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



about 2 m. high, fruit black, 1200 m., Sept. 21, 1946, 17722. (? Abyssinia and 

 Somaliland,) Kenya and Tanganyika Territory, southwards to South Africa. 



Asparagus racemosus Willd. Sp. PI. 2: 152. 1799; Bak. in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. 

 Trop. Afr. 7: 434. 1898. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, one plant in open woodlands, herb 1.5 m. 

 high, stem solitary, erect, flowers white, fruit unripe, 1400 m., May 28, 1946, 

 16041, Widespread in tropical Africa, extending to the Transvaal, with a variety 

 in South Africa; the species also in tropical Asia. 



I am taking A. racemosus in a wide sense, including A. buchanani Bak. Kew 

 Bull. 1893: 211 (1893); in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 434 (1898). At present 

 I do not feel that A. racemosus and A. buchanani are specifically separable. 



Asparagus sp. nr. racemosus Willd. Sp. PI. 2: 152. 1799. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, occasional in exposed rocky situations, shrub 

 about 1.5 m. high, stem solitary, erect and slightly arched, fruit red, fleshy, glo- 

 bose, about 6-8 mm. in diameter, 1500 m., June 3, 1946, 16171. 



This equals Purves 66 (Herb. Kew.) collected in Dec. 1900 at 1830 m. on 

 Zomba Hill, said to be found on rocks and usually to have a long single stem 

 1.2-1.5 m. long. More material is wanted, including flowers. 



This plant is remarkable for the length (3-5 cm.) of its mature cladodes. It 

 rather resembles the little-known A. longicladus N.E. Br. Kew Bull. 1921: 298 

 (1921), from the Victoria Falls; but the Nyasaland plant has glabrous not pubes- 

 cent stems, and may perhaps differ in the inflorescence. 



Asparagus spp. 



Kota-kota District: Nchisi Mountain, occasional among rocks in Bracbystegia 

 woodland, shrub about 1 m. high, erect, native name (Chinyanja) sisilamanda, 

 1500 m., July 26, 1946, 16960. North Nyasa District: Nyika Plateau, common in 

 grassland shrubberies and on edges of montane forest, sterile, 2340 m., Aug. 19, 

 1946, 27337. 



In the absence of flowers I cannot certainly identify the above two numbers, 

 which are probably not conspecific. 



Kniphofia ensifolia Bak. Jour. Bot. 23: 278. 1885; in Thiselton-Dyer, Fl. Cap. 6: 

 ^280. 1896; Berger, Pflanzenreich 33(4 S8(J " 2 ^): 45. 1908. 

 Kniphofia tuckii Hort. Leichtl. ex Bak. Gard. Chron. III. 13: 68. 1893; Bak. in Thiselton- 

 Dyer, Fl. Cap. 6: 278. 1896; Berger, Pflanzenreich 33(4 M C«) ): 56# l908# 

 Kniphofia rivularis Berger, Pflanzenreich 33(4 w < 3 - a >): 55. 1908; R. A. Dyer, Fl. PI. S. 

 Afr. 22: pi 866. 1942. 



Zomba District: Zomba Plateau, common in open grassy situations on loamy 

 creek flats, herb 1.5-3 m. high, rhizome branched, leaves many, weak, glaucous, 

 V-shaped in cross-section, used by natives for tying material, the inflorescence 

 cylindric-conic, very showy, flowers red in bud, yellow when open, scape soli- 

 tary, erect, the lower two-thirds with withered bracts, fruit unripe, 1500 m., June 

 8, 1946, 16323. New to Nyasaland; previously known from Bechuanaland, the 

 Transvaal, and South Africa. 



In making these three species synonymous, I follow manuscript notes by Miss 

 E. A. Bruce in Herb. Kew. and her published note in Bothalia 6: 231 (1951). The 

 type-specimen of K. ensifolia is very poor indeed, but Mr. Brass* plant is a very 

 good fit for K. rivularis f except for the rather longer inflorescences up to 22 

 cm. long. 



