138 A FLORA OF MANILA 
ing one at a time from a terminal, complicate, compressed-funnel-shaped, 
or hooded spathe, the fruiting pedicel and capsule retracted within the 
spathe. Sepals 3, thin. Petals larger than the sepals, clawed, blue. 
Stamens 8 perfect and 2 or 3 imperfect; anthers oblong, one usually 
larger than the others. Capsule loculicidal. (In honor of K. Commelin, 
a Dutch botanist.) 
Species about 90, all tropical and subtropical, 2 in the Philippines. 
Spathes complicate, margins free or nearly so; leaves lanceolate or oblong- 
lancedlate:!t. 2.2 seid R lo ii 5 Bek ee Gy eee, 1. C. nudiflora 
Spathes funnel-shaped, margins more or less united; leaves elliptic-ovate 
2. C. benghalensis 
1. C. nudiflora L. Alicbangon (Tag.). 
A prostrate, spreading, branched, glabrous or nearly glabrous plant, 
the stems rooting at the nodes, the ultimate branches ascending. Leaves 
oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 3 to 7 em long, 1 to 2 em wide. Inflorescence 
axillary, peduncled, the flowers cymose, inclosed in a complicate leaf-like 
spathe, the margins free, the cymes usually 2 in each spathe, few-flowered. 
Inner petals larger, blue, 6 to 7 mm long, the outer ones much smaller, 
pale or nearly white. 
In open waste places, common, fl. all the year; widely distributed in 
the Philippines. In most tropical and subtropical countries. 
2. C. benghalensis L. Alicbangon (Tag.). 
A prostrate or ascending, branched, usually pubescent plant, the stems 
rooting at the nodes. Leaves elliptic-ovate, obtuse or acute, base narrowed 
into a petiole, 4 to 7 cm long. Spathes 1 to 3 together, green, funnel- 
shaped, compressed, about 1.5 cm long and wide. Flowers blue, long- 
pedicelled in anthesis, facicled, several in each spathe, the petals 3 to 4 
mm long. Capsules 4 to 5 mm long. (FI. Filip. pl. 13.) 
In open waste places, fl. all the year; throughout the Philippines. 
Tropical Asia, Africa, and Malaya. 
Cleistogamous flowers are usually produced at the lower nodes, ripening 
the capsules on the surface of or below the ground. 
2. ANEILEMA R. Brown 
Simple or branched, prostrate, ascending, or erect herbs. Flowers pur- 
plish or yellow, in axillary and terminal panicles, the bracts not spathe-like. 
Sepals 3, free, thin. Petals 3, obovate, equal. Stamens usually 3, rarely 
2, the filaments glabrous or bearded; staminodes 2 to 4. Ovary sessile. 
Capsule loculicidal, cells 1- to several-seeded. (In allusion to the flowers 
not having a spathe.) 
Species about 60, chiefly in tropical Asia, about 5 in the Philippines. 
Hlowerst pale-purkplish <i. sie ene ee eo ea 1. A. malabaricum 
Flowers russet- or yellowish-brown.................2...-22---:.0es+-e00-0+0e= 2. A. versicolor 
1. A. malabaricum (L.) Merr. (A. nudiflorum R. Br.). 
A rather slender, nearly glabrous plant, branched and decumbent below, 
the flowering stems erect or ascending, 10 to 30 cm high. Leaves narrowly 
oblong-lanceolate, 3 to 10 cm long, 5 to 10 mm wide. Inflorescence terminal, 
the flowers racemosely clustered near the ends of the few branches. Flowers 
pink-purple, small, numerous, about 6 mm in diameter. Capsule ovoid, 
about 3mm long. (FI. Filip. pl. 467.) 
