NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 93 
PRUNELLA. 
Calyx tubuloso-campanulate, irregularly, about 10-nerved, and reticulately veined, flat above, bilabiate. 
the upper lip broad, truncated, shortly 3-toothed, the lower one half bifid with the lobes lanceolate throat 
naked within. Tube of the corolla large, sub-exserted, ascending, within, near the base, cttulats with 
scales or hairs; upper lip erect galiate, somewhat keeled above, entire, the lower one 3-lobed dependent 
the lateral lobes oblong, deflexed, the middle one rounded, concave, crenulate. Stamens exserted, fatnette 
edentulate at the base, glabrous, shortly bidentate at the apex, the lower tooth bearing the anthers: anthers 
approximated by pairs under the upper lip, free, two-celled, cells distinct divaricated. Gynobase equal, 
straight. Style glabrous, bifid at the apex, lobes subulate. Nuts oblong, dry, smooth. Herbaceous plants, 
verticillasters 6-flowered, densely spicate. Floral leaves bract-like, orbiculate, persistent, equaling the 
calyxes and imbricated with them. 3 
This, though a small genus, is interesting owing to the almost unlimited distribution of the species 
here given. It seems to be found everywhere, but in Southern India only on the Neilgherries—Europe 
Africa, Asia, America, and Australia, all have it. In Northern India several stations along the line of the 
Himalayas are indicated, but the Neilgherries, so far as I am aware, is the only one in the south. 
This genus was originally called Brunella, derived from the German word brune, pronounced as if 
written prune, hence it got changed to Prunella, which it bas retained for nearly a century. The younger 
De Candolle has, to my mind most unnecessarily, restored the old orthography thereby creating some con- 
fusion which might as well have been avoided, since nothing is gained to science by the change. The 
word Brune, is the German name of a kind of inflammatory sore throat for the cure of which the infusion 
and expressed juice were considered effscient remedies, whence the name Brunella, pronounced like prunella. 
PRUNELLA vuLGaRis (Linn), leaves petioled, ovate This is a very generally distributed plant, being 
or oblong, entire, dentate, or inciso-pinnatifid: teeth in the language of Mr. Bentham, found “ fere in 
of the upper lip of the calyx truncated, aristate, or toto orbe terrarum, and is introduced here as a 
sub-muticous, or rarely sub-lanceolate: corolla from rare example of a plant so universally diffused. 
a half to twice as long as the calyx. 
ery common plant by road sides, and in pas- : 
tures on the Neilgherries. 
LEUCAS. 
Calyx tubular or tubuloso-campanulate, striated, straight or recurved at the apex, mouth equal or ob- 
liquely elongated either above or below, 8- or 10-toothed. Tube of the corolla within the calyx, annulate 
or naked within, limb bilabiate, the upper one concave, erect, entire or rarely emarginate, very hairy above, 
the lower one longer, spreading, trifid, the middle lobe the largest. Stamens under the helmet ascending: 
filaments naked or sometimes pubescent at the base; anthers under the upper lip approximated by pairs, 
somewhat 2-celled, cells divaricating, confluent. Upper lobe of the style very short, inferior, subulate. Nuts 
3, angular, obtuse. Herbs or under shrubs ; leaves entire or dentate, the floral ones conformable ; verticillas- 
ters sometimes few, sometimes densely many-flowered ; corolla usually white, rarely purplish. 
This is a large genus, including 48 species, 41 of which are natives of India. Of these 41, ten or 
twelve, possibly more, are natives of the Neilgherries. A genus so pre-eminently Indian and alpine ought, 
I believe, to have been more liberally illustrated in this work, but want of space prevented. Two of the 
Neilgherry ones I have ascertained to be mere variations of one species, there being no appreciable dif- 
ference between L. helianthemifolia and ternifolia, all the others are, I believe, good species. The species 
of the genus are very generally distributed over India, and are every where to be met with from the 
One, L. Zeylanica, is used as a remedy against eruptive diseases by the 
