Liliaace. 281 



the centre ; stam. 4, inserted on the bases of the perianth-segm., 



fil. very short, anth. linear, erect, connective produced into 



a lanceolate erect appendage, cells parallel ; ov. short, ovoid, 



compressed, i -celled, stigma sessile, pointed, ovules few, basal, 



erect, anatropous ; fr. 2-valved, coriaceous ; seeds few, oblong, 



grooved, beaked, testa coriaceous, funicle fleshy, crinitely lobed ; 



embryo small in the centre of dense, fleshy endosperm. 



STBMONA, Lour. 



For characters, see Order. — Sp. 4 or 5 ; 4 in Fl. B. Ind. 



S. minor, Hk. f. in Fl. B. Ind. vi. 298 (1892). 



Roxbtirghia gloriosoides, var. 7infJor, Thw. Enum. 432. Stemona 

 tuberosa, Lour., var. minor, Trim. Syst. Cat. 94. C. P. 3775. 

 Fl. B. Ind. vi. 298. Wight, Ic. t. 2061 {R. gloriosoides). 



Tubers many, cylindric, fleshy ; stem climbing trees, terete, 

 smooth; 1. alt., 1^-3 in., ovate, or ovate-cordate, narrowed from 

 the broad base to the caudate-acuminate tip, membranous, 

 smooth and shining on both surfaces, petiole i-i^ in., very 

 slender; pedicel very short; perianth-segm. | in. long, narrowly 

 linear-lanceolate; stam. \ in. long; fr. i in. long, oblong, 

 beaked, terete, smooth; seeds \ in. long. 



Dry country ; very rare. I have only the C. P. specimens from 

 Trincomalie (Glenie, 1862). Fl. Sept. (March; greenish-white, with 

 green veins, anth. purple). 



Also in S. India (Malabar). 



Regarded by Trimen in his Syst. Cat. as a variety of R. gloriosoides, 

 but retained as S. minor in his final list of species prepared for the 

 Handbook. 



CXXXIIL— LILIACE^. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs, with simple fibrous or tuberous roots, 



or with creeping rootstocks, bulbs, or corms ; 1. various, simple ; 



infl. various, fl. bi- rarely uni-sexual; perianth petaloid, 



6-merous in 2 series, lobes or segm. free or connate below, 



imbricate or rarely valvate in bud ; stam. 6, rarely fewer, inserted 



on the perianth, fil. free or connate, anth. linear or oblong; ov. 



3-celled, cells 2- or more-ovuled, style simple, rarely o or 3, 



ovules anatropous or orthotropous ; fr. a 3-celIed berry or a 



capsule; seeds globose or flattened, testa various, embryo 



long or short, terete, endosperm horny or fleshy. 



Aloe vera, L., var. littoralis. Keen, (non A. littoralis, Baker), is an 

 extremely abundant plant on the seashore of the northern coast, growing 

 with Opuntia Dillenii, &c. It is called Kattalai, T. Koenig, in 1781, 

 in his MSS. (in Mus. Brit.), describes it as very common at Mannar, 



