F. N. "WILLIAMS. FLOHULA GAMBICA. 91 



Tuber 7-9 cm. in diam., insigne, radicibus longis evidenter albis pluribus 

 crebris gracilibiis. Foliiim 6 dem., basi 18 mm. cfassum; peliolus ö dem. 

 vel ultra, basi 12-18 mm. erassus, viridis nee rcarmoratus; lamimi nitida 

 laete virens, segmenlis lerminaiibus 9-11 em. long., 3-4 em. lat., reliquis 

 minoribus, omnibus euspidatis, cuspide 12 mm. long., basi eonfluenlibus, 

 nervis colleclivis a margine remotis. Pedunculus 3-472 dem., basi 12 mm. 

 erassus, strictus graeilis pallide virescenti-brunneus basin versus loratim 

 brunneo-centonatus teres. Spatha eylindraeea basi paullulum arapliata, 

 exlus glaucescens, sursum grisello-carnea, parle inferiore orobilino-mar- 

 morata, intus albida, in limbum Immaculata vel parce viridulo- maculata, 

 basi purpurea, tubo 3-5 cm. ; limbus 4-7 cm., ovalus aeuminalus. Appendix 

 8-14 cm. long., 5-10 mm. erassus, cylindrieus purpuraseenti-brunneus. 

 Spiea maseula 18-30 mm. ; anthera? dense aggregalse oblongse quadratse 

 livide flavge, poris duobus. Spica feminea 6-8 mm., viridis; Ovaria sub- 

 globosa ad apices compressa, seriebus 4-5 aggrega la; stigmate subsessili 

 diseoideo, Fruetus eoecinei majusculi. 



Tbis description is drawn up from spécimens grown in Kew Gardens 

 (1892) and in Ihe Glasnevin Botanic Garden (1894), omitting several 

 eharacters given by the two authors eited. whieh are generic. In a box of 

 plants sent in 1885 from Bathurst, by Mr. J. R. Maxwell, Curator al Ihe 

 Botanic Station, to the Natural History Museum, were fruits and tubers of 

 this plant. As the lubers appeared alive they were entrusted lo the care 

 of Mr. Veitch, who cultivated them suecessfully. Several threw up leaves, 

 and in June 1886 one produced flowers, the leaves not appearing tili after 

 the flower-spike had withered. The plant did not match any other speeies, 

 and is cerlainly one of the most insignificant of the genus; and emits no 

 odor when in flower. It was found in St. Mary's Island ; and the plant has 

 not been coUected elsewhere si nee, unless Dr. Lester's spécimens from 

 the mouth of the R. Gambia in 1891 (no definite localily given) came from 

 elsewhere, as the plant is not ineluded in the Kew Bulletin lisl. F TA. 

 VIII. 153. 



Farn. 4. PALMACEM 



29. Phœnix dactylifera L. — St. Mary's Island (Bowdich). 



30. HyphseneThebaïcaMart. — Banksof the R. Gambia (I^M^e/(/). 

 F T A. VIII. 120. Known as the Doum Palm. Whitfleld's two spécimens are 

 dated 1842 and 1846. 



31. Borassus flabellifer var, œthiopum (Mart. sp.) Warb, in 

 Engl. Pflanz. Ost. Afr. B. 20, C. 130. — F TA. VIII. 118 (Adanson, herb, 

 at Cette in dept. of Hérault), St. Mary's Island (Bowdich). 



32. Raphia vinifera Beauv. — The wine-palm, Rhun palm, or 



Oesterr. Bot. Wochenb. of 1857. Engler keeps up Ihe genus on accouiit of two 

 alleged distinctive eharacters, — the albuminous seeds, which, however is not 

 the case, as the seeds are exalbuininous, as in all Ihe other Amorphophallese, and 

 the direction of Ihe allachrnent of Ihe funicle, a character which is too trivial, 

 consi'dering that in habit, in floral structure, and in other essential eharacters, 

 the speeies adduced to Hydrosvie are not lo be dislinguished collectively from 

 those under Amorphophalkis. 



