1954] 



PLANTS COLLECTED IN NYASALAND 



457 



1.4.93, Davies D 951, Emson 502), Nyasaland (Buchanan 67, 1358, Purves 62, 

 Brass 16080, 17135), N. Rhodesia (Eyles 8345), and S. Rhodesia (Cecil 127, 211 \ 

 Eyles 7092) 



Galium bussei var. strictius Brenan, var. nov. 



Inflorescentiae quam in var. bussei plemmque laxiores et diffusiores, saepe 

 pauciflorae; pedicelli saepe longiores, erecti vel erecto-patentes, post anthesin 

 haud deflexi; caules et folia plus minusve pubescentia. 



The var. strictius is known from Nyasaland (Purves 59 [TYPUS varietatis in 

 Herb. Kew.:Zomba, alt. 885 m., Dec. 1900]) and N Rhodesia (Cruse 456 from 

 Mufulira). 



Galium bussei var. glabrostrictius Brenan, var. nov. 



Caules praeter nodos et folia glabra, aliter ut in var. strictio. 



The var. glabrostrictius is known from the Belgian Congo (Kassner 2292, 

 Robyns 1695), Tanganyika Territory (Michelmore 958, 1051), Nyasaland (Scott 

 s.n. :Blantyre, Wbyte s.n. : Zomba, 1896, Whyte s.n. : Mount Malosa, Adamson 146, 

 Cameron 11, Scott Elliot 8643) and N. Rhodesia (Carson s.n. : Fwambo, 1889, 

 Kassner 2264, mine-Redhead 3214, Milne-Redhead 4283 [TYPUS varietatis in 

 Herb. Kew.: Just N. of Matonchi Farm in Brachystegia woodland, Jan. 22, 1938; 

 fruits yellow-greenl). 



G. bussei is in addition variable in the length of its stem and internodes. In- 

 termediates occur between the four varieties defined above, and it is therefore 

 sometimes hard to name certain specimens. There are, in general, two inflores- 

 cence-types exemplified by var. bussei and var. strictius, each of which may be 

 hairy or glabrous. Judging from mixed gatherings, hairy and glabrous plants grow 

 together sometimes. All the specimens cited above, except EPusse 941, are in 

 Herb. Kew. G. bussei differs from G. mollicomum Bullock by the much longer in- 

 ternodes and leaves. 



Galium scabrellum K. Schum. Bot. Jahrb. 28: 113. 1899. 



North Nyasa District: Nyika Plateau, common in open grasslands, perennial 

 herb 30-50 cm. high, dry flowers and fruits from plants partly killed back by early 

 frosts, 2340 m., Aug. 19, 1946, 17333; ibid., Nchena-chena Spur, occasional in 

 open grasslands, herb, stems to 1 m. long, weak, spreading and scrambling, 2000 

 m., Aug. 20, 1946, 17349. Belgian Congo, Uganda, Tanganyika Territory, Nyasa- 

 land, and S. Rhodesia. 



Galium scabrellum seems, since the time of its publication, to have been com- 

 pletely neglected; one of the main reasons for this is that a strange error seems 

 to have been made about its type. K, Schumann based G, scabrellum on a single 

 specimen : "Nyasaland : zwischen dem See und dem Tanganjika-See auf dem 

 Nyika-Plateau zu 2000 und 2300 m (CARSSON)" [sic]. No number or date is 

 given. "Carsson" is clearly a misspelling of Alexander Carson's surname, and 

 his specimens are at Kew, and hence an isotype of G. scabrellum might be ex- 

 pected there too. However, none of Carson's specimens agrees at all either with 

 the description of G. scabrellum or the locality; and I can find no evidence that 

 Carson ever collected on the Nyika Plateau or indeed anywhere in Nyasaland. 

 On the other hand there is at Kew a specimen collected by Whyte from "Nyika 

 Plateaux. 6000-7000 ft. June 1896*'; the number 269 has been roughly pencilled 

 on the label. This specimen agrees well with the description of G. scabrellum; 

 and, as can be seen, with the type-locality, and is the only one at Kew »that 

 agrees in these two points. Whyte 's signature on the label is a shockingly il- 

 legible scrawl, only to be identified by a knowledge of his writing elsewhere. I 



