Plate 75. 

 ORNITHOGALUM Roodeae. 



Cape Province. 



Liliaceab. Tribe Scilleae. 

 Ornithogalum, Linn. ; Benth. et Hoolc. f. Gen. Plant, vol. hi. p. 815. 



Ornithogalum Roodeae, Phillips, sp. nov. Bulbus globosus, albus. - Folia 3, ad 

 26 cm. longa, basi 2*5 cm. lata, lanceolata, acuminata, glabra. Pedunculus 

 ad 25 cm. longus, glaber. Inflorescentia 4 cm. longa, circiter 6 cm. lata. 

 Bracteae l*4-2'5 cm. longae, ovato-lanceolatae, acuminatae, membranaceae. 

 Pedicelli l'l-2-5 cm. longi. Segmenta perianthii 1-2 cm. longa, 4 mm. 

 lata, oblongo-lanceolata, apice papillosa. Filamenta 8 mm. longa, basi 

 1*5 lata, lanceolata, acuminata. Ovarium 5 mm. longum, 2*5 mm. latum, 

 glabrum ; stylus 6 mm. longus ; stigma semiglobosum, papillosum. 



This handsome Ornithogalum was collected by Mr. E. Rood 

 at Van Rhynsdorp, and forwarded to the Division of Botany, 

 Pretoria. The perianth segments are a deep reddish-brown, 

 edged with white, and the flowers are extremely fragrant. 

 Specimens were sent to Kew, and the Director reports that 

 the plant had not been matched, the nearest affinity being 

 O. suaveolens, Jacq., and that it was evidently a new species. 

 This species exhibits a device for cross-pollination by the 

 movement of the style. As soon as the flower opens the style 

 bends downwards, and is thus in a position to receive pollen 

 from the abdomen of a visiting insect. As the flowers wither 

 the perianth segments close up, and the style becomes erect 

 and would then be self-pollinated if cross-pollination has not 

 taken place. 



Description : — Bulb 2*2 cm. long, 2'8 cm. in diameter, 

 globose, white. Leaves 3, up to 26 cm. long, 2'5 cm. 

 broad at the base, lanceolate (when opened flat), becoming 

 deeply channelled above, acuminate, clasping at the base, 

 glabrous. Peduncle up to 25 cm. long, greenish-brown, 

 glabrous. Infloresence about 14-flowered, more or less corym- 

 bose, 4 mm. long, about 6 cm. in diameter. Bracts 1*4- 

 2-5 cm. long, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate into a long fine 



