A NOTE ON CEETAIN SPECIES OE POLYGALA. 



45 



1/8 inch long and 1/16 inch broad. Seeds are narrow, strophiolate 

 and without any appendages. 



This plant matches very well with Wight's type specimen No. 131 

 in the Madras Herbarium named Polygala Vahliana DC. It is quite 

 distinct from Polygala erioptera, DC. 1. 326. and differs from it in 

 several points. Polygala Vahliana, DC. is a prostrate plant with 

 oblong hairy leaves, and it has villous sepal wings and pinkish petals, 

 whereas Polygala brioptcra DC. is an erect one with stiff branches 

 and almost glabrous linear leaves and has quite glabrous wing sepals 

 and yellow petals. Specimens of this plant were sent to Mr. Gamble * 

 and he now considers this to be a distinct variety of Polygala eriopt- 

 e) a. The differences are, we think, quite sufficient to consider this as a 

 distinct species, as is done by Wight and Arnott in their Prodromus. 



2. Polygala sp :— This is an annual herb. Stems and branches 

 are mostly procumbent and densely hairy. Leaves are either ovate- 

 cblong, obtuse rarely retuse, or oblong-lanceolate to oblong-linear, 

 acute, mucronulate, shortly petioled and with soft hairs scattered on 

 both the surfaces. Eacemes are shorter than the leaves, lateral, 

 densely softly hairy with a few to many short pedicelled flowers 

 closely set. The larger inner sepals are greenish with membranous 

 margins, thinly hairy all over, obliquely ovate lanceolate, acuminate, 

 about as long as or a little longer than the capsule. Petals are rose- 

 purple. Capsule is oblong, longer than broad, about i inch or a little 

 longer, with unequal lobes, oblique and emarginate at the apex, margin 

 ciliate. Seeds are oblong, with a three-fid strophiole without any 

 wings or rarely two arms with very short obscure wings. 



Who is working on the new official " Flora of the Madras Presidency. 



