Tas. 5119. 
GOLDFUSSIA. TxHomsont. 
Dr. Thomson's Goldfussia. 
Nat. Ord. ACANTHACEX.—-DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. 
Gen. Char. (Vide supra, Tas. 4767.) 
Gotprussta Thomsonii; caule glaberrimo herbaceo gracili, apicibus ramorum 
ealycibusque glanduloso-pilosis, foliis lanceolato- v. elliptico-ovatis utrinque 
acuminatis serratis subtus pallidis paribus supremis ineequalibus, floribus 
ad apices ramulorum 1-5 sessilibus v. pedunculo rarius elongato subspicatis, 
sepalis anguste linearibus, corolle tubo gracili basi ‘albo dein lobisque in- 
tense violaceo-purpureis. 
This pretty species, of which seeds were sent by Dr. Thomson 
from the Sikkim-Himalaya, belongs to an intricate group of the 
genus, including G. discolor, Dathousiana, and penstemonordes, 
from all of which it differs in its more slender habit, fewer 
almost invariably terminal flowers, and slender tube of the deep 
violet-purple corolla; it also approaches very nearly some states 
of the variable G. Wallichii (Strobilanthes Wallach, Nees), but 
- that plarit has a much more tumid corolla, with a broader tube 
and narrower limb. All these and many others of the genus 
are well worthy of cultivation, from the beauty and abundance 
of their blossoms, which are produced in succession for several 
weeks. The G. Thomsoni has been gathered by Drs. Thomson 
and Hooker in Garwhal (west of Nepal), in Sikkim, at elevations 
of 6-9000 feet, and in the Khasia Mountains, if we are right in 
our identification of these specimens, which in a dried state 1s @ 
matter of great difficulty. : 
Descr. A small, herbaceous perennial, of upright growth and 
lax habit. Stems slender, glabrous, a foot or two high, sparingly 
branched. Leaves two to three inches long, the lower pairs 
petioled and nearly equal, the upper sessile and very unequal, 
all ovate or elliptical, lanceolate, with tapering points, and ser- 
rated margins, nearly smooth, or with a little scattered pubes- 
JUNE lst, 1859, 
