Combretum.] lv. combretace^: (lawson). 423 



broad, broadly lanceolate, slightly attenuated at the apex and obtuse, 

 sparingly lepidote beneath. Flowers in racemes longer than the leaves. 

 Calyx-tube quadrangular ; limb cyathiform. Fruit very shortly pedi- 

 cellate, about 8 lines long, nearly orbicular, lepidote ; wings papery, 

 shining. 



Lower Guinea. Angola, Dr. Welwitsch! 



7. C. grandiflorum, Don; DC. Prod. iii. 21. Climbing shrub. 

 Branches round, young ones hairy. Leaves opposite with very short 

 hairy petioles, ovate-elliptical, shortly acuminate, 4 in. long, 2 in. broad, 

 pubescent or at length glabrous. Flowers in short axillary and ter- 

 minal spikes, secund, red, very large ' and handsome ; bracts ovate, 

 longer than the tube of the calyx. Calyx-tube lanceolate, very slightly 

 constricted above the ovary, J in. long, slightly puberulous on the out- 

 side, glabrous or nearly so within, teeth triangular acute, disk 0. 

 Petals as long as the limb of the calyx, narrowly obovate, veins widely 

 spreading and freely inosculating. Stamens usually 10, sometimes 

 only 8, far exserted. Fruit shortly stalked, nearly round, emarginate 

 at the apex, ljin. long, 1 in. broad. — Poivrea grandiflora, Benth. in Fl. 

 Nigrit. 337. C. Afzelii, Don in Linn. Trans, xv. 437. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone, T. ■ Vogel and others ! 

 Lower Guinea. Congo, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



8. C. constrictum, Laws. Semi-herbaceous shrub with long strag- 

 gling volubile shoots ; bark whitish. Leaves alternate, rarelydpposite, 

 2J-4 in. long, obovate-elliptical, shortly acuminate, rounded or ob- 

 scurely cordate at the base, glabrous except on the veins beneath, 

 covered with minute white dots above ; base of the petioles indurated, 

 and forming short strong spines. Flowers collected at the ends of the 

 short mostly terminal racemes. Calyx- tube narrow, \ in. long; limb 

 Jin, or longer, inflated at the base, trumpet-shaped above, glabrous 

 within ; teeth triangular, acute. Petals clawed, linear-lanceolate, fringed 

 with minute hairs. Fruit '? . . . . — Poivrea constricta, Benth., Fl. 

 Nigrit. 337. P. mossambicensis, Klotzsch in Peters' Mossamb. Bot. 78, 1. 13. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone, T. Vogel! 



Lower Guinea. Congo, Smith ; Angola, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



Mozamb. Distr. Lat. 7° S. (No. 5), Speke and Grant! Zanzibar, Speke! 



The following are some of the more conspicuous forms : — 



a. Leaves hairy beneath, more rigid and with particularly prominent veins. Angola, 

 growing*'between the heights of 2000 and 3000 ft. 



/J. Leaves much larger, coriaceous, glabrous, with very prominent veins. Flowers 

 smaller, densely pubescent, in longer spikes. Angola, Dr. Welwitsch! 



y. Leaves smaller, obovate and more membranous. Flowers much shorter and stouter. 

 Mozambique, Dr. Peters. 



d. Leaves larger and more membranous, with reflexed apices. Flowers shorter and 

 stouter. Congo, /Smith! 



If these forms should not prove to be distinct, this is one of the most widely distri- 

 buted as well as variable species. The whole group may be known by the more or less 

 numerous white dots on the upper surface of the leaves. 



9. C. aculeatum, Vent. ; Choice, d. PI. 58. Shrub 10ft. high, erect 

 or ascending j young shoots pubescent, bark pale, shedding off in 



