Begonia.] lxv. begoniaceji: (hooker). 577 



erect, 6-10 in., simple, slender, rig-id, as thick as a sparrow's quill. 

 Leaves alternate, distichous, shortly petioled, l|-2§ in. by f-1 in., 

 obliquely obovate or oblanceolate or subrhomboid-oblong, long-acumi- 

 nate, obscurely lobed beyond the middle, coarsely irregularly toothed, 

 equally hirsute on both surfaces, lower margin rounded and auricled, 

 upper narrower, shorter, and acute at the base; nerves alternate. 

 Stipules J in., oblong, toothed and ciliate ; petiole ^-g in. Flowers 

 small, in subterminal, few-flowered, decurved cymes, clothed with 

 stipule-like bracts ; female solitary in the axils below the males. Male 

 fl. (young only seen) : Sepals 2, suborbicular, hairy at the back. Petals 

 0. Anthers linear-oblong, curved, obtuse. Female fl. : Sepals J in. 

 long, orbicular-oblong. Petals 0. Ovary 3-gonous ; styles 3, stigmas 

 forked, arms very short, papillose band continuous. Capsule decurved, 

 J— | in. long, oblong-rhomboid or ovoid or truncate, pilose ; wings 

 membranous, rounded ; faces keeled between the wings ; dehiscence 

 longitudinal. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra del Crystal, Gaboon river, Mann I Fl. July. 



18. B. auriculata, Hook. f. Monoecious, glabrous throughout. 

 Stems stout, 6-12 in. ? unbranched ? Leaves alternate, distichous, 

 petioled, 4-6 in. by 2-2 J in., obliquely obovoid or obovoid-oblong or lan- 

 ceolate, long- acuminate, quite entire or obscurely toothed, opaque and 

 glabrous on both surfaces, base oblique, excised on the upper margin, 

 lower margin produced into a large rounded incurved auricle, upper 

 margin with a smaller auricle ; nerves alternate ; stipules ^ in. long, 

 broadly oblong or orbicular, green, quite entire or tip toothed, per- 

 sistent; petiole stout, J-§ in. Cymes subterminal, short, decurved, 

 clothed with imbricating green stipule-like bracts, few -flowered. Sepals 

 2, suborbicular. Male fl. : Peduncle slender. Sepals apparently as in 

 B. elatostemmoides. Capsule J in. long, pedicel slender decurved rhom- 

 boid-orbicular or obovate, 3- winged; wings rounded, membranous; 

 sides keeled between the wings ; dehiscence longitudinal. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra del Crystal, Gaboon river, Mann I Fl. July. 



19. B. sessilifolia, Hook.f. Monoecious ? Stem 1-2 ft., slender, 

 simple or branched, rather rigid, substrigose towards the tip and on the 

 nerves beneath. Leaves alternate, subsessile, distichous, 3-4 in. by 1-1 J 

 in., obliquely elliptic -lanceolate or oblanceolate, long-acuminate, ob- 

 scurely sinuate or quite entire, base oblique excised on the upper 

 margin, lower margin produced into a small incurved auricle, upper 

 surface lurid green, opaque, lower paler; petiole T V-§ in.; stipules \ in., 

 broadly elliptic-oblong, flat, green, toothed and ciliate. Peduncles 

 short axillary, decurved, strigose, few-flowered, clothed with flat im- 

 bricating oblong bracts like the stipules ; pedicels very short ; bracteoles 

 linear. Male fl. : Small, all in the upper cymes. Sepals 2, \ in., 

 broadly oblong, obtuse, white. Anthers about 16, subunilateral, linear- 

 oblong, emarginate, filaments very short. Female fl. and capsule not 

 seen. 



Upper Guinea. Fernando Po, alt. 1000-2000 ft., Mann! Fl. Nov. 



