The earliest effort to enumerate the South African species of this genus we owe to Thunberg, in whose Prodr. Pl. Cap., part 2, p. 117 (1800), we find diagnoses of three species: A. glabrata, A. decumbens, and A. cordata. In the edition of Thunberg's Flora Capensis, published by Schultes (1823), we find at p. 545 descriptions as well as diagnoses of the same three species, with diagnoses and descriptions of two others, A. acuta, Thunb., and A. obtusa, Thunb., on p. 546. When, however, we turn to Thunberg's herbarium, which, thanks to the kindness of Professor Juel, has been entrusted to us for study, we find that of the two species of Tragia diagnosed in Prodr. Pl. Cap., part 1, p. 14 (1794), and described in the Flora Capensis, ed. Schultes, p. 37 (1823): one, T. villosa, is an Acalypha. We find, moreover, that in Thunberg's herbarium, the plant which he collected between Sunday River and Fish River, and which he has written up as A. glabrata with his own hand, is not the plant to which the diagnosis and description published by Schultes apply. It is a plant with opposite leaves, and is in reality the plant described as "A. acuta." On the other hand, this name A. acuta is that which Thunberg has himself written on the sheet of the woody species with alternate leaves, which has been described as A. glabrata. The opposite-leaved species described as A. acuta, happens to be an Adenocline and does not further concern us; the other species, A. obtusa, described on p. 546, is a Leidesia, and so may also be put aside. But the two remaining species described on p. 545 as (27821--6A.) Wt. 189-808. 1125. 1/13. D & S A. decumbens, Thunb., and A. cordata, Thunb., respectively, prove, from Thunberg's original specimen, to be merely forms of one species the specimens in the same collection further demonstrate that Tragia villosa, Thunb., is merely a variety of the same species. Jacquin, in 1760, had already published his Acalypha villosa, so that the publication of Travia villosa in 1794 does not necessitate the abandonment of the name Acalypha decumbens, published in 1800. But before dealing with it himself Thunberg gave a specimen of this plant to Linnaeus as his n. 326 and without a name, some time after the appearance of the second Mantissa in 1771. When placing this specimen in his collection Linnaeus wrote it up as Urtica africana, T. 326." The description did not, however, appear until 1781 when it was published by the younger Linnaeus, who, when publishing, altered his father's manuscript name "U. africana to U. capensis, Linn. f. Suppl. Pl. 417. The name A. decumbens, which dates from 1800, must therefore give place to A. capensis. 66 Briefly summarised, Thunberg has made known two South African species of Acalypha: (I) A. glabrata, as conventionally understood, though this name was really applied by Thunberg to a member of another genus, and (2) A. capensis, which Thunberg broke up into three species, and referred to two different genera. No further addition was made to our knowledge of this genus in Africa until the appearance in 1843 of Drège's Zwei pflanzengeographische Documente. At p. 161 of this work the following twenty-three references to Acalypha are given :-(1) A. betulina, Retz a; (2) A. betulina, Retz b; (3) A. betulina, Retz c; (4) A. betulina, Retz?; (5) A. glabrata, Thunb.; (6) A. languida, E. Mey. a; (7) A languida, E. Mey. b; (8) A. languida, E. Mey. c; (9) A. brachiata, a, E. Mey. a; (10) A. brachiata, a, E. Mey. b; (11) A. brachiata, B, E. Mey. ; (12) A. cordata, Thunb.; (13) A. cordata, Thunb.?; (14) A. discolor, E. Mey. ; (15) A. peduncularis, E. Mey. a; (16) A. peduncularis, E. Mey. aa; (17) A. peduncularis, E. Mey. b; (18) A. peduncularis, E. Mey.; (19) A. velutina, E. Mey.; (20) Acalypha, 4636; (21) Acalypha, 5380; (22) Acalypha, 8240; (23) ?Acalypha, 4610. Of these twenty-three references two are duplicates, because No. 13, A. cordata, Thunb.?, and No. 18, A. peduncularis, E. Mey.?, indicate the same species, as also do No. 3, A. betulina, Retz, c, and No. 23, Acalypha, 4610. The plant which is at once the subject of references 13 and 18, is neither A. cordata nor A. peduncularis; it is, however, the same as the subjects of the references 9, 10 and 11, A. brachiata, E. Mey., a distinct species different from either of those enumerated by Thunberg. To the same species belongs No. 12, "A. cordata," which, again, is not the species so named by Thunberg. No. 5 of the list, "A. glabrata," is really A. glabrata, Thunb., and to the same species belongs No. 4, " A. betulina?," which is not A. betulina, Retz (A. fruticosa, Forsk.), as also does Acalypha, 4636 (No. 20). The three gatherings named A. betulina, Retz (Nos. 1, 2 and 3), are shown by the specimens not to be that species, but to be forms or varieties of A. glabrata, usually with leaves broader than in the type; two of them, b and c, have glabrous leaves, the remaining one, a, has velvety leaves, and is identical with No. 19, A. velutina, E. Mey., which is therefore also referable to A. glabrata; the one marked b, however, includes some specimens which are not distinguishable from typical A. glabrata, Thunb. To the second Thunbergian species belong 14, A. discolor, E. Mey., and 22, Acalypha, 8240, both of which are A. capensis. Of the remainder, Nos. 6, 7 and 8 represent a distinct species, A. languida; Nos. 15, 16 and 17, another distinct species, A. peduncularis; while No. 21, Acalypha, 5380, represents yet another species for which, in Hb. Lübeck, Meyer proposed the name A. longifolia." Briefly summarised, we find then that Drège had repeated both of Thunberg's species: 1. A. capensis, under references 14, 22, and 2. A. glabrata, Thunb., under references 2 (in part), 4, 5, 20, 23, with the addition, as species, of two varieties of A. glabrata, viz. :— betulina, E. Mey., non Retz, under references 2 (in part), 3, and velutina, E. Mey., under references 1, 19. But in addition to these two species Drège has added four more : 3. A. languida, E. Mey., under references 6, 7, 8. 