174 ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 



found on tlie Himalayas, tut only one, so far as T am aware, extends to Southern India, and these 

 only met with on tops of the highest mountains. Species of Ewacum extend from the level 

 of the sea to the highest tops of the Neilgherries ; the Canscoras are all natives of the plains, 

 or of lower elevations ; the Ophelias^ several of which are found in the peninsula, inhabit the 

 mountain tops, as does Halenia^ a nearly allied genus. The aquatic genera, Villarsia and 

 Limnanthemum^ I have always found on the plains. 



Properties and Uses. On this subject Lindley well remarks, that "the order of Genti- 

 anea Is not more remarkable for the diversity of its colours, than it is for the uniformity of the 

 secretions which its yarlous species exhibit. Bitterness in every part, roots, leaves, flower, fruit, 

 in annuals perennials and shrubs, is so much their characteristic, that the following account 

 of the purposes to which they are applied is little more than a list of repetitions; with this 

 exception, that they in some cases prove narcotic and emetic."" 



The properties of the Indian species, with the exception of a few of the northern ones, 

 seem to have been scarcely if at all investigated, as I do not find a single notice regarding 

 them, but I know that they do not depart from the general characteristics of bitterness as I 

 have tasted many. Neither have I in this country seen them in cultivation as garden orna- 

 ments, though several merit the distinction, especially the Exacums, which replace in this 

 country the Gentians of Europe. Their colours as indicated, in the above extract, by Dr. 

 Tiindley are various and striking; red, purple, blue, yellow, and white all occur, and in one 

 Indian species, Exacum hicplor^ blue and white are blended, the tube of the flower being white, 

 and the tips of the lobes blue. The flowers of the little Keilgherry Gentian are deep-blue, and 

 so likewise are those of the much-more-conspicuous and showy Exacum Perrottetii, a most 

 ornamental plant, but rarely met with in gardens. The Ophehas too are all showy plants, and 

 with a httle care might be rendered very ornamental additions to the flower garden. 



Remarks ox Genera and Species. To this order appertains about 60 genera, and nearly 

 500 species; of these 12 or 13 genera, and about 100 species are found in India. Griesbach 

 divides the order into two tribes, Gentianece veroe and MenyanthecB. The first of these tribes 

 he further divides into 4 sub-tribes, three of which have Indian representatives. For the pur- 

 pose of conveying as perfect an idea of the whole order, as can be done in small space, I have 

 selected small plants for representation in the supplementary plate, and in that way have been 

 enabled to illustrate both the tribes and three of the sub-tribes in a single plate. Those wishing 

 further information wdl find figures of 20 additional species in my Icones. Regarding the plant 

 figured in the Icones under the name of Halenia Perrottetii, I may here remark that I have, 

 ^'??V/J -r "" •?!'' ^^.^^'^l^^^ed it is not that species but H. elliptica (or a nearly allied species) 

 which thus, if really identical, proves to be a native of both the Himalayas and Neilgherries. 

 St.U further to correct the previous error, I have given a figure of what I consider the true 

 plant in the accompanying plate, No. 157. The following are Griesbach's characters of the 

 1 ribes and Sub-tnbes illustrated. 



Tribe I. Gentianece. ^stivat.™ 

 ous. Terrestrial herbs, or rarely shrubs. 



Testa membranace- 

 rnate) 



Sub-tnbe I Chironiece. Cells of the anthers erect, without a connective, hence dehiscing 

 b> short, pore-hke shts, often contiguous at the apex. (Exacum Perrottetii.) 



twisted sTldi.ST .. Aethers furnished with a connective, at length recurved or spirally 

 t«i8ted S^le distinct, deciduous. (Canseora alata and Cicindea fastigiata.) 



Sti.l^'iStenr sf:nf ^^^^^ - -active, remaining unchanged. 



(Halema Perrottetii, and several species of Ophelia.) 



Menyanthece. iEstivat 



(L 



, B enaer as my ac<i«aintance is with the order, as a whole, I cannot help thinking that some 



