446 lvii. melastomace^ (hooker). \ Tristemma. 



2. T. coronatnm, Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 354. Minutely rigidly stri- 



fose. Stem prostrate, and rooting at the base, ascending, 6-10 in. 

 igh, rigid, flexuous, terete and rough below with rigid, short, scat- 

 tered bristles ; branches acutely 4-angled, nodes with very rigid 

 bristles. Leaves 2|— 3 in. by 1-1 j in., elliptic-ovate, acuminate, equally 

 strigose on both surfaces, petiole J-gin. Flowers solitary; outer 

 bracts subfoliaceous, strigose, inner broadly oblong, more glabrous; 

 calyx-tube (after flowering) 1\ in. long, turgid, with 4-6 rings of stout 

 appressed bristles ; lobes short, triangular-ovate, acute, minutely ciliate. 



Upper Guinea. " Maqueba," Afzelius ! Sierra Leone, Don ! 



Very similar indeed to T. Schumacheri. but the flowers are solitary, the calyx has 4 

 distinct rings of bristles, and the 2 inner ribs of the leaf usually have the midrib a little 

 above the 2 outer, which I find to be very rarely the case in T. Schumacheri. I have 

 seen but few and poor specimens without flowers. 



3. T. Schumacheri, Guilt, et Perr. Fl. Seneg. 311. Erect ; sparsely 

 strigose with short, stiff, appressed bristles ; branches acutely 4-anglea. 

 Leaves 4-6 in. by 2-2 J in., elliptic or elliptic-ovate or lanceolate, acute 

 or acuminate, quite entire, equally sparsely strigose on both surfaces ; 

 petiole J-| in. Flowers many in a subsessile head ; outer bracts hardly 

 foliaceous, not much exceeding the flower, very broad, strigose on the 

 back ; inner coriaceous, obovate, truncate, quite glabrous. Calyx J in., 

 tube ovoid, smooth or with a few bristles or with 1-3 rings of bristles ; 

 lobes very short, broadly ovate, obtuse or acute, very obscurely cilio- 

 late. Petals Jin., white or pink; anthers -J-^in;; connective very 

 shortly produced. Crown of ovary bristly. Fruit dry or subbaccate. — 

 T. incompletum, Br. in Tuckey's Congo, Append. 435. 



Upper and Lower Guinea. Gambia, Ingram! Sierra Leone, Afzelius ! Vogel ! 

 Barter I Senegambia, Perrottet I Gaboon, Afzelius ! Middleton I Benguela, Curror ! 

 Congo, Smith 1 



Var. /3. littorale ; more lax, stems and branches more slender ; outer bracts often 

 foliaceous, calyx perfectly glabrous. T. littorale, Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 353. — Fernando 

 Po, by the shore, Vogel! Barter. Mann! Princes' Island, Barter ! 



Var. y. albiflorum ; calyx with usually an incomplete ring of bristles ; petals white 

 (Don). Melastoma albiflorum Don, Gard. Diet. ii. 764. — Sierra Leone, Don! 



4. T. hirtum, Vent. Choix. PI. 35 (in note). Shrubby, 3-4 ft. high, 

 hispid or hirsute with long, spreading, curled or straight, pale, stout 

 hairs; branches stout, angles with short herbaceous wings. Leaves 

 4-6 in. by ^—3 in., elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 

 quite entire, 5-nerved, hairs scattered and appressed above, more copi- 

 ous and spreading beneath ; petioles J— 1 in., stout. Flowers crowded 

 in globose, involucrate, terminal heads, sessile, J—} in. diameter ; outer 

 bracts leafy, inner coriaceous, retuse. Calyx j in. ; tube with 3 mem- 

 branous rings crowned by appressed bristles ; lobes 5, triangular- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, ciliate. Petals J in., rose-coloured. Anthers 

 J in., all similar. Crown of ovary hemispheric, bristly. — Beauv. Fl. 

 Ow. et Ben. i. 94, t. 57. Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 354. ' 



Upper Guinea. Beauvois. Nun river, Vogel! Barter! Nupe and Lagos, 

 Barter ! Fernando Po, Mann ! Fl. Dec. 



