90 CXLV. FLAGELLARIE.E (brown). [Flaffelluria. 



Order CXLV. FLAGELLARIEiE. (By N. K. Brown.) 



Flowers hermaphrodite or dioecious, regular. Perianth C -partite,, 

 pereistent ; segments small, biseriate, subpetaloid or scarious, slightly 

 unequal. Stamens G, hypogynous or shortly adnate to the base of the 

 perianth -segments ; filaments free ; anthers basifixed, introrse, dehis- 

 cing by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, i^>-celled, with a solitary 

 anatropous ovule in each cell ; style short or none ; stigma 3-lobed and 

 sessile, or of 3 linear, spreading branches. Fruit a i -')-seeded berry. 

 Seeds with a crustaceous testa, and copious farinaceous albumen ; em- 

 bryo minute, lenticular, placed on the outside of the albumen near the 

 hilum. — Herbs of robust habit, with stout stems bearing leaves up to 

 the base of the inflorescence, erect or sarmentose, sometimes climbing by 

 means of tendrils at the tips of the leaves. Leaves alternate, elongated, 

 sheathing at the base, sometimes produced into a tendril at the apex ; 

 veins numerous, j5arallel. Panicle terminal ; flowers small, sessile or 

 subsessile. 



A .sinall Older of 3 genera, and about 8 species, confined to the warm regions of 

 tlie Old World. Only 1 species in Africa. 



1. FLAGELLAKIA, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook.f. Gen. PI. iii. 800. 



Flowers hermaphrodite. Perianth subpetaloid ; segments oblong, 

 obtuse, the three outer slightly shorter than the inner. Stamens fi, 

 hypogynous; filaments ultimately long and much exserted. Ovary 

 with a short style and 3 linear stigmas. Berry 1- (rarely '2-) seeded. 

 Seed globose or ovoid, with a crustaceous testa. — Stem sarmentose, 

 climbing by means of the tendril-tipped leaves. Panicle terminal. 

 Flowers small, spicate at the ends of the ultimate branchlets of the 

 panicle. 



A small genus of 3 species, one African, one in. Fiji, and the tliird widely dis- 

 persed in the tropics of the Old World, but apparently m-t occurring on the continent 

 of Africa. 



1. F. guineensis, Schumach. in Schumach. d.- Thonn. Beskr.Guin. 

 ri. 18L A tall climber, with a moderately stout herbaceous stem. 

 Leaves sheathing ; sheath open to the middle, with the thin membranous 

 margins often closely overlapping but never connate at the top ; blade 

 4J-1) in. long, G-13 lin. broad, elongate-lanceolate, gradually tapering 

 from about the middle into a spiral tendril at the apex, abruptly con- 

 tracted into a rounded base immediately above the sheath. Panicle 

 terminal, 3-4 J in. long, 2-4 in. broad, pyramidal, with ascending or 

 spreading branches, the lower subtended by leafy bracts, the upper 

 bractless. Bracteoles minute, hyaline, ovate or suborbicular, obtuse or 

 subacute. Flowers subsessile along the rather slender flexuose or zig- 

 zag ultimate branchlets of the panicle, usually with distinct internodes 

 between them, whitish or pale yellowish. Perianth campanulate ; 

 segments 1-1 J lin. long, § lin. broad, the 3 outer shorter than the 3 



