Lepidciirathis. ] A cauthacecB. 331 



20. z.i:pzdagat»xs, wuid. 



Perennial herbs, 1. opp., more or less toothed, fl. small, 

 sessile, in dense heads or spikes, bracts and bractlets con- 

 spicuous, pubescent or ciliate ; sep. 5, similar to the bractlets, 

 the 2 inner much narrower; cor.-tube ventricose, limb dis- 

 tinctly 2-lipped, lower lip 3-lobed, spreading ; stam. 4, 

 •didynamous, anth. 2-celled, one cell often a little lower than 

 the other, not spurred; capsule small; seeds 4, compressed, 

 hairy, retinacula large, hooked. — Sp. 50; 24 in Fl. B. Jnd. 



Fl. in unilateral spikes . . . i. L. hyalina. 

 Fl. in rounded heads. 

 L. glabrous above. 



Bractlets ^ in. . . . .2. I-. zeylanica. 



Bractlets ^ in 3- L. Walkeriana. 



L. hairy above . . . . 4. L. fasciculata. 



1. Ii. hyalina, Nees in Wall. PI. As. Rar. iii. 95, var. lopho- 

 stachyoides, Nees in DC. Prod. xi. 252 (1847). 



Thw. Enum. 231. 

 Fl. B. Ind. iv. 531. 



Stems ii-2 ft, semi-shrubby at base, stout, nearly 

 cylindrical, glabrous, lower nodes often rooting; 1. rather 

 large, 2J-4 in., lanceolate, much tapering into petiole, acu- 

 minate, acute, shallowly undulate-dentate, quite glabrous on 

 both sides, pale beneath, with prominent venation, petiole 

 |-| in. ; fl. numerous, very densely crowded in close unilateral, 

 terminal, and axillary spikes 1-2 in. long, bracts and bractlets 

 similar, linear, very acute, hairy, the former imbricated along 

 the back of the spike; sep. as long as bractlets, linear- 

 lanceolate, mucronate, strongly ciliate, 2 innermost narrower; 

 cor. about | in.; capsule \ in. 



Dry bushy places in the moist region, 2000-4000 ft.; rather common. 

 Fl. December, January; white with brownish spots. 



Our var. endemic (?) (the type throughout India, Burma, S. China). 

 Varies with linear leaves. 



2. Zi. zeylanica, A^ees., Moftoor. Lepidag. 35 (1841). 



Thw. Enum. 231. Nees in DC. Prod. xi. 259. L. nervosa.^ Wight, 

 Ic. iv. 4, 18. C. P.' 1985. 



Fl. B. Ind. iv. 522. Wight, Ic. t. 1620 (Z. nervosa). 



Stems 2-3 ft, straggling, divaricately branched, qua- 

 drangular, glabrous; 1. numerous, 3-5 in., lanceolate or 

 rhomboid- lanceolate, very much tapering at base and 

 decurrent on petiole, acuminate, acute, more or less coarsely 

 dentate, glabrous, petiole obscure; fl. in numerous, small, 

 rounded, panicled, axillary and terminal heads, bracts and 



