Tragia.] cxxii. EUPHORBiACEiE (prain). 977 



without lateral lobes, central lobe lanceolate, 3 J in. long, J in. wide, lateral narrow- 

 lanceolate, ^-1 in. long, under ^ in. wide, uU acute, margin sparingly sharply tootlied, 

 sometimes pubescent or puberulous above, pubescent on the nerves or s juutime* 

 generally beneath. Racemes latei-al, leaf-opposed. Female sepals with the lateral 

 lobules all about as long as the terminal lobule. — T. cannahina, Thvv. Enuni. PI. 

 Zeyl. 270; Baill. ttndie Gen. Euphorb. 461; Schweinf. Kel. Kotscliy. 34, exd. 

 tlie Matamma plant and the fissure ; hardly of Linn. f. T. involucrata, var. 

 intermedia, Miill. Arg. in DC. Prodr. xv. ii. 944. T. involucrata^ var. cannahina, 

 Hook.f. Fl. Hrit, Ind. v. 465, partly. T. tripartita, Beille in Bull. Soc. B(jt. France, 

 Iv. Mem. viii. 83, not of Schweinf. 



Upper Guinea. Cameroons: Garua, 1000 ft., Ledermann, 3304! 4573! 

 4978 ! 4991 ! 



ITortb Central. Bagirmi ; on Lake Iro, at Koulfe, Chevalier, 8996 ! Souka, 

 Chevalier, 9056 1 



Wile ^and. Abyssinia: Harar, i2iva, 16, Ellenhecic, \\2Q\ Sennar : Fazokl 

 Boriani. Dinka : on the White Nile, JD'Arnattd ! Sahatier ! 



IMCozamb. Distr. German East Africa : Nyika plateau, Sacleux, 2102 1 

 British Central Africa: Nyasaland ; at Gombra, above Elephant Marsh, on the 

 River Sliire, Scott ! Blantyre, Buchanan ! 



Also in India and Ceylon. 



Var. hrouniana, Prain. Stems dwarf, ei'ect, 4-6 in. high, hispid and beset with 

 M'hite stinging hairs. Leaves very shortly peliolcd, rather firmly chartaceous, all 

 very deeply 3-partite,narruw-lanceolate, acute, the central lohe 2 in. long, \ in. wide, the 

 1 iteral ^ in. long, |-^ in. wide, margin sparingly unequally toothed, aliuo-t glabrous 

 above, pubescent and bristly beneath. Racemes terminal and occasionally lateral 

 leaf -opposed, under 1 in. long. Female calyx-segments with the uppermost pair of 

 Literal lobules ascending as large as central lobule and considerably larjrer than t!ie 

 others, which are spreading and are not longer than the width of the rhachis. 

 — T. hrouniana, Prain in Kew Bulletin, 1909, 51. 



Nile Ziand. Somaliland : Webi Habir, Keller, 226! Sennar: Sanlt-il, 

 Jiroun, 775 ! Kaka Wood Station, Broun, 1593 ! Kordofan : Kadugli, Wood, 1344 I . 



A variable and widely distiibuted species which has often, but with little justifica- 

 tion, been treated as a variety of T. involucrata, Linn. The varieties here recocnised 

 appear, in their extreme forms, very distinct and have at times been regarded hs 

 separate species. But the recent communication by Mr. and Mrs. Broun of amj)le 

 suites of specimens which fully confirm the justice of Cooke's view that T. cannahina, 

 liinn. f., is distinct from T. involucrata, Linn., has on the other hand not only 

 shown that T. tripartita, Beille, not of Schweinf., which cannot be kept apart frf)m 

 T. involucrata, var. intermedia, Miill. Arg., and the still more distinct T. hrouniana, 

 Prain, are only varieties of T. cannahina, but has raised a doubt as to whether 

 T. Hildebrandtii, snb-sp. fflaucescens. Pax, and T. Hildehrandtii, Miill. Arg., itself 

 be more than forms of the same variable species. T. involucrata, Linn., which \i 

 apparently an equally variable plant, has not been met with on the African continent; 

 so far from being conspecific with T. cannahina, T. involucrata, though a member 

 of the same section, belongs to a difierent natural group of forms. 



12. T. Hildebrandtii, Mull. Arg.in Ahhandl. Naiurw. Yer. Bremen, 

 vii. 26. Stems erect, 2-3 ft. high, from a woody base, sometimes 

 themselves firm and woody, \ in. thick, copiously virgately branched, 

 quite glabrous. Leaves very shortly petioled, ascending, membranous^ 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate, base narrow-cuneate, margin entire or 

 with a few strong teeth near the base, the lowest tooth on one, less 



VOL. VI. — SECT. I 2 I 



