1953] 



PLANTS COLLECTED IN NYAS ALAND 



247 



I cannot help suspecting that C. kapiriensis may be a distinct species freely 

 crossing with C. aculeata; at any rate it must be a very marked geographical vari- 

 ant. At present, however, I feel that the correct course is to follow Verdoorn and 

 to include them under C. aculeata interpreted in a wide sense. I should add that I 

 can find nothing but size — nothing qualitative in fact — to separate them. 



Crotalaria laburnifolia L. Sp. PI. 715. 1753; Bak. f. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 42: 318. 

 1914; Leg. Trop. Afr. 38. 1926; Verdoorn, Bothalia 2: 390. 1928. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, one example in rain-forest second-growth, 

 herb 2 m. high, leaves thin, dull above, greyish beneath, flowers with keel red- 

 dish-brown, wings yellow, and standard yellow inside, brownish outside, fruit 

 blackish-brown, 1500 m., June 7, 1946, 16306. East Africa, from the Anglo-Egyp- 

 tian Sudan southwards to the Transvaal; also in tropical Asia. 



Brass 16306 has the leaflets rather larger and more acute than usual. 



Crotalaria lachnocarpoides Engl. Hochgebirgsfl. Trop. Afr. (Abh. Preuss. Akad. 

 Berl. 1891:) 246. 1892; Bak. f. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 42: 323. 1914; Leg. 

 Trop. Afr. 39. 1926. 

 Crotalaria valida Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 253. 1897. 



Crotalaria lachnocarpoides Engl, subsp. valida (Bak.) Bak. f. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 

 42: 323. 1914. 



Crotalaria lachnocarpoides Engl. var. valida (Bak.) Verdoorn, Bothalia 2: 395. 1928. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, one plant on an open riverbank, woody herb 

 90 cm. high, erect, with many branches forming a terminal crown, flowers not 

 seen, 1500 m., June 7, 1946, 16311. Abyssinia and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 

 southwards to Nyasaland and S. Rhodesia. 



I cannot maintain Crotalaria valida as even varietally distinct from C. lach- 

 nocarpoides. 



Crotalaria caespitosa Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 252. 1897; Bak. f. Jour. Linn. Soc. 

 Bot. 42: 335. 1914; Leg. Trop. Afr. 41. 1926; Verdoorn, Bothalia 2: 412. 

 1928. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, confined to hard bare soil in Brachystegia 

 wood, perennial herb, stems springing from a thick woody taproot, calyx and lower 

 surface of standard red, 1400 m., Aug. 5, 1946, 17138. Confined to Nyasaland. 



Crotalaria virgulata Klotzsch in Peters, Reise Mossamb. Bot. 56. 1862; Bak. f. 

 Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 42: 337. 1914; Leg. Trop. Afr. 42. 1926; Verdoorn, 

 Bothalia 2: 410. 1928. 

 Blantyre District: Blantyre, in old gardens, herb up to 1 m. high, greyish, 

 flowers yellow and brown, 1100 m., June 18, 1946, 16363. Portuguese East Africa, 

 Nyasaland, S. Rhodesia, Bechuanaiand, and the Transvaal. 



It seems barely possible to keep Crotalaria forbesii Bak. (in Oliv. Fl. Trop. 

 Afr. 2: 18. 1871) and C. longistyla Bak. f. (Jour. Bot. 58: 75. 1920) distinct from 

 C. virgulata. 



Crotalaria mucronata Desv. Jour. Bot. Desv. II. 3: 76. 1814; Senn, Rhodora 41: 

 355. 1939. 



Crotalaria striata DC. Prodr. 2: 131. 1825; Bak. f. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 42: 345. 1914; 

 Leg. Trop. Afr. 43. 1926; Verdoorn, Bothalia 2: 399. 1928. 



Chikwawa District: Lower Mwanza River, one example on a sandy beach, herb 

 1 m. high, flowers yellow, pods inflated, 180 m., Oct. 6, 1946, 18021. Widely dis- 

 tributed in the tropics. 



Crotalaria cleomifolia Welw. ex Bak. in Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. 2: 43. 1871. Bak. f. 

 Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 42: 350. 1914; Leg. Trop. Afr. 45. 1926; Verdoorn, 

 Bothalia 2: 398. 1928. 



