PHANEROGAMS— PROFESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR. 23 



leaves in Gay's specimen above referred to, I find in many of the flowers a 

 reduction in extent of the scarious margin of the bracteoles and increase in the 

 area of coloration, I have for the present considered the Socotran form as con- 

 specific with P. spicata. But I have given it a varietal designation. This, as 

 well as the identification of the last species, must be regarded as provisional. 

 Farther exploration of the regions around Socotra will, as Oliver remarks in a 

 note to the tropical African species, discover other forms, rendering more 

 precise diagnoses of the species possible. This Socotran plant, then, is diagnosed 

 thus : — 



P. spicata, Arn., var. capillaris, Balf. fil. in Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. xiii. (1883). 

 Tenuior pauciramosus ; foliis paucis filiformibus ; bracteolis siccis rufis niarginibus vix scariosis. 



Socotra. Near Galonsir and elsewhere. B.C.S. n. 211. Schweinf. n. 239. 

 Distrib.' Endemic. 



3. P. divaricata, Balf. fil. in Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. xi. (1882), 502. 



Annua glabra ramosissima erecta ; foliis submembranaceis apice setosis, radicalibus rosulatis 

 spathulatis, ramalibus longe oblanceolatis v. filiformibus ; stipulis acuminatis ; floribus 

 sessilibus in spicas imbricatas ad extremitates rliacbium longorum positas aggregatis ; 

 sepalis ovato-lanceolatis petalis capsulisque longioribus. 



Herba tenuis viridis omnino glabra annua ramosissima ramis divaricatis rectis et subgeniculatis. 

 Folia non distincte petiolata submembranacea et saepissime setoso-apiculata, radicalia 

 rosulata spathulata obtusa v. acuta f— 1 poll, longa \-\ poll, lata, ramulorum angusta 

 longe oblanceolata acutissima v. filiformia plurima ad nodum quemque fasciculata 1 poll, 

 longa. Slipitlcv minutae scariosae ovato-acuminatse. Flores sessiles in spicas 10-16-floras ad 

 apices rhachium 1-1 £ poll, longorum rectorum capillarium secundim congesti; bracteolae 

 subcarinatae nervo medio colorato lateribusque scariosis. Sepala ovato-lanceolata scariosa 

 subcarinata, medio nervo colorato, £ poll, longa petalis duplolongiora. Petala lanceolata 

 apice angustata dentata purpurea. Antherce parvae filamentis multo breviores. Stylus 

 ovario brevior. Capsula sepalis dimidio breviora sed petalis paullo longiora. 



Socotra. Not so common as the foregoing. Found in several localities, 

 often at considerable elevation. B.C.S. n. 684. Schweinf. n. 543. 



Distrib. Endemic. 



A very beautiful Statice-like annual. Its general facies is not unlike the 

 forms of P. spicata, Arn., on Socotra ; but its less robust habit, its foliage, and the 

 relative dimensions of the parts of the flower, distinguish it. 



4. P. caespitosa, Balf. fil. in Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. xi. (1882), 502. 



Perennis subcaespitosa glabra ; caulibus prostratis v. subterraneis ; foliis subcrassis anguste 

 spathulatis v. oblanceolatis ; stipulis fimbriatis ; floribus sessilibus in spicas paucifloras ad 

 apices rhachium longorum congestis ; sepalis ovato-acutis infra late scarioso-alatis ; petalis 

 sepalis subaequilongis et capsulis longioribus. 



Perennis pedalis. Caules lignosi si epigcei glauci cum baseis foliorum persistentibus 

 incrassatis vestiti ; ramuli annui recti v. nonnunquam anfractuosi tenues striati ex axillis 

 foliorum dense rosulatorum adscendentes. Folia basalia l-l£ poll, longa ^ poll, lata 



