138 XIV. POLYGALE.E. 



I; 



1. SALOMONIA, Lour. 



Sepals nearly equal, the 2 innermost rather larger. Petals 3^ united in a 

 single corolla open on the upper side, the keel not crested. Stamens united 

 nearly to the top into a sheath open on the upper side, and adhering to the 

 corolla at the hase ; anthers 4 or 5. Ovary 2-celled. Capsule thin, flat, ob- 

 cordate or transversely oblong, usually ciliate, openhig loculicidally at the 

 edges. Seeds orbicular, with a minute or without any caruncle, — Small slen- 

 der herbs, either annual or parasitical on roots. Leaves alternate, sometimes 

 reduced to minute scales. Tlowers very small, in terminal spikes. 



The few species known are all natives of tropical Asia, tlie most common one extending 

 into tropical Australia ; but none have yet been found in Africa, 



1. S. oblongifolia, DO. Frod. i., 334. A slender glabrous annual, 

 erect and simple, or slightly branched at 'the base, 3 to 5, or rnrely 6 in. high. 

 Leaves sessile, the larger ones oblong, 3 to 4 lines long, and scarcely above 1 

 broad, the lower ones small and ovate. Flowers pink, scarcely a line long, 

 in terminal leafless racemes or loose spikes of about an inch or rarely longer. 

 Capsule about 1 line broad, but not so long, flattened, didymous, bordered 

 with a fringe of hairs or slender teeth. — Deless. Ic. Sel. iii. t. 19 ; S, obovata, 

 Wight, Illustr, t. 22. 



Queensland. Endeavour river, R. Brown {Hb. R, Br.). Common in the "vvanner dis- 

 tricts of India, from Ceylon and tlie rcuiusula to the Archipelago and the Philippine Islands. 



2. POLYGAIiA, Linn. 



Sepals unequal, the 2 innermost, or wings, large and petal-like. Petals 3, 

 united in a single corolla open on the upper side, the keel bearing a crest-like 

 appendage on the back near the top, or rarely (in species not Aubtralian) 3- 

 lobed. Stamens 8, united to above the middle in a sheath open on the upper 

 side, and adnate to the petals at the base. Ovar}^ 2-cclled. Style various. 

 Capsule thin or rarely coriaceous, flattened, obovate, ovate, or orbicular, 

 usually notched at the top, opening loculicidally at the edges. Seeds ovate 

 or oblong, hairy or glabrous, bixt the hairs not lengthened into a coma, with 

 or without a caruncle at the hilum, — Herbs, undershrubs, or shrubs. Leaves 

 n?ually alternate or whorled. Racemes or spikes terminal or lateral, rarely 

 axillary. 



A very large genus, abundant in tropical countries, and generally also in temperate re- 

 gions, except in Australia, where it is, with one exception, limited to the tropical distiicis, 

 and in New Zealand, where it is entirely absent. Of the 7 Australian species, 3 are widely 

 spread over tropical Asia, and the 4 others, although endemic, arc nearly connected also with 

 corresponding Asiatic ones. 



Perennial. Style with 2 stigrnatic lobes one above the other. Seeds 



obovate, shortly villous 1, P^Japoniva. 



Annuals. Seeds oblong villous, the hairs much lone:er at the cud 



furthc&t from the hilum. 

 Riicenies long, terminal. Inner sepals petnloid, obtuse. Crest 



fringed. Stigma simple, terminal, capitate 2. P. hptulea. 



Racemes short, very dense and hirsute, terminal or lateral. Inner 



sepals herbaceous, acuminate. Crest 2-horBcd. Style with 1 



erect lobe and a lower large glandular stigma .,'.... 3. P. enocephala- 



rf 



