ACANTHACEAE 44] 
1. S. rivularis Merr. 
A slender, erect plant 10 to 30 em high, usually branched from the base, 
the younger parts glandular-pubescent. Stems brownish-purple. Leaves 
subsessile, narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 2 to 6 cm long, acute or ob- 
tuse, base narrowed, margins entire or obscurely crenate-undulate. Flowers 
axillary and in terminal spikes or spike-like racemes, the bracts, bracteoles 
and sepals green, the bracts narrowly oblong-obovate, the bracteoles lanceo- 
late, one calyx-lobe much broader than the other four. Corolla 7 to 9 mm 
long, cylindric, pale-purple with darker lines. Capsule oblong, 5 mm long, 
2-celled, many-seeded, not stalked. 
On ledges along small streams, Masambong, fl. Nov.-Feb. A species 
known only from this locality. i 
11. ACANTHUS Linnaeus 
Erect or ascending shrubby plants. Leaves sinuous, sharply toothed, 
often spiny. Spikes terminal, dense or interrupted; bracts ovate, rather 
large, the bracteoles similar but smaller. Flowers subsessile, blue or white. 
Sepals 4, 2 outer opposite, 2 inner opposite, smaller. Corolla-tube short, 
ovoid, the upper lip obsolete, the lower one large, broad, shortly 3-lobed 
or 3-toothed. Stamens 4, in 2 pairs, shorter than the lip; filaments short, 
stout, curved below the anther; anthers oblong, 1-celled, bearded. Ovary 
4-ovuled; style shortly 2-fid. Fruit an ellipsoid, compressed, shining, 4- 
seeded capsule. Seeds compressed, orbicular. (Greek “spiny,” in reference 
to the spiny leaves of some species.) 
Species about 20, warm-temperate and tropical parts of the Old World, a 
single species in the Philippines. 
1. A. ilicifolius L. Diliuario, Doloariu (Tag.). 
An erect or ascending, slightly branched shrub 0.5 to 1.5 m high, the stems 
round, greenish, with a pair of short, sharp spines at the base of each pe- 
tiole. Leaves rigid, coriaceous, green and shining, oblong to oblong-lan- 
ceolate, 9 to 14 cm long, sinuate-toothed, the teeth spinous; petioles 1 cm 
long or less. Spikes terminal, dense or interrupted, solitary. Flowers about 
4 cm long, each subtended by an ovate, green, closely appressed bract 7 to 8 
mm long, and 2 similar but smaller bracteoles. Calyx green, 10 to 12 mm 
long. Corolla-tube 1 cm long, the lower lip pale-blue, spreading or recurved, 
about 3 cm long, 2.5 em wide, pubescent within. Capsule 2 to 2.5 cm long. 
(Fl. Filip. pl. 153.) 
In low wet lands near the sea, subject to the influence of salt water; 
throughout the Philippines along tidal streams, etc. India, through Malaya 
to Australia. 
12. LEPIDAGATHIS Willdenow 
Herbs, glabrous or pubescent, erect or spreading. Flowers small, in ter- 
minal or lateral often fascicled heads or dense spikes. Bracts usually larger 
than the calyx-segments and similar to them, bracteoles narrower. Calyx 
5-lobed, the 2 anterior lobes more or less connate. Corolla small, tubular, 
inflated above, 2-lipped. Stamens 4, in 2 pairs. Capsule 2- or 4-seeded 
(Greek “scale” and a “ball of string,” in allusion to the crowded bracteate 
flowers. ) 
Species 50 or more, chiefly in the tropics of the Old World, about 15 in the 
Philippines. 
