8 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[Vol. 9, No. 1 



Linnean type-specimen of Convolvulus reptans is given on -the plate accompany- 

 ing Merrill's paper. 



Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet, Hort. Brit. 287. 1827; van Ooststroom, Blumea 3: 

 542. 1940. 



Convolvulus cairicus L. Syst. ed. 10. 922. 1759. 



Ipomoea palmata Forsk. Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 43. 1775; Bale. & Rendle in Thiselton- 

 Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 4 2 : 178. 1905. 



Kota-kota District: Kota-kota, in swampy grassland, shrub, flowers purple- 

 red, 460 m., Aug. 1946. Vernay 17404*. Benga, west shore of Lake Nyasa, plenti- 

 ful on sandy beaches, vine 2-3 m., climbing or creeping on sand, flowers purple, 

 throats darker purple, 470 m., Sept. 2, 1946, 17495. Tropics of Old and New 

 Worlds, extending to South Africa. 



Ipomoea shirambensis Bak. Kew Bull. 1894: 72. 1894; Bak. & Rendle in 

 Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 4 2 : 186. 1905. 

 Chikwawa District: Chikwawa, plentiful in dry brushy forest of river-banks, 

 vine 3-6 m. high, flowers purplish-white with purple centre, 200 m., Oct. 5, 1946, 

 17992. Tanganyika Territory, Portuguese East Africa, Nyasaland, N. and S. 

 Rhodesia. 



The type-specimen of /. shirambensis is leafless, but the leaves are normally 

 more or less pubescent. Brass 17992 is a form with glabrous leaves. /. shiramben- 

 sis was placed by Baker and Rendle in § Eriospermum f but its closest relative 

 is /. shupangensis Bak. Kew Bull. 1894: 73 (1894), placed by Baker and Rendle 

 in § Leiocalyx. I. shirambensis differs from /. shupangensis by the much shorter 

 peduncles, the smaller not white flowers, and the less verrucose twigs. 



Ipomoea riparia G.Don, Gen. Syst. 4: 265. 1838. 



Ipomoea lilacina Bl. Bijdr. Ned. Ind. 13: 716. 1825; Bak. & Rendle in Thiselton-Dyer, 

 Fl. Trop. Afr. 4 2 : 187. 190 5; non /. lilacina Schrank, Denkschr. Bot. Ges. 

 Regensb. 2: 31. 1822. 



Kota-kota District: Benga, west shore of Lake Nyasa, climbing on vegetation 

 of sandy lake shore, vine 2 m., flowers pink, showy, 470 m., Sept. 2, 1946, 

 17483. Widespread in tropical Africa; also in tropical Asia and America, and the 

 Mascarene Islands. 



Merremia tridentata (L.) Hall. f. Bot. Jahrb. 16: 552 (1893) 42 subsp. angustifolia 



(Jacq.) van Ooststr, Blumea 3: 323. 1939. 

 Ipomoea angustifolia Jacq. Ic. Rar. 2: 10. pi. 317. 1788-1789. 



Merremia angustifolia (Jacq.) Hall. f. Bot. Jahrb. 18: 117. 1893; Bak. & Rendle in 

 Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 4 2 : 111. 1905. 



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

 stems 1.5 m. long, flowers white, 180 m., Oct. 4, 1946, 17965. Chikwawa, one 

 specimen in dry woodland, perennial herb 40 cm. high, flowers pale yellow, 

 300 m., Oct. 5, 1946, 17991.* The species in its typical form occurs in tropical 

 Asia and Africa, where it is rare; subsp. angustifolia is widespread in tropical 

 and South Africa; a third subspecies reaches tropical Australia. 



In dealing with this species I follow the taxonomic views of van Ooststroom 

 (I.e.) 



Astrochlaena malvacea (Klotzsch) Hall. f. Bot. Jahrb. 18: 121. 1893; Bak. & 

 Rendle in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 4 2 : 121. 1905. 



Breweria malvacea Klotzsch in Peters, Reise Mossamb. Bot. 245. pi. 37. 1861. 



Kota-kota District: Chia area, on sandy ridges of dry lake-plain woodlands, 

 shrub 60-100 cm. high, flowers purple, 480 m., Sept. 6, 1946, 17547; ibid., on 



Convolvulus iridentatus L. Sp. PI. 157. 1753. 



