352 XCVI. ACANTHACE.'E, 



inner segments g in. long, oblong, rounded and ciliateatthe apex, slightly 

 apicLilate. Corolla I5-II in. long, blue ; lower lip obovate, nearly 1 in. 

 broad, hairy on the upper surface, very shortly 3-lobed, the lobes rounded, 

 the middle one much narrower than the lateral. Filaments thick, glabrous, 

 slightly striate ; anthers densely bearded. Style glabrous. Capsules 1 in. 

 long, oblong, obtuse, apiculate, brown, smooth and shining. Seeds | in. in 

 diam., broadly ovoid or suborbicular, much compressed; testa very lax. 

 VI B. I. V. 4, p. 481 ; Grab. Cat. p. 159 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 317 ; 

 Talb. Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, p. 264; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 

 (1899) p. 356 ; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 1, p. 66. Dilivaria ilicifoUa, 

 Juss. Gen. (1789) p. 103; Wight, Icon. t. 459 ; Dak. «fe Gibs. p. 192.— 

 Flowers: Apr.-May. Vebn. Mdrdndi. 



Common along the coast in tidal swamps and along the banks of creeks and tidal 

 rivers. — It is often called the Sea Holly. — Distrib. Sea-coast of India ; Ceylon, 

 Malaya, Philippines, Australia, Tropical and S. Africa. 



9. ASTERACANTHA, Nees. 



A stout herb grow ing in wet places ; stems numerous, fasciculate, 

 spinous at the nodes. Leaves narrow, lanceolate, in whorls of 6, the 

 2 outer leaves of the whorl the larger. Flowers in sessile axillary 

 verticels surrounded by rigid spines ; bracts leaf-like ; bracteoles linear- 

 lanceolate. Calyx 4-partite to the base or nearly so, the upper sepal the 

 broader. Corolla deeply- bilabiate, the upper lip 2-lobed, the lower 

 3-lobed and with 2 callosities on the palate. Stamens 4, didyuaraous ; 

 anthers 2-celled, equal, the cells parallel, glabrous, muticous. Ovary 

 2-celled ; ovules 4 in each cell ; style pubescent ; stigma simple, acumi- 

 nate. Capsule 2-celled, compressed, 4-8-seeded at the base. Seeds 

 hygroscopically white-hairy, supported on hard retinacula. — Distuib. 

 Tropical and Subtropical Asia and Africa ; species 1. 



I have followed Lindau (Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzeuf. v. 4, 3 B, p. 297) in sepa- 

 rating this from Hygrophila and restoring it to its pristine rank as a distinct 

 genus. 



1. Asteracantha longifolia, Nees, in ^YaU. PI. As. Ear. v. 3 

 (1832) p. 90. A stout herb with numerous fasciculate usually unbranched 

 subquadrangular erect stems 2-5 ft. higli, thickened at the nodes, more 

 or less hispid with long hairs, especially below each node. Leaves 

 sparsely hispid on both sides, ta])enng at the base, sessile (or at least 

 without clearly defined petioles), in verticels of 6 at a node, the 2 outer 

 leaves of the whorl large, reaching 7 by ^-1| in., oblong-lanceolate or 

 oblanceolate, the 4 inner leaves reaching about I5 in. long, each of the 

 6 leaves with a nearly straight sharp yellow spine, 1-1 1 in. long, in its 

 axil. Flowers in a whorl of 8 (in 4 pairs) at each node; bracts about 

 1 in. long, like the leaves, lanceolate, hairy and ciliate ; bracteoles | in. 

 long, linear-lanceolate, with hyaline margins in the lower part, hairy 

 and ciliate with long white hairs. Calyx 4-partite ; upper sepal g-| in. 

 long, broader than the other 3, which are h in. long, all linear-lanceolate, 

 coarsely hairy on the back, and with hyaline ciliate margins. Corolla 

 purple-blue, reaching \\, in, long, AA'idely 2-lipped ; tube ^- in. long, 

 abruptly swollen at the top; ]ij)s suboqual, j1 in. long, the upper lip 

 2-fid with oblong trinicate lobes, the lower lij) with 2 entire crest-like 

 longiliidinal folds or callosities on the p:ilate, deeply ^i-lobed, the lobes 



