﻿AFEICAN SPECIES OF LOBELIA § RHYNCHOPETALUM. 

 By Edmund Q. Baker, F.L.S. 

 (Plates 340, 341.) 



The Tropical African species of Lobelia may be easily divided 

 into two very distinct and readily distinguishable sections — the 

 first consisting of tall, stout, erect plants terminating in dense 

 spike-like racemes of rather large flowers, and the other of slender, 

 erect, procumbent or trailing herbs with axillary, or loosely race- 

 mose, small flowers. The plants described in the present paper 

 belong to the first of these sections. 



Fresenius (Flora, 1838, p. 603) describes an Abyssinian plant 

 under the name of Rhynchopetalum montanum, well known as one of 

 the most interesting plants of the highlands of that country. 

 A. Richard in 1847 {Tent. Abyss, ii. p. 9) reduced this to a section 

 of the genus Tupa, a genus founded by Don ( Gen. Syst. iii. p. 700), 

 and consisting entirely of Chilian and Peruvian plants. The 

 sectional characters given by Richard are, "Petala primum in 

 unum coalita mox nisi basi distincta." Bentham and Hooker 

 reduce both Tupa and Rhynchopetalum as sections of the genus 

 IMia, Tupa consisting entirely of Chilian plants (the Peruvian 

 - 



zilian, 3 African, 12 Indian, and 3 Oceanic plants. 



The genus Tylomium of Presl (Prod. Man. Lobel. p. 31), con- 

 riie section Tylomium of Lobelia, according to Bentham 

 and Hooker, and coming between the sections Tupa and Rhyncho- 

 sonsists of tall herbs, all of which inhabit the West Indies. 

 Engler and Prantl (Xaturlich. Pfimizenfam.) have a somewhat 



The section Rhynchopetalum is intermediate between 

 for our purpose, charac- 

 seu as toiiows :— HerbaB elatae, racemo (an spico) terminali 

 ltifloro bracteato. Antherse 3 majores vertice nudte, 2 inferiores 

 Darbatre vel vix barbatoe. 



The African species are Lobelia Rhynchopetalum Heinsl., L. 

 (rihrrroa Hemsl.. L. lWkenii Hems!., L. volummtris Hook, fil., 

 L. Tdrh'i Schwf. ; and the plants here for the first time described, 

 L. ( 'hvynriana and L. Taylnriana. These plants form a geographical 

 rather than a very natural section, there being considerable 

 diversity of character between its various members. L. Rhyncho- 

 petalum and L. Giberroa forming the Richardian section R/n/nrho- 

 petalum are closely allied, the petals ultimately splitting to the 

 base. L. columnar is is unlike any of the other African species, 

 having a narrow tubular corolla divided into narrow lobes about 

 half-way down. L. Deckenii, L. Greyoriana, and L. Taylorian,, are 

 more nearly related to each other, in their floral characters, than 

 to any others of the section, while the remaining species, L. Tclekei, 

 differs from the rest in the flowers, and in having very long narrow 

 ciliate bracts. 



Joubnal of Botany.— Vol. 32. [March, 1894.] f 



Tylomium and the E\ 



follows :— Herb* eL 



