Fl. Abyss, i. 44. S. sericea, Rich. 1. c. 43 



Nile Iiand. Abyssinia, Schimper! Roth! Parkt/ns ! and others; ? Nubia {S. bra- 

 chystachijs, Webb, Frag. Fl. ^Ethiop. 34), Schweiiif. et Asch. Eniim. 



Also in Arabia, Syria, and at the Cape. (See 'Flora Capensis,' i. 128, for syuonytny. 

 S. clandestina, Jacq., is probably a variety.) 



Very nearly allied to -S^. imhricafa and S. bipartita, Desf. Fl. .Vtlant., although, after a 

 comparison of specimens, I have not felt authorized to unite thcni nor to follow Kich;ird in 

 identifying an Abyssinian Sih'ufl with the S. sericra of Allioiii. littwecu the S. aericea. 

 Rich., and 5. chirensis. Rich., I find no specific dilTerencc. 



4. S. flammulsefolia, StenJ.; Rich. Fl. Ahyas. i. 43. A c«T3spitose 



