Bally,P. R. O.

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76 BALLY, A Little-known Waterlily of Tanganyika VOL. xx
to theauthor,namelytwoor threespeciesof Eragmstis andDrake-Brock-
maniasomalensisStapf,anannualwith prostratestems.Evenformswith
ascendingand rootingstembasesare rare in this groupof tribes. In
generalthe Chlorideae groupof tribesis characterisedby highlyspecial-
isedstolonswhich differconsiderablyfrom the normalfertile shootsof
grasses.Even someannualspecieswith creepingstembases(Chloris
pycnothrix Trin!.,Dactyl;Octeniumaegyptium Beauv.) repeat,in their
basal,spreadingpartsof the stem,the structuretypicalof the "B" type
( Cynodon) stolons,by producingseveralleavesfrom each compound
node.•
The length and rate of growth of stolonsvary considerablyin
differentspecies.In theCht01"'ideaeandin thealliedtdbes,two typesof
stoloniferousgrasses,characterisedby therate of growthof the stolons,
havebeenobserved.To one type belongspecieswith rapidly growing
stolonswhichformextensive,thoughrather!thin,netsandin a compara-
tivelyshorttimeproducelarge,opencolonies.Beingopen,thesecolonies
allow the growthof otherplantsin the areasoccupiedby the colonies.
The actualcompetitionbetweenthespeciesstartsonly later,when,after
havingcovereda considerableareawith a thin netof stolons,thestoloni-
ferousgrassbeginsto form a densesward. As examplesof this typeof
stoloniferousgrass,Cynodondactylon,Cynodonplectostachyum,Diplachne
jaegeri, andChloris gayanacanbe named.The secondtypeis character-
isedby the comparativelyslowgrowthof stolons. Specieswhichbelong
to this type produceslowly spreading,but dense,nets of stolons,and
form densecoloniesfrom the very beginningof their growth. Grasses
of this groupoccupyan areaslowly,stepby step,butoncein occupation
theyretainit firmly. Amongstthe grassesof this typeare Chloris ame-
thystea,Eustachys paspaloides,andSporobolus marginatus.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The authoris muchindebtedto Mr. C. E. Hubbard,PrincipalRe-
searchOfficer,Royal BotanicGardens,Kew, for very valuableadvice
on taxonomyof the grassesdealtwith in the pr0sentpaper.
Nairobi,
November,1951.
A LITTLE.-KNOWN WATERLILY FROM TANGANYIKA.
By P. R. O. Bally.
Botanist,CoryndonMuseum.
In UnyamwesiandUssukuma,in WesternTanganyika,grows
oneof the loveliestand leastknow of all waterlilies:Nymphaeastuhl-
manni ( Schwfth.) Gilg.
At theendof August,1942,the writer hadthe goodfortuneto see
it for the first time, from a railway carriage,travellingfrom Tabora
towardsDar-es-Salaam.Immediatelybesidetherailwaytrackwasa little
pond,coveredwith large,bright yellow waterlilies. The temptationto
pull thesafetycordwasstrong;but a senseof proprietyprevailed,anda
uniqueopportunitywas missed.
Ten yearslater, almostto the day,on Augustthe 24th,1952,the
occasionaroseto visit the areaagain. My enquiriesrevealedthat the
very pondthat I hadpassedin the train wassituateda few milesfrom
DECEMBER 1952. BALLY, A Little-known Waterlily of Tanganyika. 77
theplacewhereI wasstaying.Thedroughthadsetin early,andmost
of the na~uralpc:mdshad c0l!1pletelydriedup. On the cakedmud,
howeve~,pIttedWIththefootprmtsofelephants,driedflowersandleaves
werestIll strewn.about,andsometuberswerelying exposedon the
surface.Thedry~ng-upof thepondmusthavetakenplacequickly,for
theleaveshaddrIedgreenandthepetalsof theshrivelledflowerswere
still yellow.
. Waterlilie~abou~din mosttropicalAfricanstagnantwaters,pre-
dommantlybearmgwhIte,or bluetopurpleflowers.Someyearsearlier
I had.collectedseveralof thosespeciesin theextensiveswampsof Mala-
garasI;butI hadseennotraceof Nymphaeastuh1manni. Yellowspecies
of Nymphaeaarefew,onlytwoareknownfromAfrica;andtheirdistri-
butionis comparativelylimited.
History: Nymphaea stuhlmanni wasdiscoveredby Dr. F. Stuhlmannin
June 1890,at a placedescribedas"gundamkali"near"Bibisande"in
Unyamwesi,at 1200meters(3800-'4000')altitude.Thesenamescannot
nowbetracedonourmodernmapsof '[anganyika.
In Engller's"Pflan2fenweltOstafrikas", C.,178,~895,it -isvery
shortlydescribedasavarietyofNymphaealotus L.(thedescriptiongives
no structuraldetails,butrefersmerelyto theyellowcolourof various
partsof theflower).
Eightyearslater,in anannotationtohisdescriptionof Nymphaea
sulphurea (in Warburg's"Kunene-SambesiExpedition", 236,1903),E.
GHgpublishedourplantasaseparatespecies,basedondistinctivecharac-
