FLORA OF BOMBAY. 



Order LXXI. COMPOSITE. 



Herbs or shrubs, rarely trees. Leaves usuall_y alternate ; stipules 0. 

 Inflorescence a centripetal head of usually many small flowers (less 

 commonly few or very rarely 1) sessile on the dilated top of the peduncle 

 {receptacle), enclosed in an involucre of \\horled bivicts. Eeceptacio 

 sometimes furnished with bracteoles {palece, scales, bristles, JimbriUa'), 

 sometimes naked and smooth or with small pits (foveolate) or deeply pitted 

 {alveolate), ^'lowers either all 2- sexual or some or all 1-sexual, variously 

 arranged. Calyx-tube wholly adherent to the ovary ; limb or of scales, 

 bristles or hairs {pappus). Corolla epigynous, gamopetalous, sometimes 

 regular, tubular, 5— i-fid or -toothed with valvate ajstivalion ; sometimes 

 irregular, and either ligulate or bilabiate (corolla wanting in the female 

 flowers of Xanthium). Disk epigynous. Stamens 5-4, inserted on the 

 corolla and alternate with its segments; filaments usually free above; 

 anthers 2-celled, introrse, cohering into a tube which sheaths the stylo 

 (very rarely free), the cells often tailed at the base. Ovary 1-celled ; 

 ovule solitar}'-, erect, anatropous ; style slender, usually 2-fid ; arms 

 (sometimes connate) linear, ^-terete, acute, obtuse, truncate or peni- 

 cillate, or tipped by pubescent cones, sometimes clavate, variously 

 papillose, stigmatic near the margins. Lruit an achene, articulated to 

 the common receptacle, generally sessile, provided with a basilar or 

 latei-al areole indicating its point of insertion, often prolonged into a 

 beak at the top, naked above or crowned by the persistent sessile or 

 stipitate pappus. Seed erect ; testa membranous ; albumen ; embryo 

 straight ; cotyledons plano-convex ; radicle short. — Listrib. Throughout 

 the world ; genera about 1000 ; species about 8000. 



Series I. TUBLTLIFLORE.E. Flowers all tabular or the outer 

 onli/ ligulate. Juice watery. 



Tribe I. VERNONIEJE. Heads homogamous ; flowers all ^ , 

 tubular. Anther-bases sagittate, rarely subcaudate. Style- 

 arms subulate, hairy. Leaves usually alternate. Corollas never 

 yellow. 



ISubfribe 1. EiTVERNOJ^iEiE. Heads distinct, many-flowered. 



Pappus sliort, fugacious. 



Aclienes 8-lU-ribbed 1. CENTRATiiERusr. 



Achenes not ribbed 2. Lampuaciie.nmuji. 



Pappus ; aclienes 10-ribbed ; anthers sub- 

 caudate 3. Adenoon. 



Pappus long, copious, more or less persistent, 

 usually girt with an outer row of short 



hairs or flattened bristles 4. Yehxonta. 



VOL. II. B 



