A CONTRIBUTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRANSVAAL 
PASSIFLORACEAE. 
By Mrs, R. Pott, Botanist of the Transvaal Museum. 
Tryphostemma arenophilum Pott, sp. nov. 
( Tryphostemma — Basananthe . ) 
Herba annua, humilis, erecta. Radix gracilis, longa. Caulis glaber, 
angulatus, basi ramosus. Folia alterna, petiolata, tripartita, glabra, 
margine serrato, serraturis apice glandulosis, subtus nervis prominentibus ; 
lobus medius. anguste lanceolatus, lobis lateralibus longior ; lobi laterales 
bipartiti, lobidis lanceolatis. Stipulae filamentaceae, petiolo longiores. 
Pedunculi axillares, ecirrhosi, quam petioli duplo longiores, 2-floribus ; 
bracteae foliosae, breviter petiolatae, bilobae, lobis ovatis, acuminatis ; 
bracteoli 4, filamentacei, pedicellis longiores. Flores oppositi, minuti, 
pedicellati, virido-albi ; sepala 5, glabra, oblonga, obtusa, alba, nervis 
tribus, crassis, viridibus ; petala oblonga-lanceolata, sepalis ^ aequilonga, 
alba ; corona exterior gamophylla, breviter cylindracea, ore longe fim- 
briata ; corona interior hyalina ; stamina 5, petalis breviores, filamentis 
linearibus, faciei interiori coronae interioris adnatis. Ovarium viride cum 
stylopodio flavo, crasso ; styli 3, elongati ; stigmata capitata. Fructus 
glaber, ovoideus, pericarpio chartaceo, flavo. Semen 1, testa luteo-alba, 
foveolata. 
Dwarf annual herb, 4 in. high, branched at the base ; branches 
spreading, 2 in. long. Root long, thin, unbranched. Stem erect, glabrous, 
angular ; internodes very short, ^ 2 lin. long. Leaves alternate, petiolate, 
glabrous, tripartite ; middle lobe simple, the side-lobes bipartite, all the 
lobes narrowly-lanceolate, sharply serrate, each tooth tipped with a gland ; 
middle lobe longest, ^ 1^ in. long, 2 lin. broad in the middle; veins very 
prominent at the underside of the leaf ; petiole short, 2 lin. long ; stipides 
threadlike, longer than petiole. Peduncles in axils of leaves, twice as long 
as petiole, with 2 opposite, pedicellate flowers at the top, not ending in 
a tendril ; bracts leaflike, shortly stalked, two-lobed, lobes oblong, 
long acuminate ; bracteoles threadlike, longer than pedicels. Flowers 
minute ±1 lin. long, greenish-white; sepals oblong, whitish with 
3 prominent green nerves ; petals oblong-lanceolate, white, a little shorter 
than sepals ; outer corona gamophyllous, short cylindrical, long fringed ; 
inner corona hyalin, shorter than outer one ; stamens included, the fila- 
ments attached to the inner face of the hyalin corona ; ovary green with 
a yellowish stylopodium ; styles longish, 3 ; stigmata capitate. Fruit 
ovate, 5 lin. long with a yellowish, papery pericarp, one-seeded. Seed 
kidney-shaped, 3 lin. long, whitish, pitted. 
Grows in sandy soil ; collected at Warmbaths, January, 1909. 
Miss R. Leendertz ; No. 2062. The type is in the Herbarium of the 
Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, 
