The large number of Central African plants collected by the 

 late Mr. John Buchanan, C.M.Gh, and which were alluded to in 

 my last report, are still here; they have all been poisoned, and I 

 am pleased to say that my friend Mr. Rudolf Schlechter, who 

 returns to Germany early in the year, has promised to have 

 them compared in the Herbarium at Berlin, where a good set 

 of these plants is to be found, so that I may be able to have 

 them included in the Herbarium before long ; fortunately Mr. 

 Buchanan sent ample material of most of them, or this could 

 not have been done. 



The first part of the illustrations and descriptions of the* 

 indigenous plants of the Colony, which has been undertaken by 

 Mr. M. S. Uvans and myself, is I regret to say not yet ready 

 for issue ; a long delay was caused in the early part of the year 

 by serious illness in the family of the artist, Mr. W. J. Hay- 

 garth, and as he has only the evenings to devote to the work, 

 progress is necessarily very slow, but we hope to have it ready 

 for issue during the early part of the year, and I am hoping to 

 make such arrangements as will enable us to get on with the 

 future parts much more expeditiously. 



Of the parcels of grasses sent for determination by Professor 

 Hackel through Professor Dr. Hans Schinz, no lists have as yet 

 been received, and until they arrive nothing can be done with 

 the specimens, but the draft dissections have been done by my 

 Assistant Miss Lauth, so that when the list is received we may 

 be able to figure them in a separate part if it should be thought 

 advisable to do so. 



In my report for 1897 it was stated that certain plants, nine 

 in number, all of which were thought to be new, would be in- 

 cluded in the first part of the illustrated work above mentioned, 

 and that specimens of these plants had been sent to Kew for 

 comparison, the result being that two of them were found to 

 have been already described. On further consideration it was 

 decided not to include any of them in the work, but send them 

 Home for publication, and afterwards to figure any that might 

 be thought to be of sufficient interest. The first decade was 

 published in the " Journal of Botany " for September 1897, and 

 consists of the following plants : — 



NEW NATAL PLANTS. 



Hibiscus saxatilis. Wood & Evans. 



Suffrnticose, erect, 1-2 feet high, sparingly branching, stem, 

 petioles, peduncles, involucre and calyx densely stellate hirsute. 

 Leaves varying from ovate to deeply 3-5 lobed, lobes acute, 



