X>/ris] XIII. XYRIDE.E. 73 



faintly keeled in the upper part ; lateral sepals transparent, 

 tinged with pale reddish-brown along the dorsal line, sides very 

 unequal, narrowly keeled for H from base, keel glabrous, obovate 

 when opened, very blunt ; corolla yellow, petals oblong (?) ; anthers 

 oblong with cordate base, staniinodes 2-armed breaking up into 

 a dense yellow hairy tangle rather more than half the length of 

 the stamen ; style 3-partite to the middle ; fruit plano-convex, 

 narrowly obovoid, very shortly beaked ; seeds ellijjsoid with an 

 apical umbo, red, longitudinally marked with strong spiral ridges. 



Leaves reaching 3 in. long by nearly 1 line broad, scapes 5 to 

 8|^ in., sheaths l^ to nearly 2 in., acute. Spikes 2 by 1^ to 2i 

 lines. Bracts 2 lines long or rather less ; lateral sepals li to 1^ 

 lines, by scarcely h; line broad. Petals 1^ line long or more 

 (the top was always torn) by scarcely 1 line broad ; anthers 

 scarcely |- line by f line broad slightly exceeding the short 

 filament. Fruit scarcely !}_, line long. 



Very near X. scahridula Eendle, but distinguished by the 

 slightly shorter glabrous keeled delicate lateral sepals and the 

 spirally ridged seeds ; the bracts are also more membranous. 



PuNGO Andongo. — Culms of a shining copper or almost gold colour 

 from above the base to the middle, twisting on drying. Spongy place.s^ 

 near huge rocks at Barrancos de Catete growing with species of 

 Ascolcph right on the prajsidium. Infl. andfr. May 1857. No. 2463. 



Note. — These spongy places are produced chiefly through an Alga 

 with the help of but very few mosses. 



13. X. erubescens Eendle sp. nov. 



Bulbous, outer scales coriaceous to scarious, long-acuminate 

 from a broad base, dull shining brown ; scapes springing from the 

 midst of the persistent bases of last season's leaves, green, subrigid, 

 flexuose, subquadrangular, glabrous, sheath rather loose above 

 and passing into a weak point ; spike ellipsoidal to subglohose ; 

 bracts a dirty yellowish-brown with pale entire margin, coria- 

 ceous, lowermost oblong, then orbicular and very concave, shoi-tly 

 apiculate or apex often broken and refuse, 7-9-nerved ; lateral sepals 

 narrow, falcate, sides very unequal, keel very strong, greenish- 

 brown below, becoming crimson above, minutely hispidulous from 

 about the middle to the apex ; anthers (in bud) oblong and 

 orange-coloured, staminodes 2-armed forming a long narrow tuft 

 of hairs exceeding the anthers. 



Plants about 8 in. high, with a small fleshy bulb about ?r in. iu 

 diameter, leafless, peduncles 5^ to 8 in. long, sheaths about 2 in. 

 Bracts 2 to 3 lines long by fi to 2^ broad. Lateral sepals 2i 

 to 2A lines by i line or barely }r line when folded, the narrower 

 side less than half the width of the broader ; stamens (in bud) 

 1 line, anthers i line ; ovules numerous on 3 parietal placentas. 



Becalls X. imucxflora Willd. in external appearance of spike, 

 but differs widely in sepal characters. 



HuiLLA. — Here and there in marshy pastures with short herbage 

 near Nene by the road towards Lopollo. In fr. Oct. 1859. No. 2466. 



