Zagarosipho7i.] cxxxi. hydrocharide^ (wright). 5 



Leaves in whorls of 3-5, 10 lin. long, scarcely 1 lin. wide at the base, 

 slightly tapering to the rounded apex, teeth about 100, close-set. Male 

 flowers unknown. Female spathes 2^ lin. long, J lin. wide, bifid, minutely 

 spinulose on the free margins, with one perfect and one rudimentary 

 fl.ower. Ovary 1 -celled. Ovules 5, orthotropous, on long funicles. 

 Xrile liand. British East Africa : Kariandusi, 6100 ft., Gregory ! 



3. VALLISNERIA, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. 451. 



Spathes dioecious. Male shortly pedicellate, many-flowered. Flowers 

 escaping from spathe when mature. Perianth simple, 3-lobed. Stamens 

 3 ; anthers with two globose lobes. Female spathe tubular, bifid. 

 Perianth simple, 3-lobed. Staminodes 3. Ovary 1 -celled with 3 pa- 

 rietal placentas; stigmas 3, short, broad, 2-fid, ovules many. — Sub- 

 merged herbs, with very short stem. Leaves crowded, grass-like, 

 linear. Scapes axillary, the female spirally twisted but uncoiling to 

 allow the flower to come to the surface of the water for pollination. 



A genus of about 4 species widely distributed through the warmer regions of both 

 hemispheres. 



Leaves 4^16 in. long 1. V. spiralis. 



Leaves less than 3 in. long . . . . . . . 2. F". cethiopica. 



1. V. spiralis, Lhm. Sp. PL 1015. A submerged, grass-like 

 plant. Leaves linear, obtuse, 4-18 in. long, with a few transverse 

 veinlets. Male scapes axillary, 1-2 in. long. Spathe ovate, com- 

 pressed, 2-lobed, Male flowers numerous in the spathe, very shortly 

 pedicellate. Perianth 3-lobed; lobes obtuse, reflexed. Stamens 3, 

 divergent. Female scape very long, spirally coiled. Spathe tubular, 

 nearly as long as the ovary, bifid. Perianth 3-lobed ; lobes shortly 

 triangular, obtuse. Staminodes 3. Stigmas 3, flat, hairy above. Ovary 

 1-celled. Capsule 2-4 in. long.— Hook." Bot. Misc. iii. 87, tt. 23-24 ; 

 Niger Flora, 528 ; Engl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 95. 



Upper Guinea. Lagos, Barter, 20163 ! 



Nile Xtand. VV^hite Nile, Schweinfurth, 1043! Gazelle Kiver, ScJiweinfurth, 

 1185! 



Iio-wer Guinea. Congo : Stanley Pool, Callemoaert ! 



IVIozamb. I>ist. Lake Nyasa, Laws, 2 ! 



Extends through the warm regions of both hemispheres. 



2. V. sethiopica, Fenzl in Flora, 1844, 311 {nomen) and in Sitzh. 

 Akad. Wien, Math.-Nat. li. (1865) Ahth. ii. 139. Leaves 2-2| in. long, 

 Ungulate, attenuate at the base, obtuse or rather acute, more or less 

 denticulate, with obscure transverse veinlets. Female spathe cuneate, 

 2-3 lin. long, with two obtuse lobes. Perianth longer than the spathe ; 

 lobes ovate, very obtuse. Stigmas oval, acutely bidentate at the apex. 

 — Schweinf. Ind. PI. Nilot. 293 ; Baker in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxix. 151. 



Nile Iiand. Senaar, Kotschy, 284 ! White Nile near Gebel Nyemat, Schwein- 

 furth, 1017 ! Nile, 14i° N., Speke and Grant. 

 Perhaps only a dwarf state of V. spiralis, Linn. 



