892 xcTi, acanthace.t:. 



on all sides close to the grouiul, sometimes rooting, slender, quadran- 

 gular (sometimes almost winged), glabrous or nearly so. Leaves 

 opposite, sessile, |-lg by g-§ in., linear-oblong or lanceolate-oblong, 

 lineolate above, hairy on the nerves beneath. Flowers in a subradical 

 globose head (sometimes with 1 or 2 smaller heads added) on the lower 

 part of the leafy branches ; bracts ^ in. long, o\ate, acuminate, spinous- 

 pointed, hairy ; bracteoles membranous, hairy, spinescent. Calyx ^ in. 

 long, 4-partite about | the way down, densely softly hairy on both 

 surfaces; the 2 larger outer segments ^ in. broad, elliptic, acute, the 

 lower segment 2-fid; the 2 lateral segments Jq in. broad, all ciliate and 

 spinous-pointed. Corolla hairy outside, reaching ^ in. long, white or 

 pale-pink, dotted with brown or purple spots, 2-lipped about |-way 

 down ; tube narrow, constricted below the limb and then suddenly 

 expanded upwards ; upper lip ^ in. long, oblong, obtuse, notched at the 

 apex ; luwer lip ^ in. long, divided nearly to the middle into 3 obovate 

 obtuse slightly crenulate lobes, the middle lobe the broadest. Stamens 

 slight Iv exserted beyond the corolla-tube; filaments glabrous; anthers 

 2-celled,one of the cells rather higher up than the other. Ovary glabrous ; 

 style slightly pubescent. Capsules i in. long, ovoid, subacute, glabrous, 

 grooved on the 2 sides, with scarious back, 2-seeded. Seeds large for 

 the size of the capsule, g in. long, ovoid-oblong, rounded, densely 

 clothed with long hvgroscopic mucilaginous hairs. Fl. B, I. v. 4, 

 p. 516 ; Grab. Cat. p." 160 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 191 ; Aitch. Pb. & Sind 

 PI. p. 112 ; Woodr. in Jcmrn. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1899) p. 357; Watt, 

 Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 4, p. 625. — Flowers : Oct.-Mar. Yekn. Bhni- 

 gend. 



KoNKAN : Malabar Hill (Bombay), Graham. Deccan : common, Woodrnw \ Poona, 

 Cooke\ S. M. Country : Gadag, ira?;i'V/.rtr I— Distrib. India (W. Peninsula). 



2. Lepidagathis mitis, Dalz. in Keiv Joiirn. Bot. v. 3 (1851) 

 p. 226. Boot perennial; stems short; branches diffusely spreading, 

 subquadrangular, glabrous, often purple in age. Leaves sessile, 1-1 1 by 

 |-^ in., linear-oblong, subacute or obtuse, Uneolate above, more or less 

 hairy on the nerves beneath, the margins usually ciliolate, base nar- 

 rowed. Flowers in a globose liead 2-3 in. in diam., at the base of the 

 stem ; bracts chaffy, g in. long, long-acuminate from a broadly ovate 

 base, without a rigid spinous point, hairy on both surfaces and with 

 densely ciliate margins; bracteoles as long as the bracts, membranous, 

 lanceolate, acuminate, without a rigid spinous point, with a strong mid- 

 nerve, the upper half of the margin very densely ciliate with long white 

 hairs. Calyx 4-partite, hairy ; the two outer segments exceeding | in. 

 long ; the lower divided about |-way down into 2 lanceolate acute 

 lobes; the inner lateral segments shorter and much narrower, all non- 

 spinescent at the apex, the margins ciliate with long white hairs. 

 Corolla h-^ in- long, hairy, white outside, pale pink inside, copiously 

 dotted with yellowish-brown spots, otherwise as in L.cristata. Stamen'', 

 ovary, stvle, and ca])sules as in L. cris^tnfa. Fl. B. I. v. 4, p. 516; 

 Dalz. & (ribs. p. 19! ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1899) 

 p. 357. —Flowers : Nov. 



Konkan: S/-onks\ Dkccan : Phnnda CTln'it, D^/.-e//! S. M. Covntry: Be'gauni in 

 grass-jungles, Ritrhic, Ulb !— Distrib. India (\V. Peninsula). 