4. A. brachiata, E. Mey., under references 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Unfortunately, these four species were not properly published in 1843, and the last of the list, A. longifolia, was not even named in Drège's Zwei pflanzengeographische Documente. Owing to this circumstance, although all the four species recognised by Meyer are valid, only one of his names has been maintained. In 1845, Krauss published in Flora, vol. xxviii., on pp. 82-84, an account of the species of Acalypha which he had collected in South Africa. In dealing with his material he appears to have had the assistance of Buchinger, who named some of his specimens, and of Meisner and Hochstetter, who described some of the species. It is somewhat singular that among the specimens collected by Krauss there should be no example of A. glabrata, Thunb. His n. 1826, however, which was dealt with by Hochstetter, who identified it with A. discolor, E. Mey., and provided a description of the species, is the original A. decumbens, Thunb., a fact which neither Hochstetter nor Krauss appears to have detected. His n. 1825 was named by Buchinger A. Kraussiana. This name was taken up by Meisner, who provided a description for the plant. In so doing, Meisner appears to have overlooked the fact that A. Kraussiana is identical with Tragia villosa, Thunb., and had no means of knowing that it is identical with Urtica capensis, Linn. f. Krauss collected, as his Nos. 319 and 367, two plants, one near Durban, the other near Maritzburg, which, in spite of their identity as regards external appearance, he referred to different species. One of the two, n. 319, was taken to be A. brachiata, E. Mey.; the other, n. 367, it was supposed might perhaps be A. languid a E. Mey. The two are conspecific; neither is A. brachiata, E. Mey., 27821 A 2 which as it happens Krauss does not appear to have collected at all; both, however, are A. languida, E. Mey. Owing to his doubt as to this fact, Hochstetter thought it desirable to use for n. 367 a new name, A. petiolaris; as this name is accompanied by a description, whereas the older name, A. languida, had none, A. petiolaris, Hochst., is the name which is now employed to distinguish this species. Under his field number 377, Krauss appears to have collected three nearly related but fairly easily distinguishable forms. One of these Meisner identified-we believe rightly so, though so great an authority as Müller was of a contrary opinion-with A. peduncularis, E. Mey. Of the other two, Buchinger regarded one as a distinct species, A. crassa; Meisner described the other as a third distinct species, A. punctata. Krauss, however, has remarked in a footnote upon the difficulty which he experienced in separating A. crassa, Buching., from A. peduncularis. With the view of Krauss we entirely agree, and we concur with Müller in his treatment of the plant as a variety, var. crassa, of A. peduncularis. But as regards A. punctata, Meisn., which is only a form of the species already recognised by Meyer under the name A. longifolia, we concur with Krauss in treating it as distinct, and feel unable to follow Müller in dealing with it as only a variety of A. peduncularis. The last species dealt with by Krauss is one represented by specimens which he had collected without any field-number; to this Buchinger gave the name A. glandulifolia and in spite of the fact that Müller treated this plant as yet another variety of A. peduncularis there is probably no more valid species in the genus. Briefly summarised the account given by Krauss deals with only one of Thunberg's species of Acalypha, A. capensis, and omits A. glabrata. The account equally omits one of the species, A. brachiata, enumerated by Drège; of the other three it retains only the name given by Meyer to A. peduncularis; the name of A. languida, E. Mey., is altered to A. petiolaris, Hochst., that of A. longifolia, E. Mey., is replaced by A. punctata, Meisn. The omission of A. brachiata, E. Mey., is compensated for by the communication of the very distinct A. glandulifolia, Buching. Up to this point (1845) the South African species of Acalypha were known to be A. glabrata, Thunb.; A. capensis; A. petiolaris, Hochst. (= A. languida, E. Mey.); A. brachiata, E. Mey.; A. peduncularis, E. Mey.; A. punctata, Meisn. (= A. longifolia, E. Mey.) and finally A. glandulifolia, Buching. In Linnaca, vol. xx. (1847), p. 213 there is a list of specimens of Acalypha collected by Zeyher in South Africa. The first of these, Zeyher 3838, is named A. peduncularis, E. Mey., and the specimens show that this identification is correct. The second, Zeyher 3839, which is unnamed, became at a later date the type of a new species described by Baillon. The third, Zeyher 1518, also unnamed, became subsequently, in part, the basis of a new species described by Sonder. The next number in the list, Zeyher 1517, is applied to the specimens of three gatherings and is treated as including two species. One of these, represented by Zeyher 1517a, is identified with A. glabrata, Thunb., the other, represented by Zeyher 1517b and 1517c is provisionally identified with A, betulina, |