Oommelina.] cxliii. coMMELiNACEiE (clarke). Hd 



6000 ft., Bildehrandt, 368 ! Gallabat : region of Matamma, Schtoeinfurth, 531 ! 

 Abyssinia : near Adowa, Schimper, 360 ! 5900 ft., Sehimper, 45 ; liOtho, Schimper, 

 419 ! and without precise locality, Schimper, 574 ! British East Africa : East 

 Ongalea Mountains at Kinani, 2200 ft., Gregory ! 



Upper Guinea. Bornu, Vogel, 53 ! 



Mozamb. Dlst. Portuguese East Africa : Qnilimaue, -SVo/'^ / British Centi-al 

 Africa : Nyasaland ; Shire Highlands, Buchanan ! 



Also in South India, and Extratropical South Africa. 



The flowers in C. suhulata. Roth, and C. striata, Kunth, are always blue as far 

 as known. The name C. suhaurantiaca, Hoclist., appears to have been given by 

 Hochst. in the herbarium (not from any field note by the collector, Schimper) ; and 

 Hasskarl suggests that it refers to the yellow colour of the dried plant, not to that of 

 the flower, the colour of which is unknown in C. suhaurantiaca. 



Var. /3 heterantha, C. B. Clarke. Petals yellow. — C. heterantha, Welw. ex C. B. 

 Clarke in DC. Monogr. Phan. iii. 148 ; Rendle in Cat. Afr. PI. Welw. ii. 75. 



Ibower Guinea. Angola : Pungo Andongo ; on sandy rocks of the Praesidium, 

 Welwitsch, 6333 partly ! meadows near Condo, Welivitsch, 6633b ! Mossamedes, 

 Welwitsch, 6587 ! Hnilla, 3800-5500 ft. : on the banks of the Kiver Ema, among 

 crops, Weltoitsch, 6588 I near Lopollo^ Welwitsch, 6589 I 



Welwitsch has carefully noted the colour of the flower in all these numbers— as 

 "yellow," " light yellow," or " brownish-yellow." Except, however, in the colour of 

 the flower, I can discover no difference between this plant and typical C. subttlaia, Roth. 



7. C. anguStissima, K. Schnm. in Enyl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 134. 

 Annual. Stems slender, 16 in. high. Leaves 7 by \ in., very narrowly 

 linear. Spathes solitary, less than I in. long, villous. Flowers deep 

 blue ; otherwise as C. suhulata. Roth. 



IMozamb. Sist, German East Africa : Usinja ; Karumo district, Stuhlmamiy 

 3564. 



No example seen ; but the three subjoined plants agree with the description in 

 the long linear leaves, and small spathes shaggy with white multicellular hairs. 



Kower Guinea. Angola : Pungo Andongo ; on sandy rocks of the Praesidium, 

 2400-3800 ft., Welwitsch, 6633 partly ! 



Mozamb. Bist. German East Africa : Kesokwe, Hannington ! in wet ground 

 on the edges of streams at Tabora (Kaseh), 3960 ft., Speke ^ Grant ! 



8. C. trilobosperma, K. Schum. in Knyl. Pfl. Ost-Afr. C. 134. 

 Probably annual. Stems 1 ft. high, slender. Leaves up to 5 by \ in., 

 elongate-lanceolate. Spathes less than ;\ in. long, glabrous. Flowers 

 blue. Seeds trigonous, nearly flat, conspicuously 3-lobed. Very near 

 C. suhulata, Roth, but excellently separated by the 3-lobed seeds. 



Mozamb. Bist. German East Africa : Usinja ; Karumo district, Stuhlmanv, 

 3566. 



Not seen ; the above abstracted from K. Schumann. The seeds described would 

 separate the species excellently from any other species of Commelina ; it is difticult 

 to imagine how they would pack into the 5-seeded 3-celled capsule ot the Sect. Eti- 

 Commelina. 



9. C. violacea, C. B. Clarke. A nearly glabrous erect annual 

 growing in water. Stems la in. long^ little divided, with long intei- 

 nodes. Leaves 9 by i in. Spathes few, solitary, neat-ly h in. long, on 

 peduncles scarcely exserted from the leaf -sheath, ovate-lanceolate, 

 glabrous with ciliate margins, slightly striated by curved purplish 



