The Project Gutenberg eBook of The flowering plants of South Africa; vol. 5
Title: The flowering plants of South Africa; vol. 5
Author: I. B. Pole Evans
Release date: July 31, 2025 [eBook #76601]
Language: English
Original publication: London: L. Reeve & Co, 1925
Credits: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
| INDEX TO VOLUME V. |
THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF
SOUTH AFRICA.
A MAGAZINE CONTAINING HAND-COLOURED FIGURES WITH DESCRIPTIONS
OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS INDIGENOUS TO SOUTH AFRICA.
EDITED BY
I. B. POLE EVANS, C.M.G., M.A., D.Sc., F.L.S.,
Chief, Division of Botany and Plant Pathology, Department of Agriculture, Pretoria;
and Director of the Botanical Survey of the Union of South Africa.
VOL. V.
Will blossom into cities white and fair,
And pinnacles will pierce the desert air,
And sparkle in the sun.
R. C. Macfie’s “Ex Unitate Vires.”
LONDON:
L. REEVE & CO., Ltd.,
HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON
SOUTH AFRICA:
THE SPECIALTY PRESS OF SOUTH AFRICA, Ltd.,
P.O. BOX 3958, JOHANNESBURG; P.O. BOX 388, CAPETOWN.
1925.
[All rights reserved.]
THIS VOLUME
IS CORDIALLY DEDICATED
TO
THOMAS PEARSON STOKOE
OF CAPE TOWN
THE FLORA OF THE CAPE MOUNTAINS HAVE
RENDERED VALUABLE SERVICE TO SOUTH AFRICAN
BOTANY BY THE DISCOVERY OF NEW PLANTS AND
THE RE-DISCOVERY OF MANY THAT WERE LONG
LOST, AND TO WHOSE ZEAL, ENTHUSIASM, AND
GENEROSITY AS A COLLECTOR THIS WORK IS
GREATLY INDEBTED.
Division of Botany, Pretoria.
October, 1925.
Plate 161.
COTYLEDON ORBICULATA.
Cape Province, Transvaal.
Crassulaceae.
Cotyledon, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 659.
Cotyledon orbiculata, Linn. Sp. Pl. 614; Fl. Cap. vol. ii. p. 371.
Cotyledon orbiculata was first figured in the Botanical Magazine in 1795, and stated to have been introduced into English gardens about the year 1690. The genus Cotyledon differs from Crassula (see Plate 115) by having twice as many stamens as petals. It is a large genus in South Africa, and represented by between 30 to 40 species. Several species of the genus are of economic interest inasmuch as they produce disease in stock. The well-known “Krimptziekte” of goats is caused by C. Wallichii. The Division of Veterinary Education and Research carried out some feeding experiments with C. orbiculata in 1921 at Grahamstown, and definitely proved that feeding the leaves to fowls caused death.
Our plate was prepared from specimens grown at the Division of Botany, Pretoria. The plant goes under the common names of “hondenoor,” “Konterie,” “Varkens ooren,” and “pig’s-ear.”
Description:—Low shrubby somewhat succulent plant. Stem with light-brown bark. Leaves opposite, 6·5 to 8 cm. long, 4 to 4·5 cm. broad, obovate, subacute, glabrous, glaucous, with red margins. Peduncle up to 27 cm. long, 8 mm. in diameter, terete, reddish in colour with a whitish bloom. Inflorescence a panicle of cymes. Calyx-tube almost none; lobes 5 mm. long, ovate, acute. Corolla-tube 2·8 cm. long, 1·5 cm. in diameter; lobes 2 cm. long, 7 mm. broad, oblong, obtuse, slightly twisted counter-clockwise. Stamens 10, five shorter inserted near the base of the corolla-tube, with a ring of hairs at the point of attachment and produced below the hairs into a strong rib; filaments subterete; anthers[Pg 8] ovate. Carpels as long as the shorter stamens. Glands forming a deep concave body at the base of each carpel.
Plate 161.—Fig. 1, longitudinal median section of the flower; Fig. 2, gynæcium, showing glands; Fig. 3, stamen; Fig. 4, tuft of hairs on filament; Fig. 5, side view of gland at base of carpel.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 162.
SYNNOTIA bicolor.
Cape Province.
Iridaceae. Tribe Ixieae.
Synnotia, Sweet; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 709.
