The flowering plants of South Africa; vol. 4 — John Shaqi
The flowering plants of South Africa; vol. 4Pole Evans, I. B. (Illtyd Buller)
Science
The flowering plants of South Africa; vol. 4
Pole Evans, I. B. (Illtyd Buller)
Plants -- South Africa -- Periodicals; Plants -- South Africa -- Pictorial works -- Periodicals
The species of _Ceropegia_, figured here for the first time, belongs to
the same group in the genus as _C. Meyeri_ (Plate 30), which is
characterised by the tips of the petals being connate and forming a
cage-like top to the flower. _Ceropegia ampliata_ is one of the five
South African species collected by Drège, all of which were described by
E. Meyer.
The plant is a twiner or scrambler, devoid of leaves at the flowering
period. The flowers are pale green with a purple band within the
corolla-tube, which is visible through the wall of the tube. It is not
such a striking plant as some of the species we have previously figured,
but the purple band on a background of green gives the individual flower
a very pleasing effect.
Our Plate was prepared from a living plant lent by Mr. W. Haygarth to
the late Dr. J. Medley Wood.
DESCRIPTION:--_Stem_ succulent, twining or scrambling, leafless at the
time of flowering, glabrous. _Leaves_ only seen at the young tips of the
stems, soon deciduous, minute, 2 to 2·5 mm. long, lanceolate, acute,
glabrous. _Flowers_ 2 to 4 together at the nodes, successively
developed; pedicels 0·6 to 1·3 cm. long, glabrous. _Sepals_ 2 to 3 mm.
long, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous. _Corolla-tube_ in dried specimens
2·5 to 5 cm. long, 0·8 to 1·2 cm. in diameter, cylindric and slightly or
not at all inflated at the base, but on the living plant, according to a
drawing, 5 cm. long, globosely and somewhat lobulate-inflated and about
2·5 cm. in diameter at the base, cylindric and 1·3 cm. in diameter
above, not dilated at the apex, pale green, with a narrow purple
transverse band at the top of the inflation inside, glabrous outside,
covered inside with long simple hairs, longer and more matted at the
purple band and above than in the lower part; lobes 0·8 to 1·2 cm. long,
5 to 6 mm. broad at the base, lanceolate from a deltoid base, acute,
erectly connivent and connate at the tips, replicate or with reflexed
margins, glabrous on both sides and not ciliate, green, spotted with
darker green, becoming olive-brown when dried, probably with a velvety
sheen on the inner surface; outer corona cup-shaped, equally 10-toothed;
teeth about 1 mm. long, narrowly deltoid, acute, hairy on the inner
surface; inner corona-lobes 4 to 5 mm. long, very slenderly filiform,
connivent-erect, dorsally-connected by vertical plates to the outer
corona at the base. (_Flora Capensis._)
* * * * *
PLATE 140.--Fig. 1, corolla laid open; Fig. 2, outer and inner corona,
showing the pollinia; Fig. 3, pollinia.
F.P.S.A., 1924.
[Illustration: _141._]
PLATE 141.
RICHARDIA MELANOLEUCA.
_Natal._
* * * * *
AROIDEAE. Tribe PHILODENDREAE.
RICHARDIA, _Kunth_; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant_. vol. iii. p. 982.
* * * * *
=Richardia melanoleuca=, _Hook. f. in Bot. Mag_. t. 5765; _Fl. Cap_. vol. vi.
p. 38.
* * * * *
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