910 cxxii. EUPHORBiACEiE (hutchinson). [Acalypha, 



laO'wer Guinea. Lower Congo ; Lukolela, Detokvre, 820. 

 Known to me only from the description; probably closely allied to A.hipartita 

 and A. Volkensii. 



58. MABEYA, Baill. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. 312. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious, apetalous. Male : Calyx closed in 

 bud, globose, splitting into 3-4 valvate segments. Stamens 10-20; 

 filaments free, filiform, flexuous in bud, inserted on a convex glandular 

 receptacle ; anthers 2.celled ; cells distinct, oblong, shortly stipitate, in 

 bud pendulous, at length flexuous-divaricate, dehiscing from the apex. 

 Rudimentary ovary 0. Female : Sepals 4-6, broad, imbricate. Disk 

 flattened, lobed. Ovary pubescent, 3- (rarely 4-) celled ; cells 1-ovuled ; 

 styles distinct or shortly connate below, recurved, papillose-plumose. 

 Capsule more or less 3-dymous, pubescent, usually braaking up into 

 2-valved cocci ; rarely fruit indehiscent. Seeds subglobose, smooth ; 

 albumen fleshy ; cotyledons broad, flat. — Trees or shrubs. Leaves 

 alternate, petioled, usually rather large, entire or slightly toothed, 

 penninerved. Racemes or spikes axillary or lateral or clustered to- 

 wards the ends of the twigs, usually exceeding the leaves. Flowers 

 glomerulate along the rhachis ; glomerules sometimes with only male 

 flowers, sometimes with 2 or more males accompanied by a solitary 

 female, sometimes replaced by solitary female flowers. 



Five endemic species. 



Flowers distinctly pedicelled, monoecious ; petiole ^ in. long 

 or less ; leaves thin; capsule breaking up into 2-valved 

 cocci . . . . . . . . . . 1. M. brevipes. 



Flowers sessile or subsessile ; petioles ^ in. long or longer. 

 Monoecious ; leaves rather firm ; capsule breaking up 

 into 2-valved cocci. 

 Flowers green ; spikes slender, flexuous ; leaves nearly 



or quite glabrous beneath . . . . . 2. M. micrantha. 



Flowers white ; spikes stifP, rigid ; leaves usually with 



spreading hairs on the nerves beneath . . .3. M. spicata. 



Dioecious. 



Leaves thin, lateral nerves few; capsule breaking up 



into 2-valved cocci . . . . . .4. M. acuminata. 



Leaves rather firm, lateral nerves numerous ; fruit 



indehiscent . . . . . . . . 5. M. longifolia. 



1. M. brevipes, Pax in Engl. Jahrh. xxviii. 24. Shrub, monoe- 

 cious ; twigs glabrous. Leaves very shortly petioled, membranous, 

 obovate-lanceolate or narrow-obovate, shortly and acutely acuminate, 

 narrow from beyond the middle to the narrow-truncate or occasionally 

 acute base, shortly distantly toothed throughout, 6-15 in. long, 2-4 in. 

 wide, rather dark green, glabrous on both surfaces; petiole glabrous, 

 1-2 (rarely 3) lin. long ; stipules lanceolate, puberulous, deciduous. 

 Spikes numerous, slender, flexuous, usually about as long as the leaves, 

 occasionally shorter ; rhachis glabrous. Male flowers in few-flowered 



