462 lvii. melastomace^. (hooker.) [Memecylon. 



3. M. Barteri, Hook. f. A shrub 8 ft. high ; branches greyish- 

 white, about as thick as a crow-quill ; branchlets terete. Leaves pe- 

 tioled, 2J-3J in. by li^lj in., coriaceous, elliptic, acuminate at both 

 ends, most so at the apex, olive-brown when dry, almost lucid on both 

 surfaces, nerves 3, slender, distinct 5 transverse nerves very obscure ; 

 petiole J in. Inflorescence perfectly glabrous, of numerous small axil- 

 lary corymbose solitary or fascicled panicles J in. long and broad, 

 sparingly subumbellately branched. Calyx subhemispheric, 2-bracteo- 

 late at the base, \\ in. in diameter, bracteoles small, suborbicular, con- 

 cave ; limb broadly 4-lobed, lobes rounded, not costate inside. Petals 

 orbicular, tips imbricate. Ovules 2. Fruit not seen. 



Upper Guinea. Lagos, Barteri 



4. M. Vogelii, Naud. in Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 3, xviii. 263. A shrub, 

 6-10 ft. Branches rather slender, bark whitish, of the branchlets red- 

 brown, 4-angled. Leaves shortly petioled, 4-8 in. by 2J-4 in., rather 

 membranous, ovate suborbicular elliptic-oblong or lanceolate, subacute 

 or gradually acuminate, base acute rounded or subcordate, olive-green 

 and lucid with the 3 main and few distant transverse nerves distinct on 

 both surfaces, 2 outer nerves arched between the junctions of the trans- 

 verse ; petiole £— J in. Inflorescence quite glabrous of small single or 

 geminate axillary shortly peduncled corymbose few-flowered panicles 

 4 in. diameter ; peduncle and branches compressed, acutely angled ; 

 bracteoles deciduous, whorled at the base of the slender subumbellate 

 pedicels. Calyx J in. diameter, broadly campanulate, limb large, quite 



' entire, 8-costate inside. Petals broadly ovate, tips valvate. Ovules 

 numerous. Berry ovoid, J-J in. long, crowned by the broadly 4-lobed 

 calyx-limb ; pedicel \-\ in. Testa thin ; cotyledons crumpled ? — Spa- 

 thandra memecyloides, Benth. in Fl. Nigr. 357. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone, Afztlius ! Prince's Island and Fernando Po, 

 Barter I Old Calabar, Mann 1 fl. Feb. 



5. M. membranifolium, Hook. f. A shrub, 8-10 ft. ; branches 

 slender, bark white, of the acutely 4-angled branchlets red-brown. 

 Leaves shortly petioled, 3-5 in. by 1 J-2 in., very membranous, elliptic- 

 ovate or lanceolate, suddenly narrowed to a rather broad obtuse apicu- 

 late point, base acute, sublucid, pale- green on both surfaces, nerves 

 very distinct, 2 lateral subarching, transverse few, distant ; petiole |-J 

 in. Flowers few, minute, sessile, clustered on very short axillary 

 peduncles; bracteoles minute, ovate, acute, concave, keeled, persis- 

 tent at the base of the calyx. Calyx broadly obconic, l-10th in., purple ; 

 lobes 4, broadly ovate, obtuse ; tip of ovary 8-costate. Petals broadly 

 obovate, violet. Filaments longer than the petals, slender. Ovules 4. 

 Berry ovoid, \ in. long, crowned with the minute unchanged calyx- 

 limb, flesh thin. Testa crustaceous ; endopleura thin ; cotyledons ap- 

 parently consolidated with the radicle, surface ruminate. 



Upper Guinea. Fernando Po and Ambas Bay, Mann! 



