ACANTHACEJE. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. ^.284. 



RHINACANTHUS. 



Calyx regularly 5-parted, with small subulate bracts and 

 bractlets. Corolla hypocrateriform, 2-lipped, with a long slender 

 tube ; the upper lip narrow, the lower trifid, with equal seg- 

 ments. Stamens 2, inserted in the throat of the corolla ; anthers 

 2-celled, awnless, with 1 cell placed above the other almost in a 

 line. Capsule clavate ; at the base much compressed, with the 

 commissure of the valves in contact, seedless ; in the upper part 

 4-seeded or by abortion 2-seeded. Dissepiment complete, ad- 

 nate. Seeds ovate, biconvex, augmented with hooks, which are 

 concave and obtuse. N. ab. E. 



1039. R. communis N. ab E. in Wall. pi. as. rar. iii. 109. 

 col. i. — Justicia nasuta Linn. sp. pi. 63. Roxb. Jl. ind. i. 20. 

 Bot. Mag. t. 325. J. scandens Void. symb. ii. p. 7. (Rheede ix. 

 t. 69.) — Continent of India. 



Root woody, branched. Stems many, erect, branched, the old woody 

 parts round, and covered with pretty smooth ash-coloured bark ; the 

 tender branches and young shoots jointed, smooth and obsoletely 

 6-sided. Leaves opposite, stalked, broad-lanceolate, obtuse, above 

 smooth, below a little downy ; entire, from 2 to 4 inches long, and from 

 1 to 2 broad. Panicles corymbose, axillary, and terminal, always 3-cleft 

 as also the subdivisions. Peduncles and pedicels short, round, a little 

 downy. Bracts minute. Flowers small, white. Corolla with a long 

 slender compressed tube; the under lip broad, 3-cleft; upper lip erect, 

 linear, sides reflected, apex, bifid. A fleshy ring surrounding the base 

 of the ovary. Anthers projecting beyond the tube, twin. — Milk boiled 

 on the roots is reckoned aphrodisiacal by the natives of India. Rubbed 

 with lime juice and pepper they are often used, with good effect, to 

 cure the ringworm or Herpes miliaris, which in India is a most trouble- 

 some disease, and very common. They are also reckoned alexipharmic. 



1040. Justicia Ecbolium Linn, is said to be diuretic. 



1041. Justicia pectoralis Jacq. is esteemed a stomachic in the 

 West Indies. 



1042. Justicia biflora Vahl.; and 



1043. Acanthus mollis Linn, have emollient leaves, which are 

 used for poultices. 



GENDARUSSA. 



Calyx regular, 5-parted, furnished at the base with small 

 bracts. Corolla bilabiate ; the upper lip arched, the tube short. 

 Stamens 2, inserted below the throat of the corolla ; connective 



500 