terssuchas theentireleafmargin,thelongappendagesof theanth-
ers,etc. In 1905,H.S.Conard'smagnificentmonograph"TheWaterlilies"
givesEngler'sshortdescriptionverbatim;andtheplantis figuredwith
a line-drawingmadefromStuhlmann'stype,in Berlin.
Finally,Nymphaea stuhlmanni is describedmorefully in E. Gilg's
chapteron Nymphaeaceaeafricanae, publishedin "Engl. Bot.Jahrb.",
Vo1.41,pp 355-356,1908.Herethediameterof thefloweris givenas
10-15em.;theprominentveinsontheundersideoftheleafarementioned;
andtheauthorpointsoutthatonConard'sillustrationtheleafis inaccu-
ratelyshownwith roundedlobes,whilein Stuhlmann'stypetheyare
distinctlyacute.
Theplantwascollectedagainin 1929by a railwayemployeeof
theTanganyikarailways;livingspecimensweresentto Amaniandcul-
tivatedat theEastAfricanAgriculturalResearchInstitute.Theydid
notsurviveformorethana fewmonths.Driedflowers(but noleaves)
wereobtainedfor theHerbarium.
In 1935,B. D. BurttcollectedspecimensatShanwa,in Ussukuma.
Theysnowwell theentiremarginandtheacutelobesof theleaf.
Habitat: FromthefewplaceswhichI inspectedin Unyamwesi,it would
appearthatNymphaeastuhlmanni is notfoundi~permanentwaters,but
in seasonalpools,whichdry up completelydurmgtheveryprolonged
dryseasonwhichprevailsin thearea.Thus,in a largepermanentswamp
therewasno traceof N.stuhlmanni, whileNymph.aealotus waspresent.
In thesmallerpools,quitedrywhenvisited,num~rousremai~~fNym-
phaeastuhlmanniwereseen.In thedried-uportIo~ofanartIfi~Iald~m,
atits lowestat thetimeof myvisit,manyhalf-bUrIedtubersWIthdned
78 ALEXANDER, Some Game birds of West Africa. VOL. xx
leavesand flowerswerefoundin the crackedmud;while in its deepest
part,wherethewateris permanent,herewereseveralplantsof Nymphaea
totus,bu~only oneliving Nyrnphaeastuhlrnanni at thevery edgeof the
water,wIth oneflower fully unfolded. Theseobservationspoint to the
possibilitythatthetuberof Nymphaeastuhlrnannineedsanannualperiod
of rest in the dessicatedmud,andthe failure to retainit in cultivation
in Arnan!mightbethusexplained.
Description: From thetwo Herbariumsheetsin theEastAfrican Herba-
rium jn Nairobi (Greenway1519from CentralTanganyika,1929,cult. in
Amani,andB. D. Burtt 5215,fromShanwa,1935)andfromfreshmaterial
collectedby the writer, it is now possibleto describeNyrnphaea stuht-
rnanni with moredetaiL
Rhizome:Ovoidto spherical,sometimesirregular,erect,with projecting
leaf-scars5-12cm. long,dark,blackish-brown,denselycoveredwith thin
greymucilaginoushairs; rootswhite,cylindrical,long slender.
Leaves:abouttwenty,onlongslender,greenpetioles;bladeovate.20cm.
long, 18em.broad,sinusopen,lobesacute,greenon both sides,young
leaveswith smallpurplespotson theunderside;midribandveinspromi-
nentv-nderneath.
Flowers: 10-15 cm.diameter;Sepals: four,7 cm.long,2 cm.wide,lan-
ceolatewith a roundedapex;greenoutside,sulphuryellowinside.Petals:
twenty-seven,up to 6.5 crn. long and 13 mm. wide, lanceolate,acute,
sulphuryellow: Anthers: onehundred.andthirty three,arrangedin con-
centricrings,9 mm to 17mm. long,with appendages1-10 mm.long,
goldenyellow on strap-shapedfilaments.Ovary: 36mm.diameterwhen
mature;Carpels: twentythree,flat, 16mm.high, 15mm.wide,with.a
yellowbeak-likehornincumbenton thedome-shapedgoldenyellowaXIle
process.
Seeds: verynumerous;ovoid,1mm.long,immdiameter,straw-coloured.
with thin, longitudinal,hairlike lines.
Coryndon-Museum,
Nairobi.
September,1952..
BOOK REVIEW.
SOME GAME BIRDS OF WEST AFRICA. By.William Alexander
Fairbairn.D.Sc.,Edin.
With 9 colourplatesby P. M. Sumner.pp 92andxii. Edinburgh,Oliver
& BoydLtd., 12/6net.
This is a well-producedlittle volume,whoseobjectis, astheauthor
indicatesin hispreface,therecordingof generalinformationandinterest-
ing factsaboutthemigrantandresidentgamebirdsof WestAfrica.
Thetextconsistsof briefaccountsof 18DucksandGeese;8Franco-
lins; 5 Bustards;4 Guinea-fowl;and 12 smallerbirds includingStone-
partridge,Quail,Snipe,Quail-plover,Button-quail,andFruit-pigeons.The
matterscoveredfor eacharegeographicaldistribution,localhabitat,field
appearance,voiceandnesting. No measurementsaregiven,andthepic-
turesserveinstead9f descriptions,as in Roberts'work on SouthAfrican
birds.


A Little-known waterlily from Tanganyika

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A Little-known waterlily from Tanganyika

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