Penaea
(named after P. Pena, author, with Lobel, of "Adversaria Botanica," 1570). ORD. Penaeaceae. A small genus (nine species) of very dwarf-growing, greenhouse, evergreen, much-branched, densely leafy shrubs, natives of South Africa. Flowers yellow or reddish, solitary, axillary, at the ends of the branches, forming leafy spikes; perianth tube oblong-cylindrical or ovoid, the lobes of the limb valvate. Leaves opposite, sessile, entire, coriaceous; floral ones more conformed, or broader and shorter, than the cauline ones. It is doubtful whether those species described below are still in cultivation. They require a sandy-peat soil. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, inserted in sand, under a glass.
P. mucronata (mucronate). fl. and bracts yellow or purplish. June. l., lower ones ovate, acute, caducous; middle ones ovate, acuminate, broadly sub-cordate at base; uppermost ones reduced to bracts. h. 2ft. 1787. (L. B. C. 1770.) P. myrtoides (Myrtle-like). fl. red. June. l. sessile, ovate or ovate-elliptic, obtuse, flat. h. 2ft. 1816.
P. squamosa (scaly). A synonym of Sarcocolla squamosa.