Synnotia bicolor, Sweet, Hort. Brit. ed. 2, p. 501; Fl. Cap. vol. vi. p. 134.
This species was introduced into the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew by George Masson in 1786, and was described as a Gladiolus, and later in the Botanical Magazine (t. 548) as a species of Ixia. From the former genus it is readily distinguished by the membranous lacerated spathe-valves and from the latter by the unilateral stamens.
The plant is rather stiff, but the individual flowers are quite charming. As will be seen from the illustration, the flowers resemble in general shape those of Gladiolus orchidi-florus shown at Plate 165 of this work.
Our specimen was prepared from plants grown by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., from corms forwarded by Mrs. E. Rood of van Rhynsdorp.
Description:—Corm ellipsoid, 3 cm. long, 1·5 cm. in diameter, covered with fine reticulated sheaths. Leaves 7 in a basal distichous rosette, 8 to 11 cm. long, 0·7 to 1·4 cm. broad, linear-oblong, very acute, with 1 more or less evident mid-rib, but many-veined when viewed in transmitted light. Peduncle about 12 cm. long, flexuose, bearing about 6 distant flowers. Outer spathe-valves 1 cm. long, deeply 3-partite, inner 2-partite. Perianth distinctly 2-lipped; tube 1·5 cm. long, widening upwards; posterior segment 2·5 cm. long, erect, clawed, with an ovate obtuse limb; side-segments 1·7 cm. long, 6 mm. broad, more or less oblong, obtuse, spreading-reflexed; 3 anterior segments more or less horizontal and forming a distinct lip. Style as long as the[Pg 12] stamens, divided into 3 lobes dilated at the apex. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2860.)
Plate 162.—Fig. 1, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 2, spathe-valve; Fig. 3, stamen; Fig. 4, style showing stigmas; Fig. 5, fruit.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 163.
GLADIOLUS trichostachys.
Transvaal.
Iridaceae. Tribe Ixieae.
Gladiolus, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 709.
Gladiolus trichostachys, Baker in Bull. Herb. Boiss. ser. II. vol. iv.
p. 1006.
This charming little Gladiolus was first found by Conrath at Irene, near Pretoria, and was again collected by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., in the same locality. It was described by Baker, with several other Transvaal species, in 1904, but is here figured for the first time.
The plant produces a single erect flowering stem with clasping leaves scarcely produced above. The species belongs to the Section Hebea, which we have illustrated on Plates 63 and 165 (G. alatus, G. orchidiflorus), and is closely related to G. permeabilis, a species common in the Cape Province, but which also extends into Bechuanaland. It is, however, easily distinguished from this species by the non-produced leaves and hairy stems.
Our illustration was made from the specimens collected by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., at Irene.
Description:—Bulb 2 cm. in diameter, globose, covered with brown fibres. Stem pilose on the lower half. Leaves clasping the stem, sheath pilose, hardly produced. Inflorescence 13 cm. long, 7-to 10-flowered. Outer spathe-valves 1·5 cm. long, somewhat membranous above, entire, bifid or trifid; inner spathe-valves similar to the outer, bifid. Stamens shorter than the style; anthers somewhat sagittate at the base. Style-branches cuneate, fimbriate on the edges.[Pg 16]
Plate 163.—Fig. 1, plant much reduced; Fig. 2, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 3, outer spathe-valve; Fig. 4, inner spathe-valve; Fig. 5, anther; Fig. 6, portion of style with style branches.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 164.
ALOE Chabaudii.
Rhodesia.
Liliaceae. Tribe Aloineae.
Aloe, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 776.
Aloe Chabaudii, Schonl. in Gard. Chron. 1905, p. 162.
Dr. Schonland in his description of this Aloe in the Gardeners’ Chronicle states that it is allied to A. striata, and a reference to our Plate 55 will show the similarity of the flowers in the two species. The specimens from which the original description was prepared were collected by Mr. J. M. Brown in Rhodesia, but the exact locality is not known. They were grown and flowered by Mr. J. A. Chabaud of Port Elizabeth. The plant is erect with a short stem, and has not the reclining habit of A. striata. It is very suitable for large rockeries, and makes an effective display when in flower.
Our plate was prepared from specimens grown at the Division of Botany, Pretoria.
