Plate 58. 

 MIMETES CAPITULATA. 



Cape Province. 



Peoteaceae. Tribe Peoteae. 

 Mimetes, Salisb.; Benth. el Hooh.f. Gen. Plant, vol. iii. p. 171 (partly). 



Mimetes capitulata, R. Br. in Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. x. p. 106; Fl. Cap. 



vol. v. sect. i. p. 644. 



The genus Mimetes constitutes a small group of South 

 African Proteaceae of nine species, all confined to the South- 

 Western area of the Cape Province. The genus was first 

 founded by Salisbury, but for over one hundred years after- 

 wards plants belonging to two other distinct genera were 

 placed under the name Mimetes. One of these, Orothamnus 

 Zeyheri, we figured on Plate 38 of this work. Like a great 

 many other groups of South African plants the species of 

 Mimetes have not been extensively collected, and we are 

 indebted to Mr. T. P. Stokoe, of Cape Town, who has 

 rediscovered so many interesting plants on the Hottentot 

 Hollands Mountains, for the opportunity of figuring the 

 present species. The examination of the fresh material has 

 enabled us to add a few descriptive details to the description 

 given in the Flora Capensis. 



Specimens are preserved in the National Herbarium, 

 Pretoria (Herb. No. 1457). 



Description : — Branches villous. Leaves 1*2-3 cm. long, 

 *5-l"5 cm. broad, lanceolate, lanceolate-ovate or ovate, 

 gradually narrowed to an obtuse callous apex, a little narrowed 

 at the base, entire, coriaceous, indistinctly 3-nerved, densely 

 adpressed-villous with silky hairs. Heads sessile, 2*5— 3"3 cm. 

 long, 10-16 flowered, in the axils of the leaves at the ends of 

 the branches. Involucral-bracts 5— 6-seriate, varying from 

 linear-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, more or less narrowed 

 at the base, membranous, pubescent outside, long-ciliate. 

 Receptacle long-setose. Perianth- segments free or nearly so, 

 25— 3 cm. long, linear-filiform, slightly widened for about 



