600 JOURI^AL, BOMBAY NATURAL RIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



crown 4 or more: secondary branching dichotomous. Stem-leaves alternate. 

 Sessile, ascending, lanceolatr or oblanceolate, + 3x f in., gradually tapering 

 to the base. Crown-leaves as the stem-leaves, but broader. Leaves subtend- 

 ing the branchlets as in the last sp. but not connate at base. Involucres as 

 in the last ; glands ivith two long, decurved horn-like points. Capsules 

 and seed more or less as the last. 



Synonyms.— i^. glanca, Roxb. Fl. Ind. II, 473 (not of Willd.). E. Bothiana, 

 Wt. Ic. (not of Spreng.) E. segetalis, Wt. No. 7691, in herb. DC. ex Boiss. 

 loc. cit. E. Bothiana, Dalz. and Gibs. Somb. Fl. p. 226 (in part). Hooker, 

 Fl. B. I. V. p, 263 (in part). Cooke, Fl. Bomb. II. p. 564 (in part). 

 Fyson, Hill-tops Fl. p. 360. 



Distribution. — Summit of the Western Ghats, and South Indian moun- 

 tains, very common in grasslands and forest clearings. Firs, winter-spring 

 Wight (i.e.) says — "A very common alpine plant, found on nearly all the 

 " higher hills that I have visited. X have specimens from Mahableshwar and 

 " Ceylon, and from numerous intermediate stations." Boissier (I.e.) says — 

 " In montibus Indise meridionalis, malabaria." Perhaps also in the Hima- 

 layas {E. diver gens, Klotsch., referred by Boissier to E. orcophila and by 

 Hooker to his E. Bothiana). 



Varieties. — (1) Boissier gives " Var. pubescens, foliis et capsulse pedicellis 

 pubescentibus. In territorio Cannara." Hooker retains this variety, but 

 describes it as " branchlets and leaves more or less pubescent." It is also 

 clear that the locality is not Canara but Mercara in Coorg. 



(2) Boissier also gives a Var. Wightiana. This is Wight's type in Ic. 

 1864. {E. Bothiana). But it seems to be only a luxuriant example. 



I base my reduction of Hooker's E. Bothiana into the two species above- 

 described on field observation. I have seen E. oreopliila at Kotagiri in the 

 Nilgiris in 1915 and 1916 and at Mahableshwar in 1918. And I have seen 

 E. Iceta in numerous places in the Dharwar District during the last three 

 winters. The differences between them in habit, etc., are constant. Espe- 

 cially in the case of E. Iceta 1 must have seen thousands of plants, and have 

 repeatedly watched in vain for any divergence from the exact number of 

 three crown-leaves, and for any lignification or reddening of the stem. 



I have to thank Father Blatter for kindly obtaining and sending me the 

 descriptions of the earlier authors to enable me to clear up the synonymy. 

 There are still a few other authorities quoted in the F. B. I., but they are 

 of less importance. 