Description:—Acaulescent or almost so. Leaves 18 to 24, forming an irregular rosette, up to 45 cm. long and 15 cm. broad near the base, about 2 cm. thick, ovate-lanceolate, unspotted, somewhat glaucous; upper surface indistinctly striate, nearly flat, except near the apex, where it is channelled; lower surface slightly convex; margin with a narrow horny border; prickles 1·5 mm. long or even smaller, at first flesh-coloured, brown in older leaves, straight or (especially in the upper portion of the leaf) curved forward, about 1·5 cm. apart, interspaces straight. Inflorescence a loose panicle, with squarrose ascending branches 60 to 80 cm. in height, about 45 cm. in diameter; racemes lax, floriferous portion 15 to 20 cm. long; bracts deltoid, acuminate, membranous, lowest about 6 mm. long, upper gradually smaller; pedicels spreading, lowest 2 cm. long, upper only slightly[Pg 20] smaller; perianth 3·5 cm. long, slightly curved, distinctly obconical at the base, swollen round the ovary, with three decided oblong indentations above it (in a line with the inner segments); outer segments pale brick-red with nearly white wings near the apex, inner with red median line and pale wings, which are yellowish at the apex; tube of corolla nearly two-thirds its length; filaments yellow, slightly exceeding the perianth in length, anthers pale terra-cotta; ovary broadly oblong, green; style yellow, not exserted; stigma very small, capitate (S. Schonland).
Plate 164.—Fig. 1, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 2, bract; Fig. 3, anther; Fig. 4, apex of style.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 165.
GLADIOLUS orchidiflorus.
Cape Province.
Iridaceae. Tribe Ixieae.
Gladiolus, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 709.
Gladiolus orchidiflorus Andr. Bot. Rep. t. 241; Fl. Cap. vol. vi. p. 160.
In the Botanical Magazine for the year 1803 (Plate 688) appeared an excellent figure of this species under the name Gladiolus viperatus, which was given owing to a fanciful resemblance to “the head and appearance of the jaws of the snake when raising itself for defence against its enemy and hissing.” Prior to the figure above quoted Jacquin illustrated the same species (1781-1786).
Like most species of Gladiolus, it lends itself to cultivation and is easily grown in pots.
A comparison of this plate of G. orchidiflorus and Plate 63 (G. alatus var. namaquensis) should be made with other plates of Gladiolus figured. The two species belong to the section Hebea, all the members of which may be easily recognised by the long claws to the perianth-segments.
The plants from which our illustration was made were grown by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., at Irene, near Pretoria, from corms sent by Mrs. E. Rood of van Rhynsdorp.
Description:—Corm 2·5 cm. diameter, depressed-globose, covered with fibrous tunics. Produced leaves 4; lowest leaf with a lanceolate-linear blade, 6·5 cm. long, 8 mm. broad, prominently 2-ribbed; upper leaves up to 30 cm. long, 5 to 8 mm. broad, linear, acuminate, acute, with 2 of the ribs more prominent than the others, glabrous. Inflorescence about half as long as the leaves, laxly few-flowered. Perianth very unequal; the uppermost segment long-clawed and with an oblong obtuse blade membranous on the margins, arched over the flower and the style and stamens; side segments[Pg 24] broadly ovate, clawed, and produced into an acuminate point; lower segments more or less forming a lip, spathulate, long-clawed, obtuse. Stamens arched under the uppermost segment and completely hidden by it. Style arched under the uppermost segment, projecting beyond its apex; lobes spathulate, papillose round the edges. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2858.)
Plate 165.—Fig. 1, plant much reduced; Fig. 2, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 3, corm; Fig. 4, spathe-valve; Fig. 5, stamen; Fig. 6, top of style showing the 3 stigmas; Fig. 7, fruit.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 166.
LACHENALIA tricolor.
var. LUTEOLA.
Cape Province.
Liliaceae. Tribe Scilleae.
Lachenalia, Jacq.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 807.
Lachenalia tricolor, Thunb. var. luteola, Baker.; Jacq. Collect. vol. iv.
p. 148; Ic. vol. ii. p. 16, t. 395; Fl. Cap. vol. vi. p. 424.
The Lachenalia figured on the accompanying plate is among the most graceful species in the genus. It is closely allied to L. pendula, illustrated on Plate 158, but is distinguished by having the inner perianth-segments much longer than the outer. The plant was known to horticulturists in Europe almost 150 years ago, and was figured in colour between 1786 and 1793 by Jacquin, and again in the Botanical Magazine in 1807.
