276 OBSERVATIONS ON PLANTS 



939, Be Cand. prodr. \, p. 240), a supposed variety of 

 which was found both in the neighbourhood of Tripoli and 

 in Soudan, belongs to another subdivision of the genus, 

 equally natural, and readily distinguishable. The species 

 of this subdivision are included in M. De CandoUe's second 

 section of Cleome, but are there associated with many other 

 plants, to which they have very little affinity. 



All the species of Cleome Siliquaria are indigenous to 

 North Africa and Middle Asia, except violacea, which is a 

 native of Portugal. Cleome deflexa of M. De Candolle 

 {prodr. 1, p. 240), founded on specimens in Mr. Lambert's 

 herbarium, which were sent by Don Joseph Pavon as 

 belonging to Peru, seems to present a remarkable exception 

 to this geographical distribution of the section. But on 

 examining these specimens I find them absolutely iden- 

 223] tical with some states of violacea. I think it probable, 

 therefore, either that they are erroneously stated to have 

 come from Peru, or that this species may have been there 

 introduced from European seeds. 



Cadaba farinosa [ForsJc. Arab. p. 68, De Cand. prodr. 

 1, p. 244) is in the herbarium from Bornou. The specimen 

 is pentandrous, and in other respects agrees with all those 

 which I have seen from Senegal, and with Stroemia farinosa 

 {Ante, p. 94) of my catalogue of Abyssinian plants, collected 

 by Mr. Salt, and published in his travels. M. De Candolle, 

 who had an opportunity of examining this Abyssinian plant, 

 refers it to his C. dubia, a species established on specimens 

 found in Senegal, and said to differ from farinosa, shghtly 

 in the form of the leaves and in being tetrandous. Of the 

 plant from Abyssinia I have seen only two expanded flowers, 

 one of which is decidedly pentandrous, the other apparen tly te- 

 trandrous. Mr. Salt, however, from an examination of recent 

 specimens, states it to be pentandrous. It is probably, there- 

 fore, not different from C. farinosa of Forskal, whose specimens 

 M. De Candolle has not seen. And as the form of the leaves 

 is variable in the specimens from Senegal, and not ellipti- 

 cal, but between oval and oblong, in those of Abyssinia, 

 C. dubia is probably identical with, or a variety merely of, 

 farinosa, as M. De Candolle himself seems to suspect. 



