Plate 109. TRIASPIS nelsoni.

Transvaal.

Malpighiaceae. Tribe Hirrae. Triaspis, Burch.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 259. Triaspis Nelsoni, Oliv. in Hook. Ic. Pl. t. 1418.

Triaspis Nelsoni was first described and figured in 1883 from material collected by Mr. W. Nelson at Pretoria. The figure given by Hooker is incorrect in a few small details. The pedicels, for instance, are articulated and bear 2 small bracteoles; the three styles are not equal, but one is longer than the other two and is deflexed at an angle of about 45°; the anterior petal is exterior in the bud and larger than the other petals.

The genus Triaspis is found in Madagascar, tropical and southern Africa, and was first recorded by the famous traveller Burchell, who collected specimens of a plant he described as T. hypericoides at Kosi Fountain in Bechuanaland in 1812. Since then several species have been recorded from the Transvaal.

The species figured on the accompanying plate is of frequent occurrence on the soils overlying the dolomite outcrops south of Pretoria at an elevation of 4000-5000 ft. above sea-level. It forms a subherbaceous bush not more than two feet high, and the main branches always tend to droop. When in flower it is a most attractive and beautiful object in the veld, and is well worth cultivation in our gardens. In addition to the beauty of its flowers, its large copper-coloured orbicular winged fruits add considerably to its charm and gracefulness. The material from which our plate was prepared was collected by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., on the farm Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, belonging to General the Rt. Hon. J. C. Smuts.

Description:—A subherbaceous plant with long slender and graceful branches from an underground rootstock. Branches terete, pubescent. Leaves opposite, decussate, 2-3 cm. long, 1-2·2 cm. broad, the upper leaves smaller than the lower, ovate, sub-apiculate, cordate at the base, with distinct reticulate veining and with the midrib prominent beneath, sparsely pubescent, with ciliated margins. Inflorescence a 5-6-flowered axillary raceme, arranged in the axils of the upper leaves. Peduncle 1·3 cm. long, terete, pubescent. Pedicels 1·5 cm. long, articulated in the lowermost ⅓, pubescent, bearing 2 small bracts. Sepals 3·5 mm. long, 1·5 mm. broad, oblong, rounded above, sparsely pubescent. Petals 1 cm. long, 6 mm. broad, concave, oblong, rounded above, produced into a claw at the base, with fimbriated margins; the lowermost petal overlapping the others in bud and larger than the rest. Stamens 10; filaments 5 mm. long, glabrous; stamens 2 mm. long, linear-oblong. Ovary 2 mm. long, globose, villous; styles 3, two stand erect; the posterior style reflexed and smaller than the other two. Fruit 3-winged with the wings deeply saucer-shaped. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2642.)

Plate 109.—Fig. 1, bud; 2, median longitudinal section of flower; 3, pistil; 4, fruit..

F.P.S.A., 1923.

S. Gower del.