LXXXY. GENTIAXACE.il. 185 



short or long ; stigma 2-lobecl. Capsule globose, ovoid or ellipsoid, 

 indehiscent or bursting irregularl^y. Seeds usually numerous, smootli or 

 tuberculate, sometimes winged. — Distkib. Wet places throughout the 

 tropical and temperate regions of the globe ; species about 14. 



Stems petiole-like with a single shortly-petioled leaf at the 

 end (node) ; flowers white. 



Corolla more than ^ in. across ; lobes 5-7. 



Corolla-lobes hairy, not cresced down the middle 1. L. indicum. 



Corolla-lobes glabrous, with a longitudinal crest down 



the middle 2. L. cristatum. 



Corolla less than ^ in. across; lobes 4, fimbriate 3. L. parv /folium. 



Stems with several nodes and alternate leaves ; flowers yellow. 4. L. aurantiacum. 



1. Limuanthemum indicum, TJuvaites, Enmn. (1861) p. 205. 

 E-hizome horizontal or oblique, giving off from the axils of sheathing 

 membranous scales several long sliglitly rough petiole-like branches 

 which reach the surface of the water, there producing a node from which 

 start a tuft of roots, a cluster of flowers, a single floating leaf and a 

 single branch, which again proceeds in the same manner, rioating 

 leaves 3-12 in. in diara., orbicular, deeply cordate, with obtuse basal 

 lobes and a triangular sinus and with more or less sinuate margins, 

 thick, glabrous, green beneath ; petioles stout, short, -^-^ in. long. 

 Plowers dimorphic, in clusters appearing above the water between the 

 basal lobes of the leaves; pedicels 2-5 in. long; bracts ovate, acute, 

 membranous. Calyx i in. long, deeply divided ; iobes ^ in. long, oblong, 

 subacute. Corolla 1^ in. across when expanded, white with a yellow 

 centre ; lobes usually 6, oblong, obtuse, | in. long, densely clothed with 

 long cottony papillose hairs, not crested down the middle. Cipsule 

 subglobose, ^— ^ in. in diam. Seeds numerous (30 or more), not muri- 

 culate, shining, yellow. ¥\. B. I. v. 4, p. 131; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 158; 

 Trim. YL Ceyl. v. 3, p. 188 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) 

 p. 169. Limuanthemum W'ujlitianum, Griesb. in DC. Prodr. v. 9, p. 139 

 (as to long-styled form only). Villarsia indica, Venten. Choix, sub t. 9; 

 Wight, in Hook. Bot. Misc. v. 3 (1833) p. 96, Suppl. t. 30 ; Grab. Cat. 

 p. 123. — Flowers : Apr.-Sept. Veen. Kumud. 



Tanks throughout the Presidency, but not so common as the next species. It may 

 be found in the Konkan, the Deccan, Kanara, and Gujarat, and is abundant in a 

 tank on the Table Eock at Panchgani. — Distrib. Throughout India; Ceylon, 

 Afghanistan, Malaya, Australia, Mascarene and Fiji Islands. 



2. Limnanthemum cristatum, Griesb. in DO. Prodr. v. 9 (1845) 

 p. 139. A smaller plant than Limnanthemum indicum. Rhizome short, 

 erect, with petiole-like branches as in L. indicum, but shorter and more 

 slender. Floating leaves 2-4 in. in diam., orbicular, deeply cordate, 

 purplish and with green veins beneath ; petioles ^1^ in. long. 

 Flowers numerous, in dense clusters ; pedicels ^-2^ in. long, unequal. 

 Calyx divided almost to the base; segments ;| in. long, oblong-lanceolate, 

 obtuse. Corolla white, | in. across when expanded; lobes ^ in. long, 

 obovate, rounded at the apex, glabrous, with a broad longitudinal crest 

 down the middle of each lobe, the margins not ciliate. Capsule broadly 

 ovoid or subglobose, i in. in diam. Seeds 10 or more, strongly muriculate, 

 pale yellowish-brown. Fl. B. I. v. 4, p. 131; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 158; 

 Wight, 111. t. 157 bis, fiff. 4 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 189 ; Woodr. in 

 Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) p. 169 ; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 4, 



o2 



