3i8 Acanthacecr. [narkria.. 



A conspicuous plant with its large flowers and holly-like leaves. It is- 

 remarkable that this was not noticed by Hermann, as it is very common 

 about Colombo, and is an invariable undergrowth in mangrove swamps. 



14. BARZiERIA,* Z. 



Small shrubs or perennial herbs, 1. opp., fl. usually large,, 



axillary, solitary or rarely in spikes or cymes, bracts leafy or 



small or o, bractlets either spinous or linear or oval, rarely 



large and pectinatc-ciliate, very rarely o ; sep. 4, in pairs,. 



outer much the larger ; cor.-tube long, funnel-shaped above,. 



lobes 5, usually nearly equal, strongly imbricate ; perfect 



stam. 2, cxsertcd, anth, 2-celled, not spurred, rudimentary 



stam. 2 or 3, minute ; disk cup-shaped ; style long, slightly 



bifid ; capsule ovoid or oblong, without a solid base ; seeds 4,. 



rarely 2, flat, with silky adpressed hair, retinacula large. — Sp. 



60 ; 26 in Fl. />. Lid. 



Fl. yellow; capsule 2-seeded . . .1. B. PrionitiS. 

 Fl. blue or purple ; capsule 4-seeded. 

 Bractlets converted into spines. 



L. oval, outer sep. pubescent . . 2. B. mysorensis. 

 L. oblong, outer sep. glabrous . . 3. B. NOCTI FLORA, 

 Bractlets not spinous. 



Bractlets linear or oval, entire. 

 Fl. large, cor.-tube over i in. 

 Bractlets linear (or o). 



Fl. solitary or in threes . . 4. B. INVOLUCRATA. 

 Fl. in lax cynics . . . 5. B. vestita. 

 Bractlets oblong-oval . . .6. B. Arnottiana. 

 Fl. small, cor.-tube under 4 in. . 7. B. nutans. 

 Bractlets ovate, pectinate-ciliate . 8. B. nitida. 



I. B. PrionitiS, L. Sp. PL 636 (1753). Katu-karandu, S. 



Herm. iMus. 43, 25. Burm. Thes. 8. Fl. Zcyl. n. 233. Moon Cat. 46, 

 Thw. Enum. 230. C. P. 2012. 



Fl. B. Ind. iv. 482. Wight, Ic. t. 452. 



A small shrub, 2-4 ft., much branched, bark white, 

 branchlets cylindrical, swollen above nodes, glabrous, with 

 small, slender, very sharp spines (abortive branches or fl.) in 

 the a.xils each with 3 divaricate branches ; 1. 3^-5 in., passing 

 into bracts above, ovate, tapering below, acute, mucronate, 

 glabrous above, slightl)' pubescent on veins beneath, copiously 

 lineolate, venation pellucid, lat. veins prominent beneath ; fl. 

 sessile, rather large, solitary, opp., becoming spicate above, 

 bractlets linear, mucronate, stiff, almost spinous, spreading; 

 sep. longer than bractlets, acuminate, mucronate, glabrous, 



* Commemorates J. Barrelier, a French botanist of the 17th century. 



