Xyris.] cxlii. xyridejE (brown). 19 



entire, 3- or indistinctly 5-7-nerved, dull or purplish-brown, the colour 

 fading out towards the margins. Lateral sepals lJ-2 lin. long, 

 J lin. broad, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, membranous, transparent, tint^ 

 with red or brown on the keel, nearly colourless on the sides ; keel 

 moderately broad, quite entire. Corolla-lobes scarcely 2 lin. long, obo- 

 vate, toothed on the margin, yellow. Arms of the staminodes with 

 brush-like tufts of hairs. Anthers oblong, 2-3 lin. long. Ovary ob- 

 lanceolate, shortly beaked. Seeds ellipsoid, with a prominent apical 

 umbo, longitudinally striate, reddish-brown. 



ILower Guinea. Angola : Pungo Andongo : spongy places between Caghuy 

 and Sansamauda, but somewhat rare, Welwitsch, 2461 ! in spongy wooded meadows 

 at MutoUo, near Pedras de Gruinga, Welwitsch, 2462 ! plentiful in the Prsesidium, in 

 spongy places on the higher rocks of Catete, Welwitsch, 2464 ! 



The minute rugosity on the leaves in this species and in X. straminea, Nilss., and 

 one or two others is probably due to some form of shrinkage in drying, as some of 

 the leaves show no trace of it. 



19. X. straminea, Miss, in Of vers. Vet. Akad. Forhandl. Stockh. 

 1891,153. Roots filiform, densely tufted ; no rhizome. Leaves J-o in. 

 long, J— 1 lin. broad, linear, acute, rarely obtuse, often from shrinkage 

 (but not always) minutely transversely rugulose in the dried state, with 

 concolorous or pale sheaths J-lJ in. long. Peduncular-sheath J-2 in. 

 long, leafless and mucronate, or with a leafy point J-J in. long. Peduncle 

 lJ-12 in. long, very slender, ^-J lin. thick, terete or subcompressed, 

 striate, very minutely rugulose in the upper part, slightly hollow. Spike 

 2-2 J lin. long, lanceolate, acute, Ij lin. in diam. when in flower, opening 

 out when in fruit, 1-5-flowered. Bracts few, 1J-2J lin. long, J-1 lin. 

 broad, oblong or elliptic-oblong, the inner boat-shaped, keeled, and com- 

 plicate-acute at the apex, but obtuse when flattened out, entire, not 

 ciliate, 3-nerved, somewhat membranous, very pale brownish or straw- 

 coloured. Lateral sepals about 2-2^ lin. long, J-|^ lin. broad, straight, 

 narrowly lanceolate, acute, membranous, straw-coloured ; keel slightly 

 rounded, with no trace of a wing, entire, not ciliate. Corolla only 

 seen in a very young bud, yellow. Capsule 1 J-lf Hn. long, | lin. diam., 

 oblong, obtuse, apiculate, trigonous (or acutely triangular ?) in cross 

 section. — Nilss. in Svensk. Vet. Akad. Handl. xxiv. no. 14, 40 ; 

 Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. v. 421 ; N. E. Br. in Dyer, Fl. Cap. vii. 

 751. X.filiformis, N. E. Br. in Dyer, Fl. Cap. vii. 7, not of Lam. 



Upper Guinea. Niger Territory: Nupe ; swamps near Bakona, and at Lorn, 

 Barter, 764 ! 



Mozamb. Blst. British Central Africa : Nyasaland ; Tanganyika Plateau at 



Fort Hill, 3500-4000 ft., Whyte ! 



Also in South Africa. 



This species is closely allied to X.filiformis, Lam., but differs in having no dorsal 

 area on the outer bracts and no ciliation on the keel of the lateral sepals. The curious 

 and minutely rugulose surface of the leaves and peduncles is best seen by holding the 

 specimens in a line with the source of light, but probably it is due to shrinkage in 

 drying, and may not be evident in the living plants. An imperfect specimen collected 

 by Citrson in a pool 2-3 miles south of Niorakolo, in Urungu, may also belong to 

 this species. 