L. tricolor grows in the sandy parts of the Cape Province, but lends itself to cultivation in pots. It has been successfully grown at Irene, near Pretoria, by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., from bulbs supplied by Lady Smartt of “Glen Ban,” Stellenbosch, C.P., and from these specimens our illustration was made.
In the young flowering stage the buds are quite green, but become yellow in the lower half as they grow older, while in the adult flower the colour is a deep chrome (R. C. S.).
Description:—Bulb globose, 1·3 cm. in diameter, with long white roots from the base. Leaves 2, up to 17 cm. long, 2·5 cm. broad at the base, 2 cm. broad above, strap-shaped, obtuse, glabrous. Peduncle up to 16 cm. long, terete, green, spotted with brown. Flowers racemose, pendulous, each flower arising from a small pocket formed by the bract. Bract 3 mm. long, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, with a conical blunt spur. Outer perianth-segments 1·6 cm. long, oblong,[Pg 28] obtuse, one slightly beaked below the apex; inner segments 2·6 cm. long, widened upwards, obtuse. Stamens hardly exerted. Style as long as the stamens, penicillate at the apex. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2857.)
Plate 166.—Fig. 1, whole plant much reduced; Fig. 2, median longitudinal section of the flower; Fig. 3, bulb; Fig. 4, part of peduncle showing pocket-like bracts; Fig. 5, stamen; Fig. 6, upper portion of style showing stigma.
Plate 167.
CRASSULA rosularis.
Cape Province, Natal.
Crassulaceae.
Crassula, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 657.
Crassula rosularis, Harv.; Fl. Cap. vol. ii. p. 350.
Crassula rosularis belongs to the section Rosulares, which is characterised by having rosulate flat radical leaves and a scape-like flowering stem. Unlike so many species of Crassula, it is a shade-loving plant.
The plant from which our illustration was made was found growing under Aloes near Greytown in Natal, whence it extends southwards to Uitenhage. It is a dainty little plant, and would thrive on a shaded rockery if supplied with humus and a fair amount of moisture. In its choice of habitat it resembles very much C. flabellifolia, C. Saxifraga and C. Septas.
We are indebted to Lady Leuchars for the specimens.
Description:—An acaulescent plant. Leaves rosulate, radical; lower leaves spathulate-oblong, about 5 cm. long; the upper leaves becoming gradually smaller and broadly ovate; all with cartilaginous-ciliated margins. Peduncle scape-like, glabrous. Flowers in peduncled cymes, arranged in a panicle on a common peduncle. Pedicels about 2 mm. long. Calyx half as long as the corolla; lobes lanceolate-oblong, ciliate. Petals obovate-oblong, with a dorsal apiculus just below the apex. Stamens 5, almost as long as the petals and alternating with them. Glands of 5 scales opposite the carpels. Carpels 5; styles short; stigmas capitate. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2859.)[Pg 32]
Plate 167.—Fig. 1, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 2, carpels; Fig. 3, stamens.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
LISSOCHILUS speciosus.
Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal.
Orchidaceae. Tribe Vandeae.
Lissochilus, R. Br.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 536.
Lissochilus speciosus, R. Br. ex Lindl. Coll. Bot. t. 31; Fl. Cap. vol. v.
sect. iii. p. 59.
Lissochilus speciosus is one of the more common species of the genus and has a wide range of distribution. It is found in the Uitenhage Division, and then follows the coastal belt northwards, through the Transkei into Natal, and up to the northern spurs of the Drakensbergen in the Transvaal. The species has also been recorded from Mazoe in Rhodesia. Robert Brown’s genus Lissochilus, which he founded in 1821, was based on this species. But the late Dr. H. Bolus placed it in the genus Eulophia, and redescribed the plant as Eulophia speciosa in 1890, and figured it under the same name in 1911 (Orchids of South Africa, vol. ii. t. 13).
The specimen from which our plate was made was found by Misses H. Forbes and S. Gower at Isipingo, Natal, and grown at the Division of Botany, Pretoria. It is common all along the slopes of the sandhills of the Southern Natal coast.
