A FEI'ISIoy OF THE INDIAN SPECIES OF HOT ALA. 711 



Stem croi'iiiiii; at tliu basi\ tin- iToct jiart 28 cin. long, broadly 4-\viiigf(l. 

 Loaves i^-lA mm. long, ;;-(> mm. broad, the tloral ones even smaller, ovate- 

 i>blong or oblong, distinetly uurieled at the base, with a minute stipule on 

 the Tipper surface of eaeh auricle. Below the auricles the base is suddenly 

 contracted and runs down the stem as a broad wing, ending a little above 

 the next node in an obtuse process. 



Flowers .')-4-nu'rous. Bracteoles ] — .', the length of the calyx. Calyx 2- 

 l*o nun. long, broadly campanula te, teeth o-4, as long as the tube ; cor- 

 nua absent ; nectariferous ring adnate, reaching :] the length of the tube. 

 Petals l.V times the length of the calyx-teeth, persistent, broadly elliptic or 

 obovate. Stamens inserted half way down the tube. Style as long as the 

 ovary or § of it. 



Capsule .'j-valved, globose, minutely tnbercled. 



Habitat : Tropical region of Bengal {.). D. Hook and Th. ! ). 



l;]. Rotala indica nov coivib. — Peplis indica, Willd. Spec. PI. ii (1799) 

 2-\\.—Atnmannia nana, lloxb. Fl, Ind. i (1820) 427 ex Clarke, non Wall. — 

 Ammannia peplokles. Spreng, Syst. i (1825) 444 ; Boiss. Fl. Or. ii (1872) 742; 

 Clarke in Hook. Fl. Brit. Ind. ii (1879) mQ ; Duthie, Fl. Upper Gang. 

 Plain, i (1903) 349 : Cooke, Fl. Bomb. Pres. i (190-3) bQii.—Ameletia indica 

 DC. in Mem. Soc. Gen. iii, 2 (1826) 82, t. 3, f. A ; Prodr, iii (1828) 76 ; 

 Wight, Ic. i (1838-40) t. 257 A ; Blume, Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. ii (1852) 

 135, t. 47 ; Dalz. and Gibs. Bomb. Fl. (1861) 96. — Ammannia polystachya, 

 Wall., Cat. (1828; n. 2094, 2094 a, b ; Wight and Arn. Prodr. Fl. Ind. Or. 

 (1834) 304. — Ameletia clonyalu, Blume, 1. c. 135. — Ameletia acutidens, Miq., 

 Fl. Ind. Bat. i (1855) 617. — Ammannia ^ubvottinda, Wall, ex Kurz in Journ. 

 As. Soc. Beng. iv, 2 (1871) 55, and xlvi, 2 (1877) 85 ; Clarke in Hook. f. 

 Fl. Brit. Ind. ii (1879) 571. — Ratal a indica, 'Koehne, \n 'Engl. Bot. Jahrb. i 

 (1880) 172, in Engl. Pflanzenr, iv, 216 (1903) ^Si.—Rotala subrotunda, 

 Koehne, II. cc. 174 and 41. 



Stems 4-40 cm. long, decumbent at the base and rooting or erect, 4-gonon8, 

 rarely simple, mostly once or twice branched. Leaves 4-20 mm. long, 1-5-10 

 mm. broad, decussate, obovate or subspathulate-oblong or suborbiciilar, or 

 narrowly oblong, the base cuneate or obtuse or cordate, the apex acute or 

 very obtuse-mucronate, distinctly or obscurely cartiloginous-marginate, 

 penninerved. 



Flowers tetramerous, subsessile or with pedicels iipto 2 mm. long, soli- 

 tary in the axils of generally reduced leaves. Calyx 2-3 mm. long, narrow- 

 ly or broadly companulate. Petals persistent, obovate or obovate-rotund, 

 slightly acute or subemarginate at the apex. Stamens included or exsert- 

 ed. Style very variable, shorter or longer than the ovary. 



Capsules 2-valved, narrowly ellipsoid or obovoid oblong. 



Ii. indica is a most variable species. It can easily be distinguished 

 from all other species, but the niimerous variations are not such as to 

 enable us to make distinct subspecies or varieties. We have tried to 

 arrange the difierent forms in groups, and there is scarcely a morphological 

 point that we did not make the basis of distinction, but without success. 

 Even the distinction which Koehne pointed out in order to establish his two 

 species Rotala indica and 7i'. sithrotunda, i-iz., included and excluded anthers 

 does not hold good. There are a great number of transition forms con- 

 necting the two extremes. We shall, therefore, confine ourselves to des- 

 cribing a number of forms. In doing so we wish to prevent the unnecessary 

 umltification of species in the future, on the one hand, and, on the other, 

 to oti'er materials to those who are interested in the study of variations, 

 the problems of distribution and evolution of i)lant8. Many will agree with 

 us when we say that the variations of plants in the tropics, and especially 

 in India, have been too much neglected in the past. 



