Pontederia. hexandria monogynia. 121 



PONTEDERIA. Schreh. gen. n. 545. 



Calyx, spathe common. Corol six-petalled or parted. 

 Stamina and style ascending. Capsule superior, three- 

 celled, three- valved. 



1. P. vaginalis. Willd. 2. 23. Coroni. pi n. 110. 



Leaves cordate, acute, from five to seven-nerved ; ra- 

 cemes peduncled, after the flowers decay, recurved. 



Carimgala. Rheed. Mai. 11 t. 44. 



Sans. Neelotpala. 



Beng. Nouka. 



Teling. Nirocancha. 



A native of the borders of sweet water lakes or marshy 

 places. It flowers during the rains. 



Root perennial, creeping. Leaves radical, narrow-cor- 

 date, pointed, entire, smooth, glossy ; from two to four 

 inches long, and from one to two broad. Petioles sub- 

 erect, tapering, fistulous, smooth, from six to twelve 

 inches long ; those that bear a raceme are swelled a lit- 

 tle about the middle, and there open like a spathe length- 

 ^"ways near the base, those that do not bear flowers are 

 enlarged into a sheath, which embraces the exterior 

 leaves. Raceme short-peduncled, after flowering time, 

 drooping, from six to twelve flowered. Pedicels about 

 three quarters of an inch long. Flowers blue and pretty. 

 Calyx no other than the common spathe of the raceme. 

 Petals six, the three exterior are the smallest, and oblong, 

 the three interior obovate. Filaments ascending, in- 

 serted round the base of the germ, the lowermost one is 

 generally broad, and two-cleft, its lower division bears a 

 blue anther, the otlier nothing ; the rest are yellow. GennL 

 superior. Style single. Stigma gladular. 



2. P. hastata. Willd. 2. 24. Corom. pL 2. N. 111. 

 Leaves triangular, or hastate, pointed, many -nerved- 

 Racemes subsessile, erect. 



