160 LXXXIII. ASCLEPIADACE.'E. 



urceolate, divided to the middle or beyond it ; lobes thick, overlapping to 

 the right in bud ; corona arising from and adnate to the corolla-tube, 

 either of 5 flesliy lobes adnate up to the mouth of the corolla-tube 

 with more or less incurved tips, or of 5 pairs of fleshy ridges on the 

 lower part of the tube alternating with the corolla-lobes. Staminal- 

 column arising from the base of the corolla ; anthers short, erect, with 

 short membranous appendages; pollen-masses erect, solitary in each 

 anther-cell. Style-apex often exserted beyond the anthers. T'ollicles 

 smooth. Seeds comose. — Disteib. Asia, Africa, and Australia ; species 

 about 20. 



Ridges of the corona protruding beyond the mouth of the 



corolla 1. G. sylvcstre. 



Ridges of the corona not protruding beyond tlie mouth of 

 corolla. 



Calyx-segments longer than the corolla-tube 2. G. mcminmim. 



Calyx-segments shorter than the corolla-tube 3. G. ^^crguhirioides. 



1. Gymnema sylvestre, i2. -Br. in Mem. Wem. Soe. v. 1 (1811) 

 p. 33. A large woody much-branched climber running over the tops of 

 high trees ; young stems and branches pubescent, often densely so, 

 terete. Leaves 1^-2 by |-li in., ovate, elliptic, or ovate-lanceolate, 

 acute or shortly acinninato, more or less pubescent on both sides, some- 

 times densely so beneatfe, 'especially on the nerves, base rounded or 

 cordate, sometimes cuueat'e ; petioles |-| in. long, pubescent. Flowers 

 in pedunculate or nearly sessile cymes ; peduncles densely pubescent, 

 shorter than the petioles and arising from between them, sometimes 

 producing successive umbels or whorls of flowers ; pedicels ^-h in. long, 

 pubescent ; bracts minute, ovate-oblong, hairy, ciliate. Calyx pubes- 

 cent, divided to the base or nearly so ; segments ^^ in. long, oblong, 

 obtuse, ciliolate. Corolla yellow, i-1 in. across ; tube c-ampanulate, J^ in. 

 long, about equalling the lobes ; lobes thick, ovate-deltoid, spreading, 

 recurved, glabrous ; corona of 5 processes inserted on the corolla-tube, 

 alternate with its lobes, free at the short deltoid subacute tip which 

 protrudes above the sinus, the lower adnate portion decurrent, chan- 

 nelled and with strongly ciliate margins. Style-apex thick, subhemi- 

 spherical, much exserted beyond the anthers, pearly-white. Follicles 

 2|-3 by ^ in., terete, rigid, lanceolate, attenuated into a beak, glabrous, 

 one follicle o'ften suppressed. Seeds | in. long, narrowly ovoid-oblong, 

 flat, with a thin broad marginal wing, brown, glabrous. * Fl. B. I. v. 4, 

 p. 29 ; Grab. Cat. p. 120 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 151 ; AVight, Icon. t. 349 ; 

 Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 153; Talb. Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, p. 236; Woodr. 

 in .Tourn. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) p. 167 ; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. 

 V. 4, p. 189.— Flowers : Apr.-May, Veen. Kavali ; Piknn. 



Xonkak: Stocks I, Law I Deccan: Maliablesliwar, very common, rrOT/iv !, IVooih-owl 

 S. M. Country : hills near Eagalkot and Badami, Low ex Graham ; Dliarwar districts, 

 common, Talhof; Belgauin Ghats, Ritchie, 433 ! Kanaiia : near the coast at Karwar' 

 'Jhlhot ; Sampkhand (N. Kanara), Wood row.— IhsTKUi. India (W. Peninsula, Rauda) ; 

 Ceylon, Tropical AiVica. 



Tl\e leaves of this plant if chewed possess the peculiar ]iroperty of completely 

 destroying the taste for saccharine substances, sugar feeling like sand in the mouth. 

 The elleet lasts for some hours. It is also said to nculralize the taste of bitters such 

 as quinine, but I liave not, in my own case, found this to be so. In Mahableshwar 

 where the plant is abundant, I iiavc frequently tried the experiment. 



