92 BUlJ-KlllN DK i/hKRBIKH HOISSIKK (2'"« SKR.). 1907 



bamboo palm, flourishes everywhere in Ihe Gambia. Dense Ihickels of 

 these palms Une Ihe swamps, low lands, and creeks. Here, as in many 

 p;irls of West Africa, the area occupied by Raphia forests is considérable. 

 From its leaves hals, cloth. and cordage are made; from ils crown of 

 young unopened leaves palm wine of excellent qualily ; from Ihe siiimps 

 of Ihe leaf-sLalks native fishing lines are made. The fibre produced and ex- 

 tracted by a process of soaking and scraping is known in the European 

 market as « African Bass ». From the trunk an intoxicating beverage of a 

 whitish color is exlracted, somewhat of the character of arrack: it is not 

 quite so sweet as ordinary palm wine, but is more vinous, and contains a 

 larger percentge of alcohol. (Bowdich ; Lester). In Kew Museum is a swish 

 made from Ihe raidribs of the leaflels (W. Haydon). 



33. Calamus Heudeloti Beccari. — F TA. YIII. 110 (Ingram). 



34. Cocos nucifera L. — F T A. YIII. 127 (Brunner). The coco-nut 

 palm was probably introduced on the west coast of Africa by the Portu- 

 guese about 1530. A. de Candolle believes it may have come originally 

 from the Malayan Archipelago. 



SuBCLASs. EUGHLAMYDEtE 



Fam. 5. COMMELINACE^ 



35. Commelina Gambias G. B. Clai-ke. Commelinaceœ, in Cand. 

 2"s, Monogr. Phan. III. 146 (1881); Durand et Schinz, Consp. fl. Afr. Y. 

 425; C. B. Clarke in Fl. Trop. Afr. Ylll. 38 (1901). — (subg. Didymoon, 

 secl. Eu-commelina). Erecta, basi repens. Gaules 4-5 dem., ramosi. Folia 

 5-8 cm. long., 6-8 mm. lat., linearia, utrinque hirsuta. Spathse l-l'/scm., 

 breviter pedunculatse, apices versus ramulorum quasi-racemosee, compli- 

 catse falcatse vix acuminatae, basi rhomboidese, marginibus brevissime 

 adnatis, lineis viridibus vel purpurascenlibus longiludinaliler strialse. 

 Racemi inferioris stipis 5 mm., superioris flores 3-4. Flores parvi, cyaneo- 

 cœrulei. Capsula levis chartacea, miox trivalvis, apice mucronata. Semina 

 5, pulchre reticulala, loculorum venlralium 1 V2-2 mm., sphseroidea, vix 

 quam loculi dorsalis minora, marginibus areolarum elevalis albidis, areo- 

 lis ipsis concavis depressis minute farinosis; ovulorum aulem 1-4 inler- 

 dum abortientibus. 



Type-specimens in Herb. Kew. (Ingram). 



36. Commelina nudiflora var. Werneana (Hassk. sp.). Common 

 name, High-grass: seen everywhere (Lester, n. 10 N). St. Mary's Island 

 (liowdicli), as « Commelina communis ». 



Fam. 6. LILIACEjE 

 37. Urginea micrantha Solms. — (Ozanne, n. 35). 



