ee ee ER eye 
Xyris. | XYRIDEZ (Brown), 7 
Veg. 1.551; Kunth, Enum. iv. 18; Nilss. in Ofvers. Vet. Akad. 
Férhandl. Stockh. 1891, 153. X. nitida, Willd. ex Dietr. Sp. 
PU. ii. $73. 
.. Rea@ion: Natal; Durban, Rehmann, 8560! 
Also in Tropical Africa and Madagascar 
Thisis a pian different plant Seo that described by Poiret and nearly all 
subsequent authors as X. anceps. Poi b redhiaribind Lamark’s tig t dep was 
from Madagascar) as X. platycaulis, gent ig wrongly identified an Indian species 
(X. complanata, R. Br., syn. X. Walkeri, Wight) with x ee pit 
8. X. filiformis (Lam. Tabl. Encycl. i. 132); leaves 1-5 in. long, 
4-1 line broad, laterally flattened, linear, obtuse or acute, spirally 
twisted or straight, glabrous, with she aths ere in. long, concolorous 
or pa ; peduncular sheath i—2 in. long, leafless and mucronate, or 
with a aa point 1—} in. long; peduncle 11-12 in. long, very 
spike 2 lin. long, lanceolate, acute when in flower, 1-3-flowered ; 
bracts few, 11-2 lin. long, 3—1 line broad, oblong or elliptie-oblong, 
at-shaped or convolute, apparently ‘acute, but obtuse when 
flattened out, entire, not ciliate, 3-nerved, membranous, very pale 
brownish or straw-coloured ; lateral sepals about 2 lin. long, rather 
more than 1 line broad, ‘straight, laneeolate, acute, keeled; keel 
neither winged nor ciliate, agers dein straw-coloured ; corolle 
yellow, only seen in very young bud; capsule 13—13 lin. long, 2 2 line 
diam., oblong, obtuse, apiculate, trigonous a ‘triangular 1) in cross 
section, oir. Eneyel. viii. ; Vahl, Enum. ii. 207; Kunth 
um, iv. 24, X,. straminea, Nilss. in Ofvers. Vet. Akad. Firhand. 
Stockh. 1891, 153; and in Svensk. Vet. Akad. Handl. xxiv. no. 14 
40. 
KALAHARI REGION: ugrame Apies River, Burke! 
Also in Tropical Afric 
I have “a — ps soe this species in very young wan either in the Tropic 
or South Afri specim and have fuiled to discover the nature of th: 
daimeti : ay sls ig: in ag state are very small and ovate 
Orver CXL. COMMELINACEZ, A. Rich. 
(By C. B. CLARKE.) 
Flowers small, bisexual, or the upper part of the cyme male. Sepals 
3; one (dorsal) ‘entirely without, hooded. Petals 3, blue, yellow, or 
white, free or claws united into a linear tube in Cyanotis “ge 
Coleotrype. Stamens 6, whereof 1-4 are one sterile, reduced t 
staminodes or wanting ; filaments often bearded by beaded bai 
Ovary free, 3- (sometimes 2-) celled; style simple ; ovules one 
several in each cell, attached to the inner angle. Sear s daaliatiel 
pike small, shortly eylindrieal, far from the hilum, loose in the 
albumen ; radicle close to the foramen covered externally 
oury 
; by the embryostega. 
Herbs ; leaves alternate, ovate lanceolate or linear ; bases sheathing. 
