■74 XIV, COMMELINACEyE. [PolUa 



XIV. COMMELINAOE.E. 



1. POLLIA Thunb. ; Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. p. 846. 



1. P. Mannii C. B. Clarke in DO. Mon. Phan. iii. p. 124 

 (1881) ; Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. v. p. 421. 



Cazex(;o — An erect herb, 2 to .3 ft. high. Flowers not seen ; fruit a 

 deep shining metallic blue. Lofty woods of Muxafdo, but not plentiful. 

 Ripe fr. middle of June 1855. No. 6604 (in part). 



2. P. condensata C. B. Clarke, I.e. ; Durand & Schinz, I.e. 



Cazengo. — An erect herb 2 to 3 ft. high. Flowers not seen ; fruit a 

 deep shining metallic blue. Lofty woods of Muxaulo, but not plentiful. 

 In ripe fr. middle of June 1855. No. 6604 (in part). 



2. PALISOTA Reichenb.; Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. p. 847. 

 1. P. Schweinfurthii C. B. Clarke in DC. Mon. Phan. iii. p. 132 



(1881); Durand t Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. v. p. 422. 



Island of St. Thomas. — A perennial almost frutescent herb, 4 to 

 6 ft. high ; stem fleshy, branched, leafy chiefly at the top ; flowers 

 white ; berries scarlet, as big as a pea, soft, slightly succulent, 

 indehiscent, each of the three loculi 2-, 3-, more rarely 4-seeded. 

 Seeds thick, peltate, many furrowed. Plentiful in the more lofty thick 

 woods of Fazenda do Monte Gaffe. In fl. and fr. Dec. 1860. No. 6602. 

 At about 2000 ft. high, in the more lofty primitive woods. Dec. and 

 Jan. 1861. Coll. Cakp. 1043. 



GoLUNGO Alto.— A perennial herb, stem 3 to 7, more rarely 9 ft., 

 succulent, leaves arranged in a palmiform way at the top of the stem. 

 Flowers dull violet. Berries pea-like, scarlet. On banks of streams 

 in the deep shade of primitive woods, always growing with Scitamineae 

 and Piperaceae. In fl. Dec. 1855 ; in fr. Feb. 1856. Quilombo- 

 Quiacatubia Feb. 1855. No. 6599. No. 6603i (no notes). A fine plant ; 

 stem 6 to 9 ft., or sometimes higher, H in. thick at the base, solid, 

 juicy. Berries .scarlet, 3- to 6-seeded, as big as a pea. Mata de 

 Quisuculo, 28 April 1856, and June 1857. Coll. Cakp. 126. 



PuxGo Andoxgo. — Flowers white, otherwise does not seem different 

 from the species collected in Golungo Alto. Shady valleys between the 

 higher rocks. In fl. Jan. 1857. No. 6603. 



3. COMMELINA L. ; Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. iii. p. 847. 

 1. C. nudiflora L. Sp. PI. i. p. 41 (1753); C. B. Clarke in DC. 



Mon. Phan. iii. p. 144 (1881) ; Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. 

 V. p. 427. 



Congo. — Bright green, sublucent, with deep blue flowers, and pro- 

 • cumbent stems rooting freely at the nodes. By streams between 

 Ambriz and Mosul and at Quilombo de Mosul. End of Nov. 1853. 

 No. 6623. 



IcoLO E Bengo. — An annual decumbent herb with ascending 

 branches ; flowers rather small, blue. Sheaths smooth. Wet places 

 by the river Bengo near S Antonio. In fl. Dec. 1S53. No. 6617. 

 An annual or in damp places sometimes perennial herb, with prostrate 

 elongated stems, often rooting at the nodes, sometimes ascending-erect 

 among herbs or shrubs. Flowers plentiful, deep dark blue or sky-blue. 



