89 
irregulari. Stamen unicum reliquis minus. Stigma bilobum. 
Capsula supera, 1-locularis, 2-valvis. Semina numerosa. 
Pladera virgata; annua erecta tetragona, ramis oppositis 
alternisque, foliis inferioribus lanceolato-spathulatis 3-ner- 
viis reliquis cordatis acutis, floribus terminalibus panicu- 
latis. (SuppL. Tas. XXV.) 
P. virgata. Roxb. Fl. Ind. v. 1. p. 417. Spreng. Syst. 
Veget. v. 1. p. A81. Cham. et Schlecht. in Linnea, v. 1. p. 198. 
Exacum diffusum. Wild. Sp. Pl. v. 1. p. 637. 
Gentiana diffusa. Vahl, Symb. 3. p. 4t. 
Canscora diffusa. Br. Prodr. v. 1. p. 451. 
Centhera. Tamu. 
Annual. Stems erect, ramous, 4-sided, angles sharp; 
branches axillary, at the base opposite, slender, ascending, 
dividing into alternate branchlets, in this resembling the upper 
part of the main stem, each branch of which repeatedly divides 
into two, until they finally terminate in three or five flowers. 
Leaves opposite, below spathulato-lanceolate, rather obtuse, 
above very broad, cordato-ovate, or nearly orbicular, sessile, 
somewhat amplexicaul, glabrous, thin, entire, very sharp- 
pointed. Flowers pale lilac-coloured, terminal. Calyx 
tubular, 4-cleft, segments acute, 3-nerved. Corolla funnel- 
shaped; tube the length of the calyx; limb 3-cleft, segments 
nearly equal, obtuse, spreading, one of them a little larger, 
with a deep cleft or plait in the middle, for the reception of 
the larger stamen. Stamens 4; filaments attached near the 
top of the tube, three of them short, bearing yellow anthers, 
the fourth much larger, with a deep orange-coloured anther, 
which becomes erect when about to shed its pollen, having 
been previously lodged in the groove of the corolla. Pistil: 
germen cylindrical, about half the length of the tube of the 
corolla; style filiform; stigma 2-cleft, its segments revolute, 
flattened, downy all over. Capsule cylindrical, within the 
withered corolla, 1-celled, 2-valved. If wounded before it is 
quite ripe, a quantity of milky juice exudes. Seeds very 
numerous, attached to the margins of the valves. _ 
A native of wet soil; found near tanks, and on the banks of 
