Dickondra.] xc. convolvulace.e (baker and rendle). « 65 



II. Parasitic plants with filiform leafless stems. 



Tribk VII. Cuscutese. — Characters of the section. 

 Only Tropical African genus ..... 28, Ctrscu.TA. 



1. DICHONDRA, Forst. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii. 879. 



Sepals subequal, oblong-spathulate, rather accrescent. Corolla 

 broadly cainpanulate, not longer than the calyx ; lobes 5, induplicate- 

 valvate. Stamens short, inserted in the corolla-tube ; filaments fili- 

 form ; anthers oblong. Ovary 2-lobed, each lobe 2-ovuled ; styles 2, 

 gynobasic, short, filiform ; stigmas capitate. Capsule 2-lobed ; lobes 

 subglobose, membranous, indehiscent, 1-seeded. Seed subglobose, 

 smooth ; cotyledons linear-oblong, plicate. — Creeping perennial herbs, 

 with slender stems. Leaves petioled, cordate-reniform. Flowers 

 minute, axillary, peduncled, single. 



Species 4-5, cosmopolitan, principally American. 



1. D. repens, Forst. Gen. 40, t. 20. A perennial herb with 

 slender trailing pubescent stems rooting from the nodes. Leaves reni- 

 form, £— 1 in. broad, more or less silky especially on the lower face, 

 long-petioled. Flowers axillary, solitary ; peduncles shorter than the 

 petiole. Calyx barely exceeding 1 lin. long ; sepals oblong to oblong- 

 spathulate, pilose on the back and edges. Corolla yellow, slightly 

 shorter than the calyx, deeply 5-fid ; lobes elliptic-oblong. Utricles of 

 fruit about 1 lin. broad ; seed brown, glabrous. — Choisy in DC. Prodr. 

 ix. 451 ; Hallier f. in Engl. Jahrb. xviii. 82, and in Ann. Istit. Bot. 

 Roma, vii. 223 ; Hiern in Cat. Afr. PL Welw. i. 723 (var. sericea, not of 

 Choisy) : Baker & Wright in Dyer, Fl. Cap. iv. ii. 83. 



Wile Land. Somaliland ? Riva, 1249. Uganda : Kavirondo, Scott-Elliot, 

 7062 ! Whijte ! between Eldama Ravine and Mau Plateau, 7000-8000 ft., Whyte ! 



Lower Guinea. Angola : Bumbo, Welwitsch, 626 ! 



Mozamb. Hist. German East Africa : Kilimanjaro; Marangu, Volkens, 686. 



Also in South Africa, Socotrn, Mascarene Islands, St. Helena, and widely spread 

 in Asia, Australia, and America. 



2. FALKIA, Linn. f. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii. 878. 



Sepals subequal, broad, joined at the base. Corolla small, broadly 

 funnel-shaped, plicate, 5-angled, slightly lobed. Stamens inserted low 

 down in the corolla-tube, not exserted ; filaments filiform ; anthers 

 oblong. Ovary 4-lobed, 4-ovuled; styles 2, gynobasic, filiform ; stigmas 

 capitate. Fruit of 4 membranous utricles. Seeds solitary, ovoid or 

 globose; testa crustaceous ; embryo plicate, with broad cotyledons. — 

 Prostrate perennial herbs with cordate-orbicular to oblong leaves and 

 small solitary peduncled axillary flowers. 



Species 3, all South African. 



1. F. oblonga, Bernh. var. minor, G. H. Wright in Dyer. Fl. Cap. 

 iv. ii. 82. Rootstock horizontal, sending out short few-leaved branches 

 vol. iv. — sec. 2 f 



