1954] 



PLANTS COLLECTED IN NYASALAND 



421 



31, 1946, 17051. Cholo District: Cholo Mountain, rain-forest regrowths, twining 

 vine 3 m. high, flower petals yellow and red, calyx green, 1200 m., Sept. 22, 

 1946, 17737. Widely distributed through tropical Africa, also in the Mascarene 

 Islands, India, and Ceylon. 



Rhynchosia minima (L.) DC. Mem. Legum. 9: 363. 1825; Prodr. 2: 385. 1825; Bak. 

 f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 471. 1929. 

 Dolichos minimus L. Sp. PI. 726. 1753. 



Chikwawa District: Chikwawa, one example in Combretum woodland, perennial 

 herb, branches prostrate and ascending, flowers yellow streaked with red, 250 m., 

 Oct. 5, 1946, 17980. Widespread throughout the tropics of the New and Old 

 Worlds. 



The peduncles and rachides of the specimen examined are abnormally elon- 

 gated, otherwise it agrees well with true R. minima. Much of the African material 

 named minima must be considered distinct from the Linnaean species. 



Rhynchosia resinosa (Hochstr ex A. Rich.) Bak. in Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. 2: 218. 

 1871; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 480. 1929. 



Fagelia resinosa Hochst. ex A, Rich. Tent. Fl. Abyss. 1: 226. 1847. 



Kasungu District: Kasungu Hill, one example on rocky slopes, shrub 1 m. high, 

 loose, spreading, branchlets sometimes twining, calyx viscid, 1100 m., Aug. 28, 

 1946, 17454. Frequent in East Africa from S. Rhodesia northward to Abyssinia, 

 extending westward though N. Nigeria to French Guinea. 



Rhynchosia nyikensis Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 263. 1897; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 



481. 1929. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, shrubberies bordering rain-forest, vine 

 2-3 m. high, inflorescence viscid with yellow glandular hairs, flowers yellow 

 streaked with red, 1500 m., July 29, 1946, 17024. Nyasaland and S. Tanganyika. 



A shade form of this species with the leaves larger, thinner and less pubes- 

 cent than those of the type. The very large bracts, which usually give the plant 

 such a distinctive appearance, are early caducous, and almost absent from the 

 specimen examined. 



Rhynchosia clivorum S. Moore, Jour. Bot. 16: 131. 1878; Bak. f. Leg. Trop. Afr. 



482. 1929. 



Flemingia macrocalyx Bak. f. Trans. Linn. Soc. II. Bot. 4: 12. 1894. 

 Rhynchosia pycnantha Harms, Bot. Jahrb. 30: 332. 1901. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, amongst rocks in Brachystegia woodland, 

 shrub 1-1.5 m. high, flowers yellow, 1550 m., July 26, 1946, 16947. The Trans- 

 vaal and S. Rhodesia to Nyasaland and S. Tanganyika. 



Rhynchosia clivorum S. Moore var. caudata Meikle, var. nov. 



A typo differt foliis, caulibus, et pedunculis sparse villosis, foliis longe pe- 

 tiolatis, foliolis minus bullatis, racemis longe pedunculatis folia excedentibus, 

 inflorescentiae bracteis longioribus, conspicuis, brunneis, acuminatis. 



Mlanje District: Mlanje Mountain; Chambe Plateau, common in forest edges, 

 shrub 2-3 m. high, flower yellow, 2000 m., Julv 9, 1946, 16767 (TYPUS varietatis). 



Despite its distinct appearance, I am not satisfied that this specimen is spe- 

 cifically distinct from the variable R, clivorum; the sparse indumentum, long inter- 

 nodes, petioles, peduncles, and racemes all suggest growth in a shaded situation, 

 and it is possible that increased illumination might cause the plant to revert to 

 more normal R. clivorum. A fruiting specimen (}Vild 1457 in Herb. Kew.) from 

 Inyanga, S. Rhodesia, may belong here, though certain determination is not pos- 

 sible in the absence of flowers. The S. Rhodesian plant has mottled seeds, 



