FUis.] XLIII. AMPELIDE.E (baKEH). ^ (j 1 



2-3 ft. high, herbaceous, erect, swollen at the nodes, glabrous, finely striated, 

 when living rose-purple with a glaucous bloom and an almost gla'ssy trnns- 

 lucence. Stipules 1 in. long, lanceolate-acuminate, flcsliy, deciduous. Pe- 

 tioles or very short. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate, the loaflcts subcqual, oH- 

 lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 4-8 in. long, 1-3 in. bi-oad, the point acute, 

 the edge sharply but not deeply eiliate-dtnticulate, the base narrowed into a 

 long entire haft, texture considerably succulent, both sides quite glabrous, 

 colour when living a subglaucous green, when dry turning nearly black. 

 Flowers in copiously compound, long-stalked, terminal cymes, 9 in. broad, 

 with 3-5 long-stalked primary divisions ; ultim"ate pedicels slender, glabrous, 

 ■i-— ^ in. long. Calyx succulent, cyathiform, naked, not lobed, \ -\ line broad. 

 Petals and stamens 4, the corolla greenish, nearly 1 line deep, prominently 

 constricted downwards, glabrous on the outside. Style subulate, equalling tijc 

 stamens. Berry turbinate, firm, purplish-green, i-f in. long, naked. 



Upper Guinea. Niger, Barter ! 

 Lower Guinea. Ambaca, Angola, Br. Weltoitsch I 

 IVEozamb. Distr. Mambane, Z)r. Zt>^.' 



An exceedingly distinct and well-marked species, the leaves when dried resembling a good 

 deal a branch of Ptccui serratus. 



37. V. Currorij Boole, f. 11. Nigrit. 265 (Cissus). Stem very succu- 

 lent, much branched, glabrous, | in. thick. Petioles 2-3 in. long, \ in. thick, 

 glabrous and succulent like the stem. Leaves with 3 much-imbricated leaflets, 

 the terminal one 6-8 in. long, 4 in. broad, cordate-oblong, the point obtuse, 

 the edge with broad, blunt, irregular crenations to a depth of 1 line, the base 

 much rounded, the petiolule | in, long, the lateral ones nearly as large, sub- 

 sessile, texture succulent but not very thick, not pubescent but all over mi- 

 nutely punctate. Flowers in copiously compound cymes, 4-5 in. broad. 

 Peduncles 3-4 in. long, thick, succulent. Calyx 1 line broad, cyathiform, 

 naked, not lobed. Corolla pale, -} in. deep. Petals and stamens 4. Styles 

 fis long as the petals. Ovary glabrous, subturbinate. 



Iiower Guinea. Elephants' Bay, Dr. Curror ! 

 "A very succulent and much-branched tree," Curror. 



38. V. juncea, JFebb, Fray. Fl. JEildop. 57 (Cissus). Root tuberous, 

 scaly. Stem erect, herbaceous, culraiform, striated, glabrous, leafless below, 

 stipulate at the nodes, the stipules scarious, subcoriaceous, acute, glabrous, 

 ciliated. Leaves quite sessile, with 3 subequal, oblong-lanceolate leaflets, 

 which at the time of flowering are 6-7 in. long by about 1 in. broad, nar- 

 rowed very gradually from the middle to both ends, the edge inciso-crenatc, 

 texture m'embranous, both sides quite glabrous. Flowers in lax, long-stalked, 

 terminal cymes, 3-4 in. broad; pedicels 1-2 lines long, slender, setose. 

 Calyx I line broad, cyathiform, not lobed. Corolla green, subglobosc. Pe- 

 tals 4. Stamens 4. Style subulate. Ovary short, glabrous. Fruit not seen. 



Nile Land. Nubia, Fiffari ; Gallabat, Schxceiufurth ! 



39. V. erythrodes, Fresen. in Mus. Stuck, ii. 284. Stem quite woody, 



suberect, terete, rugose, glabrous, but the young shoots finely grey- or slightly 

 ferruginous-pubescent. Petioles f-U in. long, firm, spreading, pubescent 



