Lachenalia Roodeae, Phillips, sp. nov.
Bulbus 2·5 cm. longus, 1·8 cm. latus. Folia 2, 7-14 cm. longa, basi 2-4 cm. lata, ovato-lanceolata, apice obtusa, aliquando mucronata, glabra. Pedunculus 2-3·5 cm. longus, c. 7 cm. latus. Inflorescentia spicata, 9-14 cm. longa. Bracteae c. 1 mm. longae, ovatae, apice obtusae. Pedicellus c. 1 mm. longus. Flos 1-1·2 cm. longus, campanulatus, basi obliquus; lobi exteriores 8 mm. longi, 4·75 mm. lati, oblongo-ovati, apice obtusi; lobi interiores 1 cm. longi, 4·5 mm. lati, oblongo-obovati, apice rotundi. Stamina exserta; filamenta 1·2 cm. longa; antherae 1·5 mm. longae, oblongae. Ovarium 3·5 mm. longum, 2·5 mm. latum, trigonum; stylus 1·1 cm. longus, teres; stigma minute 3-lobatum.
Van Rhynsdorp District: Van Rhynsdorp, Mrs. E. Rood in National Herbarium Pretoria, 1461.
This extremely fine species of Lachenalia was sent to the Division of Botany by Mrs. E. Rood of Van Rhynsdorp, who states that the plant is quite common there. It belongs to an endemic South African genus of about fifty species, and surpasses any other species known to us in the rich colouring of the flowers. It flowers during August and September, and should make a welcome addition to the bulb garden as one of the earlier flowering species. There has been some doubt about the identity of this plant, and we were inclined to regard it as L. carnosa, Baker, which was collected by Drège in Little Namaqualand. Mr. N. E. Brown, of Kew, very kindly examined the plate, and is of the opinion that it is not this species, and that nothing like it is in the Kew Herbarium. It, however, is very near L. carnosa, Baker, but may be distinguished from this species in the inner perianth segments being longer than the outer and in the far exserted stamens. This latter character is not constant, as we find after examining a large series of specimens that the length to which the stamens are exserted from the perianth depends on the age of the flower. The stamens are in more or less two unilateral rows, the lower three ripening before the upper three.
Description:—Bulb 2·5 cm. long, 1·8 cm. in diameter, ovoid, covered with black membranous tunics with many fibrous roots from the base. Leaves 2, erect-spreading, 7-14 cm. long, 2-4 cm. broad in the widest part; the outer leaf always larger than the inner leaf, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, sometimes mucronate, narrowed and clasping at the base, with reddish margins, glabrous. Peduncle 2-3·5 cm. long, about 7 mm. in diameter, partially hidden by the clasping leaf bases. Inflorescence a dense many-flowered spike, 9-14 cm. long; axis fleshy, up to 8 cm. in diameter at the base, narrowing upwards, with a number of facets, each facet bearing a flower at the base. Bracts about 1 mm. long, ovate, obtuse, forming a small pocket from which the flower arises. Flowers subsessile; pedicels about 1 mm. long. Perianth purplish, 1-1·2 cm. long, campanulate, oblique at the base; tube about 3 mm. long, about 5 mm. in diameter above; lobes of outer segments 8 mm. long, 4·75 mm. broad, oblong-ovate, obtuse, rostrate on the outer surface just beneath the apex; lobes of the inner segments 1 cm. long, 4·5 mm. broad above, oblong-obovate, rounded above. Stamens exserted, attached to base of the perianth segments; filaments 1·2 cm. long, terete; anthers 1·5 mm. long, oblong. Ovary 3·5 mm. long, 2·5 mm. in diameter, oblong in outline, trigonous; style 1·1 cm. long, terete, stigma very faintly 3-lobed.
[Plate 91.]—Fig. 1, base of leaves; Fig. 2, axis of inflorescence showing the small cups in which the flowers are situated; Fig. 3, a single flower; Fig. 4, perianth laid open; Fig. 5, apices of outer perianth segments; Fig. 6, apex of an inner perianth segment. Fig. 7, stamens; Fig. 8, pistil.
F.P.S.A., 1923.