288 GENTIANACE^. 



On shrubs and trees in sholas, very common on the Nilgiri 

 plateau, flowering in April and May. Fyson 2097, 2540. 

 Bourne 224. 



Gen. Dist. Also Khasi hills. 



The species was founded on a Nepal plant and the type sheet, Wallich 

 Cat. 816, from Sylhet, has larger more acuminate leaves and large panicles 

 up to 6 inches long, with ten pairs of three-flowered cymes : but it has also 

 in some leaf-axils only one such cyme, as seems with rare exceptions to be 

 the case with the Nilgiri examples. 



GENTIANACE/E. 



Herbs with opposite entire glabrous leaves and 

 perfectly regular flowers of five sepals, corolla lobes, 

 and stamens ; but characterised by the petals being in 

 bud twisted over each other to the right, and the ovary 

 having two parietal placentas (which do not as a rule 

 meet making it two-celled) and ripening to a many- 

 seeded capsule opening in two valves. 



Species 550, all over the globe, mostly on mountains. 



[ Petals pale blue, each with a small scale at the base . . 



I p, 290. SWERTIA. 



^ I Petals pinkish, spurred behind . . . ^. 291. halenia. 



[ Flowers bright or deep blue b 



J Corolla folded and twisted : small herb /. 290. gentiana. 

 I Petals twisted, not folded : tall herb . . p. 288. exacum. 



EXACUM. F.B.I. 97 II. 



Characters as above for the family, but ovary 

 completely divided into two cells and corolla deep blue. 



Species 20 mostly in India. 

 Stem winged : leaves i to 2 inches ... E. wightianum. 

 Stem not winged : leaves 2 to 5 inches . . E. atropurpureum. 



Exacum atropurpureum Beddome, var anamallaya- 

 num ; F.B.I. iv 97, II 7. 



Stem smooth, four-angled but not winged. Leaves 

 I to 2 inches by % to l^ inches, broadly ovate or 



