ACANTHACEAE 443 
brous, ovules 3 to 10 in each cell. Capsule clavate, base narrowed, solid, 
cylindric, seed-bearing above. Seeds 6 or more. (In honor of J. Ruellie 
or Ruel, a French botanist.) 
Species about 200, in all warm regions, 2 or 8 in the Philippines. 
1. R. repens L. 
A slender, spreading or ascending, branched, somewhat hairy or nearly 
glabrous herb 20 to 50 cm in length. Leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 
acuminate, 2 to 5 cm long, with few, scattered, strigose hairs. Bracteoles 
leaf-like, oblong to spatulate, 1 to 1.5 cm long. Calyx about 5 mm long, 
the lobes linear. Corolla white or very pale-blue, 1.2 to 1.5 em long, slightly 
hairy externally. Capsule hairy or nearly glabrous, about 1 cm long. 
In open places and borders of thickets, Caloocan, Pasay, etc., fl. June-Dec.; 
widely distributed in the Philippines. Siam to China and Malaya. 
15. HEMIGRAPHIS Nees 
Erect or prostrate herbs with opposite, toothed or entire leaves. Flowers 
in terminal spikes, the bracts large, imbricate, each usually with but 1 
flower, the bracteoles small and narrow or none. Calyx 5-partite. Corolla 
tubular, cylindric below, swollen above, pale-blue or purplish, the lobes 5. 
Stamens 4, in 2 pairs, included. Capsule linear to linear-oblong, 4- to 
20-seeded. (Greek “half” and “stylus.’’) 
Species about 30, India to Japan and Malaya, about 12 in the Phil- 
ippines. 
Plant purple, cultivated only; leaves ovate; corolla about 1.8 cm long. 
1. H. colorata 
Plant green; leaves elliptic-oblong; corolla about 12 mm long.. 2. H. reptans 
*1. H. COLORATA (Bl.) Hallier f. 
A spreading or ascending, simple or sparingly branched, nearly gla- 
brous herb, the stems prostrate and rooting at the lower nodes, all parts 
of the plant purple or purplish, the lower surfaces of the leaves uniformly 
so. Leaves ovate, 4 to 9 cm long, crenate, base broad, cordate, apex acute 
or blunt, the petioles up to 6 cm in length. Spikes. terminal or in the 
upper axils, peduncled, 2 to 3.5 cm long, the bracts oblong to lanceolate, 
dark-purple, 1 to 1.5 cm long. Calyx 8 to 10 mm long, purple, the lobes 
5, linear-lanceolate, acuminate. Corolla white, with few, slender, purplish 
lines, about 1.8 cm long, the tube slender below, much inflated above. 
Frequently cultivated as a border plant, fi. all the year. A native of 
Malaya, introduced and cultivated only. | 
2. H. reptans (Forst.) T. And., var. primulifolia (Nees) Hallier f. 
A spreading herb, the stems somewhat pubescent, rather slender, often 
rooting at the nodes, the flowering branches erect or ascending, 6 to 15 
em high. Leaves elliptic-oblong to ovate-oblong, 4 to 8 cm long, obtuse or 
rounded, base cordate, margins crenate, somewhat pale on the lower surface. 
Spikes terminal, 1 tp 3 cm long, the bracts green, persistent, oblong- 
oblanceolate or spatulate, 8 to 16 mm long. Flowers 1 or sometimes 2 in 
the axil of each bract. Calyx green, deeply cleft into 5 narrowly lanceolate 
lobes. Corolla 10 to 12 mm long, pale-straw-colored or white, with faint 
purplish lines, the tube slender below, enlarged above, the limb about 7 
mm in diameter. Capsule 7 to 8 mm long. 
