Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 34 (1896).djvu/40

24 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF SOUTH AFRICA. racemi axillares laxe pluriflori, foliis plerique breviores rarius longiores, pedunculo gracillimo, bracteis minimis persistentibus, pedicellis capillaribus 3 mill, longis, floribus 5 mill, longis ; calyx turbinatus pubescens 5-nervus dentibus deltoideis obtusis ; vexillum suborbiculare cum alis carinaque aequilongis tenuiter pubescens; ovarium 3-ovulatum ; legumen erectum subcompressum marginatum glabrum 4-5 cm. longum. Had : South-eastern Region ; Kaffraria, between Umzimvubu and Umzimkaba Rivers, alt. 250 met., Drege (without No. in herb. Kew). Natal, Gen-ard^o.im^) Sanderson [l^o.bmVj Inanda, fl. April, Wood (No. 872!) ; Murchison, in bush, ibid. (No. 3062 !). Not much like any South African species known to me, and distinct by its large and peculiarly shaped leaflets. The stout strong pod is in marked contrast with the small delicate flowers, which, in Wood's 872, are noted as white. I should place it next to I. micranthaj E. Mey. Indigofera seticulosa, Harvey, in Flor. Cap. iii. 196, var. LuxuRiANs. — Ramis rufescentibus, setis glandulosis copiosioribus, 2-3-plo longioribus, foliolis majoribus, 5-15 mill, longis, 1*5-3 mill, latis, calycis segmentis setaceo-acuminatis tubo 3-4-plo longioribus. Hab : South-eastern Region ; Natal : Umhloti and Inanda, on grassy hills, alt. 450-500 met., fl. Feb. IFooci (No. 1602). Harvey described from a single poor specimen preserved in the Kew Herbarium, marked "Armstrong," of which the origin was quite uncertain. There is no doubt of the specific identity of Wood's specimens, although they look at first sight so difl'erent that I have thought it desirable to describe their characteristics, and to publish their certain South African station. Indigofera Woodii, n. sp. (§ Product^e). — Fruticulus erectus vel decumbens saepius e basi ramosus tenuiter strigosus; rami virgati simplices vel dichotome ramosi graciles pauce foliati vel dense foliosi; stipulae minutissimas deciduae; folia imparipinnata, 0*5-2 cm. longa, 3-6-juga saepius 4-5-juga, foliolo terminal! sessili rarius in petiolo communi producto insidente, foliolis obovatis, oblongis, obtusis, vel saepius lanceolato-linearibus acutis, mucronu- latis superne glabris, 2-6 mill, longis; racemi gracillimi, foliis 2-5-plo longiores, 2*5-5*5 cm. longi, bracteis setaceis minimis saepe deciduis, pedicellis capillaribus 4-7 mill, longis; calycis tubus minimus, segmentis setaceis corolla dimidio brevioribus vel fere aequilongis ; corolla pubescens 5-6 mill, longa ; legumen cylin- dricum rectum tenuissime strigosum ad 2*1 cm. longum. Hab : South-eastern Region ; Cape Colony and Natal. Var. a. parvifolia; humilis, 12-15 cm. alta, foliis 5-7 mill, longis, foliolis complicatis 2 mill, longis, terminali sessili, racemis foliis 1^-2-plo longioribus. Griqualand East, summit of Mt. Currie, alt. 2300 met., fl. Feb., Tyson (No. 1758). Var. /?. intermedia; erecta vel decumbens, ramis dense foliosis, foliolis saepe oblongis obtusis, terminali petiolato rarius sessili, racemis fohis 2-2|-plo longioribus. Boschberg, near Somerset East, ^acOwan (No. 1623), Bolus (No. 1755); Griqualand East, Mts, near