PLATE 367. 
CERATOTHECA TRILOBA, H. Mey (Bot. Mag. t. 6974). 
Natural Order, PEDALINEAE. 
A tall pubescent herb with the habit of a foxglove. Stem 5 feet high, erect, 
stout, herbaceous and rather suceulent, with short branches from the base, simple 
higher up, obtusely 4-angled, the angles rounded, the faces deeply grooved. 
Leaves polymorphous, lower long-petioled, from broadly ovateecordate or almost 
rounded to broadly triangular and 3-lobed, with the lateral lobes spreading, 
margins coarsely crenate, surfaces more or less pubescent; broadest leaves 8 
inches across the lobes; petiole 5 to 6 inches, stout, hairy; floral leaves narrowly 
ovate, much shorter than the flowers, but longer than the calyx. Flowers in oppo- 
site pairs, very shortly pedicelled, pedicels erect, with a minute imperfect flower 
at the base of each, consisting of a truncate 5-lobuled calyx, 5 roanded lobules 
representing the corolla and a minute 2-lobed stylode. Calyx erect, obscurely 
2-lipped, divided to the base into 5 narrowly lanceolate erect deciduous hairy 
sepals, half an inch long. Corolla 3 inches long, pilose; tube with a gibbous. 
decurved base, trumpet shaped at the tip, gradually expanding into the very 
oblique 5-lobed, sub-two-lipped limb, of which the 4 upper lobes are broadly 
shortly ovate and recurved, the fifth or lower is pendulous, oblong obtuse. 
Stamens inserted on the tube just above the gibbous base, filaments glabrous ; 
anthers linear-oblong, slightly hispid at the base. Disk lobed. Ovary evlindric, 
pubescent, top rounded; style slender with 2 short subulate spreading stigmatic 
arms. 
Habitat: Natat: Inanda, 1,800 feet alt, Wocd, 140. Common in the coast 
and midland districts; a variety with pure white flowers was also found at Inanda, 
but is apparently very rare. 
The above description is copied verbatim from the Botanical Magazine, where 
the plant was described by Sir J. D. Hooker; he also says as follows :— 
“A native of Natal, closely alied to the common cultivated Indian and 
Oriental Sesamum indicum, Linn, but a very much handsomer plant. Indeed 
Ceratotheca differs from the older genus in no important characters but the 2- 
horned capsule, and might well be regarded as a section of it. Ceratotheca itself 
has been subdivided into two genera, but, as has been pointed out m the ‘Genera 
Plantarum’ on imaginary grounds, for Sporledera, which was invented for C. 
trilobu, does not even form a section of Ceratotheca. C. triloba has been collected 
by many travellers, and over a wide tract of country, including Natal, the Trans- 
vaal, Bechuanaland, and Matabele country. ‘he Kew Garden specimens which 
were raised from seed sent by Mr. Wood from the Natal Botanical Gardens are 
very much taller and more luxuriant than the native ones; they were raised from 
seed that arrived in December, 1886, and flowered in September of the following 
year. 
Fig. 1, calyx; 2, base of corolla tube showing insertion of stamens; 3, ovary, 
disk, style and stigmas; 4, cross section of ovary ; 5, longitudinal section of same ; 
all enlarged 
