180 XXV. MALVACEAE (masters). [Sida. 



ianceolate. Flowers axillary, solitary or twin, stalked ; pedicels exceeding 

 the' leaves or sometimes shorter, articulated. Calyx 5-parted ; segments tri- 

 angular, very acute. Corolla straw-coloured, scarcely exceeding the calyx. 

 Carpels 5, shortly bicuspidate, not reticulated on the surface. — Cav. Diss. v. 

 277. n. 402. t. 134. f. 2. 



Upper Guinea. Niger, Barter ! 



IiO'wer Guinea. Congo ? Burton ! 



Mozamb. Distr. Lake Nyassa, Dr. Kirk ! 



Found also in India, China, Boucbon, etc. Dr. Kirk's specimens, from Lake Nyassa, have 

 palmately 3-lobed leaves, and the awns are more bent inwards, but these characters are 

 scarcely sufficiently important without other warranty to establish a new species. 



5. S. Schimperiana, Hochst. in Rich, Fl. Jbyss, i. 66. Perennial, 

 with a very thick woody rootstock, from the summit of which proceed a 

 large number of procumbent or erect repeatedly forked branches, 6-12 in. 

 long. Leafstalk shorter than the leaves, which are small, \ in. long, oblong, 

 retuse, cuneate at the base, sparsely covered with stellate hairs ; stipules 

 small, ligulate. Flowers solitary, axillary, on very short jointed stalks, which 

 are sometimes crowded towards the end of the branches. Calyx cyathiform, 

 5 -cleft ; lobes triangular; corolla pink. Fruit globular, of 5 glabrous, 1- 

 seeded, slightly beaked carpels (beak bent inwards) dehiscing along the inner 

 edge. — Bictyocarpus truncatus, Wight in Ann. Sc. Nat. Ser. 2. xi. 169. 



Nile Iiand. Abyssinia, Schimper ! Dillon and Petit I Karague hills, Speke and Grant ! 

 Found also in India. 



6. S. carpinifolia, Linn. ; Cav. Diss. t. 2./. 3 ; t. 3./. 10, 11 ; 1. 134. 



/. 1. Perennial, with an erect cylindrical or slightly pilose much branched 

 stem. Leaves on short stalks, linear-lanceolate, serrate, smooth on both sur- 

 faces. Stipules linear, leafy, as long as or longer than the leafstalks. Flower- 

 stalks axillary, as long as or longer than the petioles, solitary or twin, rarely 

 tufted, 1-flowered, jointed in the middle. Calyx globular, smooth, 5-cleft; 

 segments triangular, acute. Petals twice the length of the calyx, spreading, 

 pale yeUow. Carpels 7 or 8, rugose, veined at the sides and provided with 

 two awns.— aS'. acuta, Cav. ; DC. Prod. i. 460. S. stipulata, Cav. ; Hook. f. 

 Fl. Nigrit. 231. ;S'. rugosa, Schum. et Thonn. PI. Guin. 304. S. ovata, Don, 

 Gen. Syst. 492. S. prostrata, Don, Gen. Syst. 490. S. Vogelii, Hook. f. 

 Fl. Nigrit. 231. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone, Cape Coast, and Fernando Po, T. Vogel ! St. Thomas, 



Don ! 



Found also in India, New Granada, Mauritius, the Cape de Verde Islands, and subject to 

 great variation in stature, hairiness, etc. 



7. S. spinosa, Li7in. ; DC. Prod. i. 460. Annual or perennial with 

 long erect or trailing branches covered with stellate pubescence. Leafstalks 

 nearly as long as the leaves, often provided at the base with a small hooked 

 tubercle. Leaves cordate, oblong-lanceolate or ovate, obtuse, serrate, nearly 

 smooth above, downy beneath. Flowerstalks axillary, solitary ot clustered, 

 jointed about the middle, longer than the leafstalks. Calyx cup-shaped, 10- 

 ribbed, 5-cleft ; lobes deltoid. Craples 5, somewhat membranous, slightly 



