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MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [Vol. 8, No. 3 



I 



ates on the Cameroon Mountain, and since there is no other morphological distinc- 

 tion, I prefer to treat /. atriceps in a wide sense. 



Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 329 (1807) var. pubescens Bak. in Oliv. 

 Fl. Trop. Afr. 2: 125. 1871. 

 Chikwawa District: Lower Mwanza River, sandy beaches of river, herb 50 cm. 

 high, greyish, flowers purple, 180 m., Oct. 4, 1946, 17972. Widespread in the 

 tropics. 



Tephrosia interrupta Hochst. & Steud. ex Chiov. in Pirotta, Fl. Eritrea, Ann. 1st. 

 Bot. Roma 8: 419, 420. 1908; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 195. 1926. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, sporadic in Brachystegia woodland, shrub 

 1-2 m. high, erect, sparsely branched, stem glaucous, leaves grey beneath, flow- 

 ers dark purple, 1400 m., July 24, 1946, 16899; one plant seen, in Brachystegia 

 woodland, shrub 3 m. high, flowers white tinged with purple, 1350 m., Aug. 1, 

 1946, 17078. Eritrea, Abyssinia, Kenya, Tanganyika Territory, and Nyasaland, 

 for which this is the first record. 



Tephrosia whyteana Bak. f. Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. II. 4: 9. 1894; Leg. Trop. Afr. 

 212. 1926. 



Mlanje District: Mlanje Mountain; Luchenya Plateau, common in rain-forest re- 

 growths, shrub 2-3 m. high, large, loosely branched, flowers purple, showy, I860 

 m., June 26, 1946, 16445, Endemic to Mlanje Mountain. 



Brass 16445 has the dark spreading hairs on the pedicels and calyces more 

 numerous than in the type, but is otherwise a good fit, and I have no doubt what- 

 ever that it is conspecific. 



Tephrosia aequilata Bak. in Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. 2: 113. 1871; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. 

 Afr. 212. 1926. 



Tephrosia nyasae Bak. f. Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. II. 4: 9. 1894; Leg. Trop. Afr. 212. 



1926. 



Tephrosia zombensis Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 257. 1897; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 213. 

 1926. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, frequent among rocks on an exposed summit, 

 shrub about 1 m. high, bushy, leaves silvery beneath, flowers dark purple, showy, 

 fruit immature, 1500 m., June 2, 1946, 16154. North Nyasa District: Nyika Pla- 

 teau, occasional in grassland bordering forest, shrub 60-80 cm. high, flowers 

 purple, 2350 m., Aug. 17, 1946, 17288; Nchena-chena Spur, abundant in grass- 

 lands, shrub 1 m. high, freely branched and more or less flat-topped, flowers pur- 

 ple, 1900 m., Aug. 20, 1946, 17361. Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika Territory, Nyasa- 

 land, S. Rhodesia, and the Transvaal. 



This is an exceedingly difficult complex. To my eye, the differences between 

 the three above species are insufficient to keep them up, although the plants vary 

 much in branching, indumentum, and size of leaves. 



Tephrosia mildbraedii Harms in Mildbr. Wiss. Ergebn. Deutsch. Zentr.-Afr.-Exp. 



2: 255. pi. 28. 1911; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 213. 1926. 



Tephrosia nyikensis Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 257. 1897; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 212. 

 1926; omn. pro parte, vide infra. 



North Nyasa District: Nyika Plateau; Nchena-chena Spur, in open grasslands, 

 apparently rare, shrub about. 1 m. high, branches few, erect, flowers purple, 1900 

 m., Aug. 20, 1946, 17352. Belgian Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika Territory, 

 Portuguese East Africa, and Nyasaland. 



Dr. A. Cronquist points out to me that the type of Tephrosia nyikensis is a 

 mixture of T. mildbraedii and T. congestiflora Harms, and that the latter name 

 should be reolaced bv T. nvikensis. 



