J^oerhaavia.] civ. nyctagine.e (baker and wrigut). 3 



glandular, enclosing the fruit. Seed adherent to the pericarp ; em- 

 bryo uncinate ; cotyledons thin, broad, encircling the thin endosperm ; 

 radicle long. — Much-branched herbs. Leaves opposite, entire or slightly 

 repand. Flowers small, usually umbellate ; pedicels articulated at the 

 apex. 



Species about 20, throughout the tropics and warm temperate regions. 

 Perianth not more than 2^ lin. long. 



Flowers usually solitary, rarely 2-3-nate. 



Leaves glabrous . . . . . . . 1. J9. elegans. 



Leaves pubescent 2,. B. hereroensis. 



Flowers all in terminal umbels. 



Fruit-perianth 1^ lin. long . . . . . 3. JB. adscendens. 



Fruit-perianth 2 lin. long . . . . . 4. .B. repens. 



Fruit-perianth 3 lin. long . . . . h. B. Schinzii. 



Flowers both in terminal umbels and lateral whorls. 



Upper part of perianth 1 lin. long . . . Q. B. verticillafa. 



Upper part of perianth 2^ lin. long . . . 7. B. fallacissima. 



Perianth at least 3 lin. long. 



Pedicels short. Fruit with large globose glands near 



the apex , . 8. 5. plumhaginea. . 



Pedicels long. 



Kibs of fruit-perianth obscure . . . . 9. JB. pentandra. 



Ribs of fruit-perianth distinct .... 10. B. squarrosa. 



1. B. elegans, ChoisTj in DC. Prodr. xiii. ii. 453. Stems tall, 

 branched, woody at the base, glabrous. Leaves distinctly petioled, 

 broadly ovate, 1^ in. long and broad, glabrous, whitish beneath. 

 Flowers solitary, rarely in pairs, arranged in a lax ample panicle above 

 the leaves; ultimate panicle-branches very slender; bracts minute; 

 pedicels very short. Upper portion of the perianth very small, cam- 

 panulate; accrescent base clavate, \-^ in. long, pentagonal, viscid or 

 glabrate. Stamens 2. — B. repens^ var. elegans, Aschers. & Schweinf. in 

 Schweinf. Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 1G9. B. rubicunda, Steud. Nomencl. 

 ed. 2, i. 213. B. Marlothii, Heimerl in Engl. Jahrb. x. 10. 



srile Dtand. Coast of Nubia, ex Boissier. Uganda : Unyoro, Speke Sf Grants 

 540 ! British East Africa : Nyika country near Mombasa, Wakefield I 



Xiower Guinea. Angola : in open places near the sea at IJanana, Monteiro! 

 (German Sonth-West Africa : Hereroland ; in stony i)laces at Otyimbingue, 2900 ft., 

 Marloth, 1342. 



Mozamb. Blst. German East Africa : liovuma River, Kirk ! Britisli 

 Central Africa: Nyasaland ; Zomba and vicinity, 2500-3500 ft., Whyte! 

 Also in Arabia and Eastwards to Beluchistan. 

 The roots are eaten by the natives in Unyoi'o, according to Speke and Grant. 



2. B. hereroensis, Heimerl in Engl. Jahrh. x. 9. Very much 

 branched, dittuse, very viscid herb ; slender stems densely pubescent. 

 Leaves thick, pubescent, the lower and middle cuneately narrowed into 

 a petiole as long as the blade, oblong-lanceolate, 2-3 times longer than 

 broad, obtuse, the upper suddenly smaller, subacute, shortly petioled. 

 Panicle much branched ; ultimate branches capillary, almost glabrous 



