Vi8Ca7il.] CXIX. LORANTHAGEiE (sPRAGUE). 399 



Cymules axillary and terminal, solitary or ternate, peduncled, 3-flowered, 

 flowers monoecious, tetramerous, all of one sex in the same cyme. Male 

 cymule : Peduncle about 1| lin. long or less, produced nearly J lin. 

 beyond the bracteal cup. Bracteal cup boat-shaped, IJ lin. long, sub- 

 apiculate at both ends. Flower-bud ellipsoid, | lin. long. Flower 

 J lin. long, solid base J lin. long. Receptacular tube about J lin. long. 

 Petals ovate, about | lin. long, |-J lin. broad. Anthers suborbicular, 

 J lin. in diam., or elliptic, f lin. long, J lin. broad. Female cymule: 

 Peduncle 2-3 lin. long, more or less produced above the bracteal cup. 

 Bracteal cup minutely ciliate, acute at both ends, finally becoming 

 crescent-shaped. Receptacle subcylindric, slightly narrowed into the 

 base, I lin. long, hardly J lin. in diam., or compressed, J lin. broad, 

 I lin. deep, smooth. Petals ovate-oblong or deltoid-ovate, J lin. long, 

 ^— J lin. broad. Stigma projecting J-1 lin. above the insertion of the 

 petals. Young berry oblong-ellipsoid, — V. ohscurum, var. decurrens^ 

 Engl, in Engl. Jahrb. xx. 182 ; De Wild. Etudes Fl. Bas- et Moyen- 

 Congo, i. 30, 237. 



Upper Guinea. Lagos : Eppah, on Guttiferae, Barter^ 3314 1 Southern 

 Nigeria : by the Old Calabar River, on 8ymphonia glohulifera, Linn, f., Mann^ 

 2278 ! 



Kower Guinea. Gaboon : Munda ; Sibange Farm, Dmklage, 574 ! by the 

 Gaboon River, on Symphonia glohulifera, Linn, f., Mann, 984! Lower Congo: 

 near Leopoldville, Gillet ! 



V. dec/irrens has been hitherto regarded as a variety of V. obscunim, Thunb. (a 

 n:itive of South Africa), with which it has little in common. V. obscvriim has a 

 sessile inflorescence and long -pedi celled berries. 



6. V. Fischeri, Engl, in Engl. Jahrb. xx. 132. Brownish in a 

 dried state. Branches subterete or obtusely quadrangular, grooved, 

 |-1 lin. in diam. 4-6 in. below the apex, the uppermost internodes 

 slightly compressed ; internodes 1-2J in. long. Leaves narrowly oblong 

 or obovate-oblong, rounded at the apex, cuneate into the base, 1-2 in. 

 long, 5-9 lin. broad, coriaceous, glabrous, distinctly 3-nerved, finely 

 wrinkled and slightly glossy in a dried state; petiole 1^-2 J lin. 

 long. Cymules axillary and terminal, solitary or ternate, peduncled, 

 5-7-flowered ; flowers dioecious, tetramerous. Male plant not known. 

 Female plant: Peduncle 2-3 lin. long, stout, produced beyond the 

 bracteal cup. Bracteal cup at first boat-shaped, \\ lin. long, minutely 

 ciliolate, afterwards crescent-shaped owing to the ends being defiexed. 

 Flower 1| lin. long. Receptacle oblong, very slightly narrowed down- 

 wards, somewhat compressed, 1-1 J lin. long, wrinkled in a dried state, 

 soon becoming ellipsoid after pollination. Petals slightly patulous, 

 ovate, I lin. long, |-yV ^i"* broad, deciduous. Stigma projecting f lin. 

 above the insertion of the petals. Young berry ellipsoid or ovoid, 2J 

 lin. long, apex broadly depressed-truncate, crowned by the persistent 

 stigma.— Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 167. 



wile Iiand. British East Africa: near Nairobi, Linton, 2.2b \ 



Mosamb. Dlctr. Genu an (past Africa - Ligaijo- /"i^fc^er. 568! 



