86 MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [Vol. 9, No. 1 



I commend the refinding of this plant to any naturalists who may visit Mlanje 

 Mountain. The lax spike of spectacular white flowers with long slender corolla- 

 tubes broadening into a funnel-shaped limb 4 cm. long should make this plant 

 hard to overlook. 



An unnamed specimen at Kew, Adamson 361, also from Mlanje Mountain, is 

 the same as Brass 16669. 



HYPOXIDACEAE 



Hypoxis nyasica Bak. Kew Bull. 1897: 284. 1897; in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. 

 Afr. 7: 380. 1898; Nel, Bot. Jahrb. 51: 318. 1914. 

 Cholo District: Cholo; Cholo Mountain, in Brachystegia woodlands, herb, 

 flowers yellow, native name (Chinyanja) chinganana, 840 m., Sept. 29, 1946, 

 17860. Nyasaland and ? Portuguese East Africa. 



Hypoxis ? canaliculata Bak. Trans. Linn. Soc. II. Bot. 1: 265. 1878; in Thiselton- 

 Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 379. 1878; Nel, Bot. Jahrb. 51: 324. 1914; Norlindh, 

 Bot. Notiser 1937: 166. 1937. 

 Kota-kota District: Chenga Hill, sporadic in low open Brachystegia woodland, 

 perennial herb, flowers yellow, 1600 m., Sept. 9, 1946, 17598. 



H. canaliculata is known from N. and S. Rhodesia and Angola. If 17598 is 

 correctly named (mature foliage is wanted for certainty) then it is new to 

 Nyasaland. 



VELLOZIACEAE 



Vellozia splendens Rendle, Trans. Linn. Soc. II. Bot. 4: 49. pi. 8. 1894; Greves, 

 Jour. Bot. 59: 283. 1921. 



Vellozia kirkii Hemsl. Bot. Mag. pi. 7962. 1904; Greves, Jour. Bot. 59: 283. 1921. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, common in crevices of exposed dry rocky 

 summit; shrub to 2 m. high, freely branched from a short erect stem, soft fibrous 

 stem used for scouring-brushes by natives, leaves drooping, fruit remains only, 

 apparently a capsule, native name (Chinyanja) cheyo, 1820 m., May 31, 1946, 

 16144. Mlanje District: Mlanje Mountain; Luchenya Plateau, abundant on rocks 

 and on shallow rocky soil in grasslands from about 2000 to 2300 m., tree or shrub 

 1-5 m. high, stems thickly coated with fibrous roots, the whole often 30 cm. thick 

 near base, 2150 m., July 11, 1946, 16796. Endemic to Nyasaland. 



PHILESIACEAE 



Behnia reticulata (Thunb.) Didr. Viddensk. Meddel. Kjoben. 1854: 183. 1854; Bak. 

 in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Cap. 6: 274. 1896. 

 Ruscus reticulatus Thunb. Prodr. PI. Cap. 13. 1794. 



Mlanje District: Likubula-Tuchila Divide, primary forest undergrowth, vine 

 3 m. high, fruit purplish, 2000 m., July 9, 1946, 16763. Portuguese East Africa, 

 Nyasaland (for which this is the first record), S. Pvhodesia, and southwards to 

 South Africa. 



Fruiting specimens in the herbarium are usually described as having cream 

 or yellowish fruits. The colour may vary, a possibility for observers of the living 

 plant to bear in mind. 



AGAVACEAE 



Dracaena ? fragrans (L.) Ker-Gawl. Bot. Mag. pi 1081. 1808. 

 Aletris fragrans L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 456. 1762. 



