﻿totally in consistence and shape from the leaves, and the difference 

 between bracts and leaves is sharply defined. 



Baron Yon der Decken figures Tupa Decken ii in his /.'- >:<■ n in 

 Ost Ajricu, taf v. Two flowers are given, 1 and 1*, and although 

 the author does not say so, I think 1* is without doubt a flower of 

 Lobelia Rhynchopetalum. 



The following note by Mr. H. H. Johnston is appended to the 

 specimen in the Kew Herbarium collected by him on Kilimanjaro : — 

 " Corolla vivid small blue. This plant grows to a height of 8 ft. 

 Up to the flower-head the spiky leaves point upward. From the 

 flower-head, which is like a large teazle, the bracts point down- 

 wards, meeting the up-pointing leaves, and forming a curious 

 cheveux de /rise; gathered at an altitude of 12,000 ft., and seen 

 growing up to 13,000 ft. alt." 



The following is a translation of a MS. note by Schimper 

 upon the specimens of L. Rhynchopetalum collected on his third 

 journey: — "This noticeable plant grows on all the high hills 

 of the south of Abyssinia (Semen is the most northerly point) 

 from 11-1300 Parisian ft. Here and there it grows by the sides of 

 the streams somewhat lower, but not below 10,000 ft. The seeds 

 which I had sown lower down did not come up. This plant likes 

 moory places and moderate moisture ; it occurs also in the smaller 

 alpine meadows, and will stand frost and ice. In the high regions 

 of its habitat hail is more frequent than rain ; snow falls but very 

 seldom. . . . Between 11,500 and 12,500 ft. this plant attains its 

 greatest size and is most abundant, and forms a kind of light wood. 

 It is considered poisonous, a fact which I cannot support; the 

 circumstance that the inhabitants of the Gibarra region become 

 sick may be accounted for by the thin atmosphere. The milk is 

 mildly astringent, and dilated with water is a good remedy in cases 

 of ophthalmia, but of this the Abyesinians are ignorant. The 

 woody stem is used by the highlanders for roofing, and also for fuel." 



Prof. F. O. Bower (Jmtm. Linn. Soe. xx. p. 440) carefully 

 describes the anatomy of the stem, which in some cases reaches a 

 diameter of 5 in. He states that, « not only in internal structure, 

 but also in external appearance, the old stem of Rhynchopetalum 

 resembles that of some Cyeads. This is especially true for the 

 lower portions of the old stem, where the increase of girth has been 

 accompanied by the formation of fissures in the outer tissues, so as 

 to obliterate the scars of the leaves." 



Lobelia Telekei Schwf. ex Engler, Hochgebirgsfiora, p. 409 

 (nomen); Schwf. in Von Hohnel's Rudolph See, p. 861c tab. 

 Caule erecto crasso intus cavo in racemum longum et simpbeem 

 producto, folds juxta basin rosulatis confertis sessilibus linearibus 

 cuspidatis utrinque villosis, racemo dense bracteato, bracteis anguste 

 linearibus margine ciliatis longissimis florem circiter decies super- 

 antibus, floribus breviter pedicellatis, calyce campanulato sepalis 

 anguste lanceolatis acuminatis tubo longioribus, petabs violaceis 

 versus apicem liberis, staminibus coalitis fere ad basin petala paullo 

 excedentibus. 



Hab. Mt. Kenia, Von Hdhnel; in open peat swamps at the 

 bottom of the vabeys, alt. 11,400 to nearly 13,000 ft,, J. W. Gregory \ 



