224 ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY 



CXXIL— PLU MBAGIN ACE^. 



^ This is a small order and one with which the Indian Botanist has but little trouble, the 

 Indian species being very few. Of ten genera, referred to the order, only three hav^e Indian 

 representatives, and among them only furnish four species. Scinde and Cabul have several 

 more, some of which it seems probable may be found eastward of the Indus but as yet, so far 

 as I can discover, none of them have been found in our North Western provinces. The Scinde 



and Cabul ones belong to that most difficult genus, Statice, for specimens of one species of 



which I am indebted to Mr. Stocks. The order, being thus sparingly distributed in India, 

 need not occupy much of our time or space. A most elaborate Monograph by Al. E. Boissier 

 has recently been published in De Candolle's Prodromus, but which, so far as this work is con- 

 cerned, seems unnecessarily detailed and copious, especially in the character of the order which 

 occupies three pages of that work. 



f 



Character of the QjiDEa. Calyx tubular, persistent, sometimes coloured, corolla (of 

 very thin texture) monopetalous, with a narrow tube, or composed of 5 petals, which have 

 a long narrow claw. Stamens definite, opposite the petals, in the monopetalous species hypo^v- 

 iious [m Plumbago seated on the very bottom of the corolla but not truly hypogynousl 

 m the polypetalous rising from the petals. Ovary superior composed of 5 (or S or 4) valvate 

 carpels, 1-celled, 1-seeded; ovule anatropal, pendulous from the point of an umbelical cord 

 aris.ng from the bottom of the cavity; styles 5 i seldom 3 or 4 ; stigmas the same number. 

 Irmt a nearly mdehiscent utricle. Seed inverted with a rather small quantity of mealy albu- 

 men ; testa simple ; embryo straight ; radicle superior. ^ j j 



Affinities. On this point considerable difference of opinion for some time existed, and 

 Z.v!'.JAm\F''^ "'*' ^? a curious question, one, apparently, easily answered, but in 

 Iftp Inr/fl^ «cul one, namely how to distinguish the calyx from' the corolla. Jussieu, and 

 tbl npll ?.\ r"^ fi '^^"^'^r^ ^\l P^''^ ^''' '^^^''^ the calyx a kind of involucrum and 

 the «^o ? Ld '^JT ""' r^^^' ^^'' ^''"^" ^^'^^'^ ^^'^ «PP««^t« "^V'nnon and pronounced 



h^t tlJe litli-r'^"! r? '"^^^ ? ''^^ '""^y^ ^""^ corolla, not apparent, and consequently 

 cor ec tha tb. tn ^'^'°°" '' '-'' monochlamedious class. Admitting that this view is 



1-celTed w^^h . c.nt r^r/ ''' 1 "PP^/^^^e the petals, that the ovary has 5 carpels, but is only 

 ll kh the o?ule is stn^^^^ ^""T^ (for such, I presume, the long filiform funiculous from 

 dentlv Te in mv r f """^ ^' considered), then the relationships of the order seem evi- 



adopt^ed wl ncl v^v^, f f ^'"''if ^''' ^^^f ^^V' ^"^ '^' ^" ^^' ^^^'^ ^^^"d, Jussieu's idea is 

 and W; TnS Te vi t' ^ calyx, then the order is transferred to a different class 



thicrmust have somTw^^^ transition order. ^ In regard to the position of the stamens, 



at the base of the filamS W wWclithe'v cnbl. ^^^"^^5^'^' ^^J ^^^^^ .^ glandular enlargement 

 but are peri^vnous thnt TLi ^T \f ^^^^^ere forming a ring round the base of the ovary, 



hate'the^aLlieT'o p: i Tetbl'" ThcL'fLL' I'^f ^'^^I^ 'f'' T^l^^' -\^yP^^y--^' -^ 

 Mr Brown's ooinion anrl fn Lo !V- \^.?f^ ^-^^^s go far to throw doubt on the correctness of 



distin^ish^dToTallte';!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -arks that they are 



distinguished from all the monopeta ous orde s W thT^r .^^^^^ l^mdJey remarks that the 

 his definition of Plumbago with the words "cl/.r I ^^""^t ''^'^^' V"^ ^'^"'" "''"''" x . 



not understand the meaning of the trm 'pl.^/ •"'' ^' ""^^'^''^ *° ^- ^'^^^"^'^^ V' 

 they present neither plait nor folrl tT' /'^^^,fl'l^f^"g specimens are now before me, but 

 than to the very unufual one of IbJ ^^''f'^^^^^<^^ less weight to that mark of distinction 

 rises from the Ksrorthe cell a tU^^ being suspended from the apex of a cord which 

 within this sub-cla'. and formi'n^ ll^'^^l }"" ^^' ^''^ "^ °^3^ recollection, not elsewhere met 

 family, nearly aU plantsin Xh't L^^^^^^^ ^"°* '^ ^^^"^*"- ^^ -^-^ to associate, as one 



Geographical DisxaiBUTrov "Tn + f t. x 



