Plants -- South Africa -- Periodicals; Plants -- South Africa -- Pictorial works -- Periodicals
This rare _Protea_ was sent to us by Miss L. Guthrie of the Bolus
Herbarium, who received it from Mr. de Wet of Ceres. Mr. de Wet
described it as a low trailing plant with the branches 2 feet long and
raised about a foot above the ground. The heads are hidden by the upper
leaves. Hitherto the species has only been recorded from Ezelsbank on
the Cedarberg Range, Clanwilliam Division, where it was collected by
Drège almost a hundred years ago.
This example, unlike so many species of _Protea_, is not particularly
handsome. The bracts are a pale dull green, and the flowers somewhat
scented, reminding one very much of the odour of _Protea mellifera_.
Specimens are preserved in the National Herbarium, Pretoria (Herb. No.
1490).
DESCRIPTION:--_Branches_ pale green, glabrous. _Leaves_ 7-19 cm. long,
1·8-7 cm. broad (the largest leaves surrounding the head), elliptic or
elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse, narrowed to the base, with distinct reddish
veins and a reddish margin, glabrous. _Head_ sessile, 5·5 cm. long, 7
cm. in diameter. _Involucral-bracts_ in about 9 rows; the outer ovate,
subacuminate, obtuse, ciliate; the inner oblong, incurved, somewhat
concave, slightly exceeding the flowers, scantily pilose. _Receptacle_
3·2 cm. broad at base, about 1·5 cm. high, conical. _Perianth-sheath_
2·6 cm. long, dilated, keeled and 3-nerved below, glabrous, except for
setae near the apex; lip 6 mm. long, setulose with golden-brown hairs.
_Hypogynous scales_ 1·5 mm. long, ovate. _Ovary_ covered with long
golden-brown hairs; style 4 cm. long, strongly falcate; stigma 3 mm.
long, almost imperceptibly passing into the style.
* * * * *
PLATE 76.--Fig. 1, branch with flower head; Fig. 2, receptacle;
Fig. 3, inner bract; Fig. 4, outer bract; Fig. 5, single flower;
Fig. 6, one perianthlobe.
F.P.S.A., 1922.
[Illustration: _77._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 77.
CROSSANDRA GREENSTOCKII.
_Transvaal, Natal._
* * * * *
ACANTHACEAE. Tribe JUSTICIEAE.
CROSSANDRA, _Salisb._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen Plant._ vol. ii. p. 1094.
* * * * *
=Crossandra Greenstockii=, _S. Moore in Journ. Bot._, 1880, p. 37; _Fl.
Cap._ vol. v. sect. i. p. 37.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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