Description:—Pseudobulbs ovoid, 5 cm. or more long, with a few ovate sheaths, 3-to 5-leaved; leaves elongate, linear, acute, somewhat fleshy, without prominent veins, conduplicate below, not articulated above the base, 15 to 30 cm. or more long, 2 to 2·5 cm. or more broad; scapes erect, stout, up to nearly 1 m. long, with several spathaceous sheaths; racemes long, somewhat lax, many flowered, flowers medium-sized, bracts ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 2 to 2·5 cm. long; pedicels 2 to 2·5 cm. long; sepals ovate to ovate-oblong, subacute or acute, reflexed, green, about 1 cm. long; petals spreading, broadly ovate or ovate-[Pg 36]suborbicular, subobtuse, about 2 cm. long, bright yellow; lip 3-lobed, nearly as long as the petals; side-lobes suberect, short and transversely oblong, white with a few reddish lines; front lobe broadly elliptic, obtuse, reflexed at the sides, yellow with a few reddish lines at the base; disc convex, with 3 obtuse keels; spur very short, broadly conical, obtuse, column oblong, 6 mm. long (Flora Capensis).
Plate 168.—Fig. 1, plant much reduced: Fig. 2, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 3, bract; Fig. 4, anthers; Fig. 5, back view of anthers.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 169.
ALOE ferox.
Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal.
Liliaceae. Tribe Aloineae.
Aloe, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 776.
Aloe ferox, Miller, Gard. Dict. ed. viii. No. 22; Fl. Cap. vol. vi. p. 326.
This species of Aloe is unique among the South African representatives of the genus as being of some economic importance. The thick juice of the leaves yields the commercial product “aloes.” The method of preparing “aloes” is as follows: A hole is scooped in the ground and lined with a skin, and the cut ends of the leaves are placed on the skin so that the juice exudes and collects. The thick juice is then heated, and on cooling the “aloes” crystallise out.
Aloe ferox is very common in parts of the south-eastern Cape Province and in the midlands of Natal, and the plants form a very characteristic feature in the landscape. Plants may reach a height of 8 to 12 feet, and the simple stem is crowned with a dense rosette of leaves, while the lower portion of the stem is covered with the remains of the leaves.
Our plate was prepared from a specimen flowering at the Division of Botany, Pretoria.
Description:—Stem simple. Leaves many in a dense terminal rosette, varying from 0·5 to 1 m. long, 10 to 15 cm. broad below and gradually narrowing above, convex on the lower surface, concave on the upper surface, prickly on the edges; prickles stout, slightly recurved. Inflorescence a terminal branched raceme. Racemes up to 0·6 m. long, very dense. Bracts ovate, cuspidate. Perianth-segments 1·3 cm. long, 8 mm. broad, oblong, cucullate at the apex. Filaments linear; anthers not much broader than the filaments. Style cylindric, stigma simple.[Pg 40]
Plate 169.—Fig. 1, leaf (× 1/8); Fig. 2, margin of leaf showing prickles; Fig. 3, cross-section of leaf; Fig. 4, bract; Fig. 5, flower bud; Fig. 6, mature flower; Fig. 7, perianth-segments; Fig. 8, portion of inner and outer perianth-segments; Fig. 9, stamens, front and back view.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 170.
LEUCADENDRON humifusum.
Cape Province.
Proteaceae. Tribe Proteae.
Leucadendron, R. Br.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 169.
Leucadendron humifusum, E. Mey. in Drege, Zwei. Pfl. Documente,
pp. 64, 118, 198; Fl. Cap. vol. v. sect. i. p. 549.
This interesting species of Leucadendron was first collected by Drege between the years 1826 and 1829, and then completely lost sight of, as none of the later collectors are credited with finding it again. In August, 1922, Mr. T. P. Stokoe came across the plant on the Hottentot Holland Mountains, and thus had the honour of bringing to the notice of South African botanists a species which had not been collected for almost one hundred years. We take this opportunity of giving a fuller description of the plant than that appearing in the Flora Capensis, and describe the female plant for the first time.
