28 cxLiii. coMMELiNACEiE (clarke). [Paltsota 



Species. Tiie 12 following endemic in Tropical Africa. 



-'^MoNOSTiCHOS. — Seeds 3-1 in each cell, superposed in one row (fruit not knowu 

 in P. Mannii). 



Pedicels not articulated at the base. 



Stems nearly scapose ; all the leaves, except those 

 near the base, much reduced, bract-like. 

 Ovary glabrous. 



Bracts prominently exserted from the in- 

 florescence . . . . . . 1. P. bracieosa. 



Bracts concealed by the inflorescence . 2. P. Mannii. 



Ovary with scattered long hairs . . .3. P. Barteri. 



Stems elongate, with long nodes, the upper leaves 

 fully developed, appearing opposite or whorled. 

 Inflorescence dense; pedicels hardly \ in. long. 



Stems stout ; leaves 3-8 in. wide . . 4. P. Schweinfurthii^ 



Stems weak ; leaves 1-3 in. wide . . 5. P. preussiana. 



Inflorescence loose ; pedicels \-^ in. long . 6. P. laxijiora. 

 Pedicels articulated at the base, many early falling 

 off. (Stems elongate with apparently-whorled 

 leaves.) 



Inflorescence 2-6 in. long, 50-150-flowerod . 7. P. amhigua. 

 Inflorescence 1 in. long ; buds minute . . 8. P. micrantha. 



*'!=DiSTiCHOS. — Seeds 5-8 in each cell, in two vertical rows or iriegularly disposed. 

 (Pedicels in all very short, articulated,, many of the lower caducous, so that the- 

 peduncle appears covered with knots below the small cyme.) 



Peduncles t]-1 in. long . . . •. . . 9. P. thyrsifora. 

 Peduncles 0-j^ in. long 10. P. prionostachys. 



1. P. bracteosa, C. B. Clarke in DC. Monogr. Phan. iii. 183. 

 YouDg parts shaggy with fulvous or greyish hair. Stems 1-8 in. long^ 

 with leaves only near the base. Leaves 12-18 by 3-4 J in., elliptic-lan- 

 ceolate or somewhat obovate, acuminate at either end, wheii mature 

 often nearly glabrate (even on the midrib beneath), except at the deni^ely 

 hairy margins. Stems \-\ in. in diam. ; upper leaves few, 1-2J in. long,, 

 lanceolate, bract-like, not sheathing.' Inflorescence 1-3 J by |-1J in., 

 most dense, with 50-300 flowers; bracts in the upper part of the panicle 

 ^-J in. long, broadly lanceolate, shaggy, exserted from the panicle; 

 pedicels 0-J in. long, persistent. Ovary glabrous, the dorsal cell as a 

 rule 1-ovuled. Berry J in. long, ellipsoid, apiculate, bright scarlet,. 

 5-seeded. Seeds trapezoid, nearly smooth, not greatly flattened.^ — 

 Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. v. 422 ; Hua in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 

 xli. p. liv. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone : Samu Country, Scott-Elliot, 51^33 ! Lileria^ 

 cultivated specimen ! Cameroons : Efulen, Bates, 446 ! 



Ziower Guinea. Isle of St. Thomas; 3000-4500 ft., Moller in Fl. Afr. 

 Exsicc. Conimbric, 111 ! 



The peduncles are all simple ; in Moller n. Ill thei-e are three from one root» 

 The petiole, as in other species of Palisota, is very variable — 1-6 in. long. 



