36 POLYGALE. PoLYGALA. 
I. POLYGALA. Linn.; Lam. ill. t. 598; Gærtn. fr. t. 62. 
Sepals 5, persistent, the ale large and petaloid. Petals 3; their claws all 
united with the staminiferous tube, the lower one (carina) keel-shaped, the 
two additional ones abortive. Stamens united into a tube at the base, which 
is cleft in front : anthers opening by a pore. Ovarium 2-celled ; ovules so- 
litary, pendulous from the apex of the cell. Capsule 2-locular, loculicide, 
compressed. Seeds pendulous from the apex of the cells, pubescent, with a 
carunculate arillus at the hilum: albumen abundant, fleshy —Shrubs or her- 
baceous plants. Flowers arranged in terminal or axillary racemes. 
126. (1) P. telephioides (Willd.:) stems herbaceous, diffuse, branched from 
the root, pubescent, terete, angled towards the extremity: leaves succulent, 
quite glabrous, oval-oblong, narrower at the base, obtuse, more or less mucron- 
ate, shortly petioled: racemes 4—5-flowered, nearly opposite to the leaves 
and scarcely one-half as long: bracteoles minute, at length deciduous : ale 
foliaceous, oval, suddenly shortly acuminated and very sharp, glabrous, a 
little longer than the capsule: carina with a crest: capsule nearly orbicular, 
equal, emarginate, scarcely pubescent along the edge, not margined.— ; 
branches elongated, bearing here and there several simple branchlets ; leaves 
from a half to three quarters of an inch long.— Wight ! cat. n. 121.—P. tele- 
phioides, Willd. sp. 3. p. 876; DC. prod. 1. p. 332; Spr. syst. 3. p. 167.—8 ; 
branches short ; leaves scarcely above two lines long.— Wight ! cat. n. 127.— 
P. serpyllifolia, Poir. ; DC. prod. 1. p. 326 ; Spr. syst. 3. p. 167.—P. arvensis, 
Wall.! L. n. 4172. f. 
, Flowers and fruit very small. Our var. « constitutes another of the va- 
rieties of Wallich's P. arvensis, but we are not sure which: it is very closely 
allied to P. Chinensis, but that is shrubby and has the racemes longer than the 
leaves. De Candolle, misquoting Willdenow, says the racemes are twice the 
length of the leaves. 
127. (2) P. arvensis (Willd. :) stems herbaceous, branched from the base, 
procumbent, pubescent, terete below, angled upwards: leaves glabrous or 
slightly hairy, pubescent or ciliated on the margin, paler beneath, elliptic- 
oblong or obovate, narrowed towards the base, obtuse or retuse, scarcely 
mucronulate, petioled : racemes 4-8-flowered, nearly opposite to the leaves, 
and about half their length: bracteoles minute, persistent: ale foliaceous, 
oblong, acuminated, searcely longer than the capsule: carina cristate: cap- 
sule roundish, oblique, emarginate, ciliated, not margined.—2 ; leaves ellip- ` 
tic-oblong, glabrous on both sides ; ale glabrous.— Wight ! cat. n. 130. a— ——— 
P. doa Willd. sp. 3. p. 876; DC. prod. 1. p. 326 ; Spr. syst. 3. p. 167; — 
Wall.! L. n. 4172. c.—P. prostrata, Heyne mst. (not Willd.)—P. procumbens — — 
a, Roth. nov. sp. p. 329; DC. prod. 1. p. 326; Spr. syst. 3. p. 166.—P. glau- 
coides, Wight ! in Wall. L. n. 4171. a. (not Linn.)—P. crotalloides, Roxb. in 
E. I. C. mus. tab. 676.—8 ; leaves oblong, with a few soft hairs sprinkled on 
both sides and on the alee.— Wight ! cat. n. 130. b.—y ; leaves obovate, sprin- 
kled with maro po em = es sides particularly on the nerve an 
margins, and on the alee.—Wight! cat. n. P; i ight! in 
Wall. L. n. 4175.—Rheed. Mal. 9. t. 61. e sea ditus 
There can be little doubt that Willdenow had accidentally reversed the 
names attached to the specimens of P. arvensis and P. prostrata, sent him by 
Klein and the missionaries, which has caused considerable confasion. This 
is, however, the P. arvensis of Koenig, and now also of Roxburgh’s herbarium. 
Fruit much larger than in the last species. 
. 128. (3) P. Vahliana (DC.:) stems herbaceous, branched from the base, 
procumbent, pubescent, terete below, angled upwards: leaves sprinkled on - 
both sides with numerous soft hairs, oblong, An niesek Aiandi into the 
