63 MAGNOLIA PTEROCARPA. 
Fruit an oblong strobiliform cone, of about six inches in length, and 
7-8 in circumference, upwardly imbricated with numerous, 
long-tailed follicular samare, which open on the outside near 
the base, and expose to view the large beautiful orange seeds, 
often hanging by a slender, soft, sericeous filament. 
Seeds one, or two, subtriangular; angles rounded. Integuments 
three; exterior fleshy, and while fresh of a fine glossy orange 
colour ; second of a nuciform texture, and divides into two 
valves, when vegetation begins ; cnner a fine membrane. 
Albumen conform to the seed, soft and oily. 
Embryo small, lodged in that angle of the albumen, next the um- 
bilicus. Cotyledons cordate. Radicle oval, centripetal. 
267. LEPIDAGATHIS CRISTATA. 
Linn. sp. pl. ed. Willd. 8. p. 400. 
Perennial, diffuse. Leaves opposite, sessile, lanceolate. Inflo- 
rescence a dense head close to the crown of the root. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
A native of elevated, dry, barren ground over the Coast of 
Coromandel. Flowering time the rainy and cold season. 
In generic character it is but little removed from Barleria, but 
the habit of the plant is very different. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Root perennial. 
Stem scarce any, but several, long, slender, opposite, diffuse, 4-sided, 
ramous, smooth branches spread close on the ground, and 
often strike root. 
Leaves opposite, sessile, lanceolate entire, sometimes villous, or 
even hairy and scabrous; from one to three inches long, and 
half-an-inch or less broad. 
Inflorescence in large, variously-shaped, densely imbricated heads, 
close to the earth, near the root, with smaller ones scattered 
over the joints of the larger branches. 
Bractes numerous, imbricated, lanceolate, ciliate, spinous pointed. 
Flowers numerous, small, rose colour. 
Calyx of two pair of unequal leaflets, exterior pur greatly larger, 
with the lower leaflet thereof bidentate ; all are hairy and 
ciliate. 
Corol one-petalled, ringent. Tube gibbous, with mouth much con- 
tracted. Throat campanulate ; upper lip erect, emarginate ; 
under lip, large, 3-parted, middle division broad, emarginate, 
a little curled, and more deeply coloured. 
Filaments within the throat of the corol. _Anthers twin. 
Germ ovate, elevated on a glandular receptacle. Style sufficiently 
long to elevate the small stigma even with the anthers. 
Capsule ovate, acute, sessile, 2-celled, 2-valved, bursting with 
elasticity, as in Justicia, Barleria, kc. 
64 
PISTIA. 
268. PISTIA STRATIOTES. 
Linn. sp. pl. ed. Willd. 3, p. 690. 
Zala asiatica. Lour. cochinch. p. 405. 
Kodda-pail. Rheed. mal. 11. p. 63. t. 32. 
Plantago aquatica. Rumph. amb. 6. p.177. t. 74. fig. 2. 
Cumbhica, the Sanscrit name. 
Nuroo-boodooky of the Telingas. 
Tacca-panna of the Bengalese, and Hindoos. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Found swimming on pools of stagnant water over most parts of 
India, and has much the appearance of half grown lettuce plants. 
Flowering time the hot season. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Root consists of numerous, long, tapering, hairy fibres, rarely en- 
tering the mud or earth. 
Leaves radical, sessile, shape between obcordate and triangular, 
exterior margin scalloped; many elevated ridges run length- 
ways underneath; downy on both sides. 
Gemmation, or stoles from the base of the united leaves. 
Flowers short peduncled, rising from the centre of the leaves, few 
and in succession, small, pale yellow ; the structure uncom- 
mon, and beautiful in the extreme. 
Calyx none. 
Corol one-petalled, tubular, irregular. Tube obliquely bell-shaped, 
woolly on the outside; a crescent-shaped, fleshy, yellow 
gland, (Jower nectary) on the centre of the inside, opposite 
to the stigma. Border broad-cordate, woolly on the outside ; 
margin a little waved; on its middle there is a green, fleshy, 
crenulated saucer-shaped body, (upper nectary,) from the centre 
of which rises the antheriferous column. 
Stamina. Filament single, from the centre of the (upper) nectary 
of the border of the corol. Anthers five, adjoined to the 
enlarged apex of the short filament. 
Pistil. 
the stamina. 
Germ above, ovate. Style short, slightly curved towards 
Stigma somewhat peltate. 
Capsule ovate, beaked, one-celled. 
Seeds a few, oval, rugose, affixed to a longitudinal receptacle on 
the inside of the base of the capsule, which, from its oblique 
situation, appears to be its back part. 
Embryo obovate, lodged in the apex of an ample albumen. 
EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES. 
Fig. 1. A plant, natural size. 
2. An entire flower. 
3. The same, with part of the bell-shaped tube of the corol 
cut, and thrown back, to show more of the germ. 
4. A perpendicular section of the same. These last three 
much magnified. 
’ 5. The capsule in its natural recurved state: natural size. 
6. <A section of the same, with some of the seeds in it; 
magnified. 