Description:—A shrub. Branches tomentose, at length becoming glabrous. Leaves 3·5 to 7 cm. long, 0·7 to 1·6 cm. broad (those surrounding the heads a little larger), oblong or oblong-lanceolate, with a blunt callous apex, slightly narrowed to a rather broad base, with 3 distinct veins from above the base, glabrous. Male head sessile, 2·5 to 3 cm. long (including the flowers), 2·5 cm. in diameter, surrounded by about 8 series of involucral bracts. Involucral bracts 1·15 to 1·3 cm. long, 8 to 8·5 mm. broad, oblong, the outer shortly cuspidate and with ciliated margins, inner rounded at the apex and without cilia, all glabrous. Receptacle 1 cm. high, 1 cm. in diameter, club-shaped. Perianth-tube 7 mm. long, somewhat compressed, glabrous; lobes 8 mm. long, linear, obtuse at the apex, glabrous. Anthers 5 mm. long, linear. Style 1·1 cm. long, terete, pilose below; stigma faintly two-lobed. Female-head 1·6 cm. long, 2 cm. in diameter, surrounded by about[Pg 44] 4 series of involucral bracts. Involucral bracts 1·2 to 1·5 cm. long, up to 1·4 cm. broad, ovate, shortly cuspidate, obtuse, the outer ciliated, the inner without cilia, all glabrous. Receptacle 1 cm. high, 6 mm. broad, conical. Perianth-tube 8 mm. long, compressed, long-pilose; limb 2 mm. long, linear, obtuse, glabrous. Staminodes 0·75 mm. long. Ovary 1 mm. long, 0·75 mm. in diameter, ellipsoid, pilose; style 1 cm. long, linear, gradually narrowing to the base; stigma flat and oblique.
Plate 170.—Fig. 1, female head; Fig. 2, bract; Fig. 3, longitudinal section of female head; Fig. 4, female flower; Fig. 5, pistil; Fig. 6, male head; Fig. 7, bract; Fig. 8, longitudinal section of male head; Fig. 9, male flower.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 171.
ALOE MARLOTHII.
Transvaal.
Lilaceae. Tribe Aloineae.
Aloe, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 776.
Aloe Marlothii, Berger in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. vol. xxxviii. p. 87.
Aloe Marlothii is a very close ally of A. ferox figured on Plate 169, but a careful comparison of the two will show points of difference which enables one to distinguish the two species. The inflorescence in A. Marlothii has the primary branches horizontal and the flowers are more or less on one side of the axis, and not arranged so as to form a cylindric raceme, as in A. ferox. The leaves of the species also differ, those of A. Marlothii being concave-convex in cross-section and with both the upper and lower surfaces bearing prickles, while in A. ferox the leaf is biconvex in cross-section.
Plants of A. Marlothii up to 15 ft. high are often found, and they make a very ornamental show in the rockery.
Our plate was prepared from specimens grown at the Division of Botany, Pretoria.
Description:—Leaves up to 1 m. long, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, acute, concave-convex in cross-section, prickly on the face and back, with the margins armed with prickles. Inflorescence a branched raceme, with the primary branches horizontal. Flowers more or less secund. Bracts broadly ovate, shortly acuminate. Perianth tubular. Stamens at length exserted. Ovary ellipsoid, style cylindric, at length exserted; stigma small.[Pg 48]
Plate 171.—Fig. 1, plant, much reduced; Fig. 2, median longitudinal section of flower; Fig. 3, bract; Fig. 4, part of stamen; Fig. 5, pistil.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 172.
HYPOXIS rooperi.
Basutoland, Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal.
Amaryllidaceae. Tribe Hypoxideae.
Hypoxis, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. iii. p. 717.
Hypoxis Rooperi, Moore in Gard. Comp. 1, 65, cum icone; Fl. Cap.
vol. vi. p. 188.
The accompanying plate is our first illustration of a characteristic South African genus, namely, Hypoxis. The genus contains over sixty species, of which number more than forty are found in the Union, the remainder being natives of tropical Africa, tropical Asia, Australia and America.
The species is acaulescent, with a large underground corm crowned with a ring of bristles, and bears a number of distichous leaves. The flower-stalks arise from the axils of the leaves.
It is quite a common plant in the south-eastern portion of the Cape Province, and extends through East Griqualand into Natal and northwards into the Drakensbergen round Barberton. It has, however, also been recorded from the Potchefstroom District in the Transvaal.
In winter the leaves die down, but appear again as soon as the frosts cease, and sometimes long before the summer rains commence the plants are in full bloom in the veld.
Our plate was prepared from specimens flowering at the Division of Botany, Pretoria.
