Observations on South African Plants. 37 



inflorescence of M. angulatum, which is even more complicated. 

 This plant is a common weed in Grahamstown gardens. ' The seed- 

 ling of M. angulatum produces a richly branched axis in which the 

 leaves are decussate, but as soon as flowers are produced the 

 leaves instead of being opposite appear to be alternate with 

 divergence -§-. On the flowering branches we notice that the 

 flowers are lateral (Plate II, D, I, II, III) and without bracts. We 

 further see that every second leaf is opposite a flower (Plate II, D, ft, 

 &c), and that, as a rule, the alternate leaf bears two branches in its 

 axil (Plate II, D, a , &c), the upper one being more strongly developed 

 than the lower one. This latter we recognise as an accessory shoot, 

 while the more strongly developed one may be regarded as the 

 normal shoot of this leaf. The second leaf (Plate II, D, ft, ft', &c.) 

 bears in its axil a shoot in a similar state of development as the 

 accessory shoot of the first leaf, and we may, therefore, without 

 inquiring further at present, also regard it as an accessory shoot, 

 while the axis of its normal axillary shoot has, as in M. cordifolium, 

 placed itself into the prolongation of its parent axis and formed a 

 sympodium. We thus see that here also the flowers are really 

 terminal, and have only been thrown aside by the strong growth 

 of a lateral axis. That this is not mere theory can easily be seen 

 when the youngest parts of an inflorescence are examined. But 

 in any case the inflorescence must be considered a true cicinuus if 

 we leave the accessory shoots and the free lateral shoots out of 

 account. In a cicinuus we must find that the branches com- 

 posing it are produced alternately to the right and left of the main 

 axis. In Plate II, A, in which I have represented the ground 

 plan of part of the inflorescence of our plant, this will be clearly 

 seen to be the case. In this diagram I have called the lower 

 leaf of the two placed below each flower «, a ', «", &c, the 

 upper ones being marked ft, ft', ft", &c. The organs seated on 

 the sympodium, are drawn black throughout, organs on normal 

 "free" branches are outlined and those on accessory shoots are 

 indicated by dotted lines. The size and shape of the sepals give 

 us a ready means, even when they are full grown, to determine 

 the order in which they have been formed. It can easily be seen 

 that they are arranged in a spiral with a divergence of -§-. 

 Taking any of the flower's (I in Plate II, A) as a starting-point, and 

 looking at it by facing sepal No. 2 through the axis of the flower, 

 we find leaf ft on the right. This leaf has a shoot in its axil 

 baaring two leaves, a ' and /3', and terminating in flower II. Look- 

 ing now through the centre of this flower at its second sepal, we 

 find the next upper leaf, ft', to our left, and thus the sympodium 



