CXXXIII. PONTEDEEIACE.'E. 777 



stigma minutely 3-lobed. Fruit an oblong membranous loculicidal 

 capsule. Seeds many, ovoid, obtuse, many-ribbed ; embryo cyhndric in 

 the centre of floury albumen. — Distrib. Species about 6, in the tropics 

 of the Old World. 



Rootstock elongate, creeping; leaves hastate, sagittate, oi" cordate; 

 flowers on long pedicels, subumbellate or racemose ; inflor- 

 escence centrifugal 1. M. hastcpfolia. 



Kootstock sLort, suberect; leaves ovate; flovrers on short pedicels, 



subspicate ; inflorescence centripetal 2. M. vaginalis. 



1. Monochoria hastsefolia, Presl, Eeliq. Hcenl: v. 1 (1830) p. 128. 

 Eootstock stout, creeping and I'ootiug below, spongy, clothed with the 

 remains of old sheaths. Leaves 4-8 by 2-Q in., sagittate, hastate, or 

 cordate, obtuse, acute, or acuminate, smooth and glossy, many-nerved, 

 the basal sinus more or less deep ; petioles of the floral leaves tumid 

 above and embracing spathe-like the short stout peduncle ; petioles of 

 the radical leaves l|-2 ft. long with a broad sheathing base. Inflorescence 

 centrifugal ; flowers of a brilliant purplish-blue, crowded, racemose or 

 subumbellate ; pedicels variable in length, rarely reaching as much as 

 1 in. long. Perianth-segments | in. long, twisting corkscrew-fashion 

 round the fruit when withering ; large segments obovate, J in. wide, 

 the smaller segments oblong, ^ in. wide, all with 3 strong paraUel nerves 

 in the middle and finely veined at each side of the nerves, reticulately so 

 towards the margin. Filament of the large anther ^ inch long with an 

 acute horn ^2^^- long at one side; anthers hnear-oblong, the large 

 anther blue, I in. long, the small anthers yellow, rather more than g in. 

 long. Ovary ellipsoid or ovoid, ^ in. long; style -^ in. long; stigma 

 obscurely 3-lobed. Capsules | in. long, ellipsoid. Seeds ellipsoid, rounded 

 at both ends, Jp- in. long, pale, with many fine brown ribs. Fl. B. I. 

 V. 6, p. 362 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 4, p. 295 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. 

 V. 12 (1899) p. 524 ; Prain, Beng. PI. p. 1079. Monochoria Jiastaia, 

 Solms-Laub. in DC. Monogr. Phan. v. 4 (1883) p. 523. Fontederia 

 hastata, Linn. Sp. PL (1753) p. 288 ; Grab. Cat. p. 222 ; Dalz. & Gibs, 

 p. 249 ; Eoxb. Cor. PI. v. 2, t. 111.— Flowers : Dec. 



Margins of tanks and water-holes common, Dakell cf- Gibson. Eice-fields and 

 margins of tanks, Graham. Deccan : Poona, Cooke ! ; Sholapur, Woodrow. — Distrib. 

 Throughout India ; Ceylon, Malay Islands, China. 



2. Monochoria vaginalis, Presl, Reliq. Hcmh. v. 1 (1830) p. 128. 

 Eootstock short, suberect, spongy. Leaves very variable, 2-4 by lj-2 in., 

 from linear to ovate or ovate-cordate, usually acuminate ; petioles of the 

 lower leaves long, stout, terete, the peduncles emerging from the 

 channelled sheaths of the uppermost leaves. Inflorescence centripetal ; 

 flowers blue, usually spotted with red ; in subspicate racemes which are 

 globose at first, the rhaehis lengthening as the flowers expand, the 

 terminal flower opening first; pedicels short, ^-i in. long. Perianth 

 campanulate, 6-partite, the segments | in. long, nearly equal in length, 

 3 of them narrowly obovate, nearly ^ in. wide, broader than the other 

 3 which are linear-oblong, tVtV ^"- wide. Filament of the large anther 

 1 in. long, with an acute horn at one side, the filaments of the smaller 

 anthers filiform, i in. long ; anthers linear-oblong, the larger anther 

 -^ in. long, the smaller anthers j\r in. long. Ovary J^,- in. long, ellipsoid, 

 glandular; style ^ in. long; stigma 3-lobed. Fruit ellipsoid, less than 