Description:—Leaves up to 30 cm. long, 3·2 cm. broad, strap-shaped, narrowing upwards, falcate, folded from the midrib, closely and distinctly ribbed, almost glabrous on the upper surface, softly pilose on the back and margins. Peduncles much shorter than the leaves, villous. Bracts 1·3 cm. long, linear, acute, villous on the back. Pedicels[Pg 52] up to 1·6 cm. long, villous. Outer perianth-segments 2·2 cm. long, 8 mm. broad, oblong, obtuse; inner segments 2·1 cm. long, 1·5 cm. broad, elliptic, obtuse. Filaments shorter than the anthers. Ovary subglobose, villous, stigmas 3-lobed, papillose on the margins.
Plate 172.—Fig. 1, plant, much reduced; Fig. 2, portion of peduncle showing bracts and part of pedicels; Fig. 3, flower, surface view; Fig. 4, flower, back view; Fig. 5, anthers; Fig. 6, stigma, side and top views; Fig. 7, transverse section of ovary.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 173.
CRASSULA columnaris.
Cape Province.
Crassulaceae.
Crassula, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 657.
Crossula columnaris, Linn. f. Suppl. 191; Fl. Cap. vol. ii. p. 358.
This quaint little Crassula may be found in parts of the Karroo and also in Namaqualand. It has on several occasions been collected in the neighbourhood of Matjesfontein and Ceres. In its native home, where it is usually exposed to the full force of the sun’s rays, it is far more compact than is shown in our illustration, which was made from a plant grown partly in the shelter of a tree. It is easily cultivated on the rockery if not kept too moist, as an abundance of water causes the plant to rot. It is a charming object when in flower, and growers of South African succulents should certainly try to secure specimens of this species, as in shape it is more or less unique in the genus Crassula.
Our plate was prepared from specimens presented by Mr. A. J. Austin of Matjesfontein, and grown at the Division of Botany, Pretoria. We are indebted to Dr. R. Marloth for a photograph of the plant as it grows, and part of the plate has been prepared from this.
Description:—Leaves 2·8 cm. broad, usually less than 1 cm. long, deeply concave on the inner face. Inflorescence a compact globose head. Calyx shortly campanulate at the base; lobes linear-spathulate, fringed above with papillose hairs. Corolla somewhat ventricose below, tubular above; lobes linear-spathulate. Stamens much shorter than the corolla-lobes. Hypogynous glands spathulate above, narrowed into a long claw. Carpels ventricose below, narrowed upwards, somewhat recurved above.[Pg 56]
Plate 173.—Fig. 1, a single leaf and cross-section of leaf; Fig. 2, single flower; Fig. 3, corolla laid open showing the stamens; Fig. 4, calyx-lobe, much enlarged; Fig. 5, corolla-lobe, enlarged; Fig. 6, gynaecium, showing hypogynous glands.
F.P.S.A., 1925.
Plate 174.
SENECIO TAMOIDES.
Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal.
Compositae. Tribe Senecionideae.
Senecio, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. ii. p. 446.
Senecis tamoides, DC. Prodr. vol. vi. p. 403; Fl. Cap. vol. iii. p. 404.
The species here figured belongs to a small group of species in the genus (Section Scandentes), which is characterised by its members being climbing, half-climbing or trailing plants. Senecio tamoides is a very common plant in the bush and the coastal belt, and its large trusses of bright yellow, honey-scented flowers show up in strong contrast against the background of dark green foliage. At Durban, Natal, the flowers are frequently attacked by an insect, and as a result a gall is formed inside the flower head. The gall enlarges into a cylindric green body much longer than the flower-head, and each contains a single larva.
Senecio tamoides has been recorded from the Chipete Forest in Rhodesia, and was also collected by Mr. E. E. Galpin, F.L.S., at Barberton in the Transvaal.
Our illustration was made from specimens collected by Miss K. A. Lansdell on the Berea, Durban.
Description:—A climbing herb. Branches glabrous. Leaves 2·2 to 5·5 cm. long, 2·7 to 6 cm. broad, ovate, acuminate, subobtuse, somewhat hastate, with the margins acutely lobulate, glabrous. Inflorescence a many-headed corymb. Involucral-bracts about 6, 8 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, oblong-linear, obtuse, with membranous margins. Ray-florets: Tube 5 mm. long, cylindric; limb 6·5 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, oblong. Style exserted; style branches filiform. Disc-florets male, cylindric, 6·5 mm. long, lobes ·75 mm. long, linear,[Pg 60] obtuse. Anthers blunt. Style-branches linear, truncate. Ovary infertile, 3 mm. long, cylindric, ribbed, glabrous. Pappus copious.