LXXSII. AP0CYNACE.15. 127 



1. Rauwolfia serpentina, Benth. ex Kurz, For. Fl. Br. Burm. v. 2 

 (1877) p. 171. A small erect shrub (climbing iu a rich soil according 

 to Eoxburgh, Fl. Ind. v, 1, p. G94), rarely reaching, in the Bombay 

 Presidency, 3 ft. high ; bark pale, rarely lenticellate. Leaves in whorls 

 o£ 3, thin, 3-7 by 1-2| in., lanceolate, acute or acuminate, glabrous, 

 bright green above, pale beneath, base tapering; main nerves 8-10 

 pairs, slender ; petioles ^ in. long, somewhat obscure owing to the 

 blade running down into the petiole. Flowers white, often tinged with 

 violet, in many-flowered irregular corymbose cymes ; peduncles 2-5 in. 

 long ; pedicels stout, ^-| in. long, bright red ; bracts beneath the 

 pedicels triangular, acute, v^-yV ^"- ^ong. Calyx glabrous, bright-red ; 

 segments -^-^ in. long, lanceolate. Corolla |-^ in. long or rarely a 

 little longer; tube slender, swollen a little above the middle; lobes 

 I in. long, elliptic- oblong, rounded at the apex. Disk cup-shaped, 

 membrauous, obscurely lobed. Drupes single, or didymous and connate 

 more or less deeply, about | in. in diam., purplish-black when ripe. 

 The inflorescence of this plant with red pedicels and calyx and white 

 corolla is striking. Sir W. Jones (As. Ees. v. 4, p. 308) says that " few 

 shrubs are more elegant, especially when the vivid carmine of the 

 perianth is contrasted not only with the milk-white corolla, but with 

 the rich green bex-ries which at the same time embellish the fascicle ; 

 the mature berries are black and their pulp light-purple." Fl. B. I, 

 V. 3, p. 632; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 126 ; Talb. Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, 

 p. 223; AVoodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) p. 165; Watt, 

 Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 1, p. 398. OpMoxylon serpentlnum, Linn. 

 Sp. PI. (1753) p. 1043 ; Grab. Cat. p. 116 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 143 ; 

 Eoxb. Fl. Ind. v. 1, p. 694 ; Wight, Icon. t. 849 ; Bedd. For. Man. iu 

 Flor. Sylvat. p. clvi. — Flowers : Mar.-May. Veen. Iladlci. 



IvoNKAN : Stocks], common, Dabell cf- Gibson; North and South Konlian, Z«w ! ; 

 jungles near Goa, Dr. Lush ex Graham. S. M. Country : Castlerock, Woodrow, 

 Kanitkar] Kanaka: moist forests of N. Kanara, Talbot. — Distuib. India (Sub- 

 liimalajan tract from Sirhind eastwards, Birma, Audamans, W. Peninsula) ; Ceylou, 

 Java. 



2. Rauwolfia densiflora, BentJi. ex IIool: f. Fl. B. I. v. 3 (1882) 

 p. Qi'i'3. A shrub reaching 12 ft. high with milky juice; branches 

 copiously lenticellate. Leaves 3-4 in a whorl near the ends of the 

 branches, very variable in size, 3-9 by 1-3 in., oblanceolate or obovate, 

 acuminate, glabrous, light-green above, paler beneath, base tapering ; 

 main nerves 8-20 pairs, more or less conspicuous ; petioles k in. long, 

 somewhat obscure. Flowers white or pink, appearing with the young 

 leaves, in lax few-flowered corymbose cymes ; peduncles several together, 

 |-2^ in. long, erect or decurved ; pedicels slender, ^| in. long; bracts 

 minute. Calyx ^ in. long, glabrous ; segments j^-^ in. long, lanceolate, 

 acute. Corolla | in. long ; tube stout, slightly longer than the lobes, 

 inflated at the top, throat hairy within ; lobes elliptic-oblong, rounded 

 at the apex. Drupes single or in pairs, free, ellipsoid, i-| in. long, 

 brownish-purple when ripe. Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 126 ; Talb. Trees, 

 Bomb. ed. 2, p. 223 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) 

 p. 165. Rauwolfia decurva, Hook. f. Fl. B. I. v. 3, p. 633. Oj^liioxylon 

 neilrjherrense, AVight, Icon. t. 1292 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 144. — Flowers : 

 Mar. -Apr. 



I have included Rauwolfia decurva, Hook, f., with tliis. The decurved 



