African and Madagascar Flowering Plants. 393 
come in contact with the projecting stigma. The outer 
stamens are barren, and fit over the ridges of the ovary. M r. 
Wilson has described and figured Albuca corymbosa , Bkr. 
(Macleod, No. 592), which seems extremely near this species. 
A. juncif olio,) Bkr., also described by him, appears to have 
an almost identical arrangement. A. major was described 
and figured by Sprengel (Muller, No. 702) in 1793. 
Androcymbium leue antiram, Willd . (Figs. 164-1 66 .) 
The flowers are completely enclosed by the dome-shaped 
floral leaves ji , and within the cavity so formed many insects 
appear to take refuge. Each perianth-segment is wrapped 
round and (in the lower part) united to its filament in such a 
way that it forms a small pouch into which honey is secreted 
by a dark red swelling at the base of the free portion 
of the filament at n. The versatile anthers are per- 
fectly horizontal and dehisce upwards. They are usually 
considerably above the level of the stigma so that it is hard to 
see how self-fertilisation can be avoided. The insects most 
common in the cavity are Forficaria , always very abundant, a 
species of Anthicus , two other ants, and Heteroodeus pulchilus . 
These probably usually creep into the flowers by the base and 
may leave by the upper opening after crawling over stigma 
and anthers. — Rose-Bank, Cape Town. 
Baeometra eolumellaris, Salisb. 
The anthers end in a flat sterile top which probably tends 
to prevent self-fertilisation. Insects probably alight on the 
broad three-cornered summit of the ovary, and then collect 
pollen or crawl down to the base of the perianth. I could not 
find a distinct nectary, but the base of the perianth and 
filaments are of a brownish purple colour and appear secretive. 
Visitor : — Dichilus simplicipes. — Cape Town. 
Commelina nudi.fl.ora, L . 
The flowers are either male or hermaphrodite and are of 
a bright blue colour. The median inferior stamen is curved 
upwards and stands exactly in front of the rudimentary ovary; 
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