Cadalvena.'] cxxxiv. scitamine^ (baker). 297 



rounded at the apex ; anther 2-celled, placed in the centre of a strap- 

 shaped petaloid process. Ovary »3-celled ; ovules many in a cell ; style 

 filiform ; stigma dilated, ciliated round the edge. Capsule membranous. 

 Seeds globose, ,vith a straight central embryo. — Acaulescent annuals, 

 with . a rosette of large cuneate leaves spreading on the ground and 

 few large fugitive flowers on short pedicels from the centre of the 

 rosette. 



Endemic. 



Habit, calyx and corolla of Kcempferia, section Soncorus ; stamen and staminodiaof 

 Costus. 



Leaves much imbricated, not thickened at the base . 1. C. spectahilis. 

 Leaves not imbricated, thickened and spongy at the base 2. C. pisticefolia. 



1. C. spectabilis, Fenzl in Sitz. Akad. Wissen. Wien, Math. Nat. 

 li. Ahth. ii. 140. Leaves usually 4 in a spiral rosette, obovate-cuneate, 

 much imbricated, 2-8 in. long and broad, pale green, membranous, 

 glabrous, not thickened at the base. Flowers few, on short pedicels 

 from the centre of the rosette, contemporary with the leaves. Calyx 

 short, funnel-shaped. Corolla-lobes lanceolate, ascending, 1 J-2 in. long. 

 Lip pale yellow, obovate-cuneate, 3 in. long 1 J-2 in. broad ; fertile 

 stamen shorter than the corolla-lobes; anther-cells nearly parallel, 

 J in. long, overtopped by a long pale yellow strap-shaped petaloid pro- 

 cess. — Kmmpferia spectahilis, Benth. Gen. Plant, iii. 642. Costus 

 sjyectahilis, Schumann in Engl. Jahrb. xv. 422, and in Engl. Pfl. Ost- 

 Afr. C. 150. 



ISTile Xiand. Upper Senaar ; Fazokl, Boriana ; Jur ; Jar Ghattas, Schweinftirth, 

 1888 ! Galabac: banks of the Gendua River, Schweinfurth, 1345 ! 



I.ower Guinea. Congo : Loukoungou, 700-2000 ft.. Hens, 353 ! 



Mozamb. Sist. German East Africa : Usambara, Hoist ! Portuguese East 

 Africa: Morambala Mountain, 2000-3000 ft., Kirk! Waller! British Central 

 Africa: Nyasaland ;• Shire Highlands, Buchanan, 26! near Blantyre, Last! Mount 

 Sochi, Scott -JElliot, 8521 ! between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa, Johnston !' 

 and without precise locality, Buchanan, 532 ! 668 ! 



2. C. pistisefolia, Baker. Closely allied to C. spectahilis, but 

 leaves more cuneate and not imbricated, thickened and spongy at the 

 base, as in Fistia, ovary shorter, corolla-lobes broader and anther- 

 cells only half as long. — Costus pisticefolius^ Schumann in Engl. Jahrb. 

 XV. 424. 



Iiower Guinea. Angola: in woods at Malange, Teuscz^^lhX 

 No specimen in the Kew Herbarium. 



3. COSTUS, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PL iii. 640. 



Calyx funnel-shaped; teeth ovate, erect, equal. Corolla-tube 

 funnel-shaped ; lobes oblong, equal. Lateral staminodia suppressed 

 or minute ; lip large, obovate-cuneate with incurved edges ; anther 

 2-celled, placed in the centre of a strap-shaped petaloid process ; 

 ovary 3-celled ; ovules many in a cell ; 'style filiform ; stigma dilated, 



