404 XLIIT. AMPELIDE^ (BAKER). [Fitis. 



Upper Guinea. Island of St. Thomas, Dr. Wehoitsch ! Fernando Po, Mann ! 

 Clirabs to a heigBt of 6 ft. and flowers in June. Leaves nearly as thin as those of V. gra- 

 cilis and the stem perhaps the feeblest of all the species. 



45. V. gracilis, Guill. et Terr. FL Seneg. i. 134 (Clssus). Stem weak, 

 wide-climbing, slender, glabrous, angular, sulcate. Petioles 2-4 in. long, 

 slender, herbaceous, angular, glabrous. Tendrils long and fine. Leaves with 

 3 or 5 leaflets, the petiolule of the central one 1 in. long, of the lateral ones 

 rather shorter and forked near the apex, terminal leaflet ovate-oblong, 3^5 in. 

 long, 1-|~3 in. broad, the point acute, the edge irregularly not deeply inciso- 

 crenate, the base rounded or cordate, the lateral ones smaller, often unequal- 

 sided, the basal pair, when present, often very small, colour shining green, tex- 

 ture thinly membranous, both sides glabrous. Flowers in copiously-branched 

 lax glabrous cymes, 1-4 in. broad. Peduncles 1-4 in. long, slender. Ulti- 

 mate pedicels ^ line long, slender. Calyx green, cyathiform, ^ line broad. 

 Corolla subglobose. Petals 4, |- line long. Stamens 4, about half as 

 long as the petals. Style very short. Ovary round, naked, 2-celled, each 

 cell 2-ovulate. Berries globose, glabrous, green, i-f in. each way. — Cls.s?is 

 subdiapkana, Steud. ; A. Eich. PL Abyss, i. 110 ; Walp. Ann. ii. 230. 

 C. membranacea. Hook. f. Fl. Nigrit. 266. C. bigemina, Harv. PI. Cap. i. 

 253. 



Upper Guinea. Senegambia, Perrottet ! Fernando Po, T. Vogel! Mann! 

 Iioiver Guinea. Congo and Angola, Dr. Welwitsch I 

 Nile Land. Gallabat, Schwein/urtk ! Abyssinia, ScJiimper ! Dillon ! 

 Mozaiub. Distr. Zambesi, between Tette and Lupata, Dr. Kirk ! 

 A widely diffused plant, with thin shining leaves and a very weak stem, flowering in June. 

 Stems 12-15 ft. long, Extends southwards to Natal. 



46. V. intricata. Baker. Stem rather woody, but slender, branched and 

 climbing profusely, glabrous, sulcate. Petioles 1-2 in.' long, glabrous. Ten- 

 drils copious. Leaves with 3 or 5 leaflets, the axillary petioles, when forked, 

 branching quite at the apex; terminal leaflets ovate-oblong, 2-3 in. long, 

 about 1 in. broad, the apex pointed, the edge sharply but not deeply toothed, 

 the base rounded, the petiolule i-f in. long, the lateral ones similar but 

 smaller, texture firmly membranous, both sides glabrous. Flowers in panicles 

 4-6 in. broad, composed of several thyrsoid or subcorymbose branches. 

 Pedicels 1-2 lines long, glabrous. Calyx \ line broad, cyathiform, slightly 

 lobed, glabrous. Corolla green, subglobose. Petals and stamens 4. Style 

 very short. Fruit green, globose, juicy, \-\ line each way, with two small 

 bony seeds. 



Wile laand. Banks of the White Nile, Petherick ! 



Resembles V. adenocaulis in general habit and the shape and texture of the leaves, but 

 the corolla is very different and the lateral petioles fork at the point. " Called Leaf by 

 the Arabs." 



47. V. tenuicaiilis. Hook. f. II. Nigrit. 266 (Cissus). Stem weak, 

 wide-climbing, herbaceous, slender, angular, deeply sulcate, only slightly pu- 

 bescent about the nodes. Petioles 1-2 in. long, spreading, weak, herbaceous, 

 glabrous. Tendrils copious, slender. Leaves, except at the apex of the shoots, 

 with 5 leaflets, the lateral petioles l)ranched above the middle ; terminal 



