The Floral Morphology of the Genus Sebaea. 
BY 
ARTHUR W. HILL, M.A., F.L.S. 
Assistant Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 
With Plate XXXV and two Figures in the Text. 
OWARDS the close of the year 1907, when commencing work on the 
A South African species of the genus Sebaea (Gentianaceae) for the ‘ Flora 
Capensis my attention was very soon drawn to the curious pair of swellings 
or glands which were usually to be seen on the style, below the level of the 
anthers. After microscopic examination of herbarium material of a number 
of flowers of different species, it seemed fairly certain that these two 
glandular bodies must be stigmatic in character. Pollen-grains were 
observed closely attached to their surface, and in the case of 5 . imbricata 
were seen to have germinated, but the material was for the most part too 
much withered and dried to allow of proper investigation. In order to 
verify the supposition that Sebaea possessed auxiliary stigmatic surfaces, 
fresh material was essential. Owing to the kindness of Professor H. H. W. 
Pearson, the late Dr. H. Bolus, Mr. J. Burtt Davy, Dr. R. Marloth, and 
Mr. W. C. Worsdell, seeds of several species of Sebaea were sent to Kew 
in the spring of 1908 and onwards, from which a good supply of plants was 
raised for experimental purposes. 
After the first batch of plants had been raised and several experiments 
on the secondary stigma had been made/ an abstract of a paper was 
1 The possible stigmatic character of the swellings was first raised in a letter from Kew to 
Mr. Pole Evans, Mycologist to the Transvaal Department of Agriculture, on December 23, 1907. 
On February 7, 1908, letters were written to Professor Pearson and to Dr. Bolus at the Cape, drawing 
their attention to these swellings and asking them both to make observations and also to send seeds 
in order that experiments could be undertaken at Kew. Dr. Bolus very kindly sent seeds of Sebaea 
aurea on March 6, 1908. He wrote : ‘ Your note of Feb. 7 asking for seeds of Sebaea came by last 
mail. We lost no time in searching, and were fortunate in getting seed of Sebaea aurea , R.Br., our 
commonest species, although it is very late for it ’ ; and on August 26 he wrote again in answer to 
a further letter written August 1, asking him to carry out experiments in S. Africa with reference 
to the secondary stigma : * We shall do what we can in regard to observations on the living plants, as 
to the parasitism and as to the supposed fertilization by means of a secondary stigma below the apex 
of the style. But you must not expect much. My walking days are over and I can seldom get so 
far as where our best plants grow.’ 
Seeds of other species of Sebaea were sown in May, 1908, some of which were received direct 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. XXVII. No. CVII. July, 1913.] 
