XCVI. ACANTHACE^. 845 



1. Tubiflora acaulis, 0. Kuntze, Revis. Oen. v. 1 (1891) p. 500. 

 Stem or scarcely any. Leaves radical, 4-8 by l|-3 in., spathulate or 

 oblanceolate, obtuse, more or less crenate, glabrous or nearly so except 

 on the nerves beneath, which are usually more or less hairy, base 

 tapering, running down into a short or long hairy petiole. Scapes 

 several, usually exceeding the leaves, 4-12 in. long, clothed throughout 

 their length with small rigid bracts. Flowers in harsh simple or 

 branched (often 3-branched) spikes §-4 in. long; bracts \ in. long, 

 ovate, acuminate, sometimes spinous-pointed, glabrous outside, pubescent 

 inside and with ciliate margins ; bracteoles -^ in. long, narrowly linear 

 or linear-lanceolate, penicillate at the apex and with scarious ciliate 

 margins. Calyx -^ in. long, divided to the base or nearly so ; sepals 

 penicillate at the apex, 3 of them narrowly-lanceolate, the fourth of 

 equal length but twice as broad, sometimes 2-fid at the apex, all with 

 scarious margins. Corolla |-g in. long, pale-blue or white ; tube 

 scarcely g in. long. Anthers not spurred at the base. Capsules i in. 

 long, ovoid, acute ; valves recurved. Seeds ovoid. Lindau, in Engl. & 

 Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 4, 3 B, p. 289. Elytraria crenata, Vahl, Enum. 

 V. 1 (1805) p. 106 ; C. B. Clarke, in Hook. f. El. B. I. v. 4, p. 394; 

 Dalz. & Gibs. p. 183 ; Trim. El. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 289 ; Woodr. in Journ. 

 Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1899) p. 355.— Elowers : Oct. Veen. Dasmori. 



Not common. Gujarat : Kundiana (Broach Collectorate), Dalzell ! ; Ankleshwar, 

 4 miles south of the Narbada river, Kanitkarl ; Ahmedabad, Stocks, 250! — Distrib. 

 India (W. Peninsula, extending north to Delhi and the E. Himalaya) ; Oeylon, Tro- 

 pical and S. Africa, Tropical and N. America. 



4. NELSONIA, E. Br. 



A diffuse softly hairy herb. Leaves opposite, subequal. Elowers 

 small, in dense short spikes ; bracts herbaceous, closely imbricate, 

 alternate or spiral (not opposite). Calyx small, 4-partite; sepals 

 unequal, lanceolate, the larger often 2-fid. Corolla small, purplish, 

 rose or white ; tube slender ; limb 2-lipped, the lobes obtuse. Stamens 

 2, inserted above the middle of the tube, subincluded; anthers 2-celled, 

 the cells elliptic, somewhat divergent, distinct, muticous or minutely 

 spurred. Ovary 2-celled ; ovules 8-10 in each cell, arranged vertically 

 in 2 rows on the double placental line ; style slender ; stigma shortly 

 2-lobed. Capsule ovoid-conic with 8-16 seeds in the basal half, barren 

 above. Seeds ellipsoid or subglobose, granular, not supported on 

 retinacula. — Distrib. S.E. Asia, Africa, America, Australia; species 1. 



1. Nelsonia campestris, R. Br. Prodr. (1810) p. 481. A diffuse 

 softly villous herb ; stems short ; branches decumbent, spreading. 

 I^eaves opposite, elliptic-obloug, obtuse, entire, the lower large (4-8 in. 

 long) with long petioles (sometimes 2 in. long), the upper leaves shortly 

 petiolate or subsessile, |-2 in. long, pubescent or canescent. Elowers 

 in ovate or cylindric spikes h,-'^ in. long ; bracts ^-^ in. long, broadly 

 ovate, subobtuse, herbaceous, silky-pubescent ; bracteoles represented 

 by 2 opposite tufts of silky hairs below the calyx. Calyx ^ in. long, 

 4-partite ; sepals unequal, lanceolate, very acute, with strong parallel 

 nerves. Corolla \ in. long, purplish. Capsules i in. long, ovoid-conic, 

 glabrous, the valves recurved at the apex. Seeds broadly ellipsoid, 



VOL. II. 2 A 



