26 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[Vol. 9, No. 1 



The six gatherings of this plant in the Kew Herbarium are all in flower. C. B. 

 Clarke had not seen the fruit, and consequently he placed it, with doubt, in 

 Niacrorungia. The present gathering, which is in fruit, shows that it is a species 

 of Anisotes. The capsule is 30 mm. long with a stout stipe 4.5 mm. broad, and 

 normally contains 4 seeds. The placentae do not rise elastically on dehiscence. 



Anisotes sessiliflorus (Benth.) C. B. Clarke in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 5: 

 226. 1900, pro parte, quoad spec. leg. Meller. 



Himantochilus sessiliflorus Benth. in Benth. & Hook. Gen. PI. 2: 1117. 1876. 



Chikwawa District: Chikwawa, in dry bushy forest of high river-banks, shrub 

 4 m. high, deciduous, now almost leafless, flowers red, 200 m., Oct. 3, 1946, 

 17919. Nyasaland and possibly Tanganyika Territory. 



This gathering is from the type locality. Until now the species had not been 

 again collected in Nyasaland since C. J. Meller found it in 1861. Two poor speci- 

 mens from Tanganyika have doubtfully been referred to the species. The fruits 

 are still unknown. 



Hypoestes verticillaris (L.f.) R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 1: 474. 1810. 

 Justicia verticillaris L. f. Suppl. Plant. 85. 1781. 



Hypoestes mlanjensis C. B. Clarke in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 5: 250. 1900. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, frequent among grass on a rocky slope, per- 

 ennial herb, branches several, ascending, corolla white, the upper lip marked with 

 purple at the base, 1430 m., May 29, 1946, 16079. Kota-kota District: Nchisi 

 Mountain, frequent in Brachystegia woodland, herb 60-100 cm. high, flowers 

 white, lower lip blotched with purple, 1400 m., July 24, 1946, 16891; ibid., plen- 

 tiful in shrubberies bordering rain-forest, herb about 1 m. high, flowers cream- 

 coloured, upper lip mottled with purple, 1650 m., July 31, 1946, 17066. North 

 Nyasa District: Nyika Plateau, common in juniper forest undergrowth, herb 50-60 

 cm. high, generally sterile, flowers white blotched with purple, 2250 m., Aug. 11, 

 1946, 17158*. Chintembwe, frequent on rocky grasslands, perennial herb, flowers 

 white marked purple, 1400 m., Sept. 9, 1946, 17584. Widely spread in Africa from 

 Senegal to Abyssinia and the Cape Province of South Africa; also in Arabia. 



This is a very polymorphic species, which has defied all my attempts to split 

 it up into satisfactory subdivisions. It varies in the kind and degree of indumen- 

 tum on the leaves, stems and inflorescence, in the shape of the leaves, in the 

 length of the bracteoles, in the degree of fusion of the bracteoles and of the 

 calyx-segments, in the degree of congestion or elongation of the inflorescence, 

 as well as in the habit. Brass 17584 shows a precocious condition, when the 

 plant c6mes rapidly into flower after the grass and dead shoots have been burnt 

 off. These flowering shoots are only about 7 cm. long and have little or no leaf 

 development. It is probable that these plants would produce normal leafy flower- 

 ing shoots later in the season, but this has yet to be proved by observation and 

 experiment. 



Hypoestes aristata (Vahl) R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 1: 474. 1810. 

 Justicia aristata Vahl, Symb. Bot. 2: 2. 1791. 



Hypoestes insularis T. Anders. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 7: 49. 1864. 

 Hypoestes antennifera S. Moore, Jour. Bot. 18: 41. 1880. 

 Hypoestes staudtii Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 22: 122. 1895. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, plentiful in shrubberies bordering lower 

 montane forest, shrub 1-1.5 m. high, flowers pale purple, 1600 m., July 26, 1946, 

 16958. Cameroons and Fernando Po, east to Abyssinia and south to Cape Prov- 

 ince, South Africa. 



