XIX. BLATINACB^. 73 



1. BERGIA, Liun. 



Herbs or undershrubs, erect, decumbent or diffusely branched, often 

 pubescent. Leaves opposite, serrate or sometimes entire. Flowers 

 small, axillar}', solitary or cymosely fascicled, usually 5-merous. Sepals 

 acute with an herbaceous midrib, the margins usually membranous. 

 Ovary ovoid. Capsule subcrustaceous, septicidal. — Distrib. Warm 

 countries throughout the world ; species about 14. 



Terrestrial woody plant ; stamens 10 1 . B. odomta. 



Semi-aquatic plants. 



Stamens 5 2. B. ammannioides. 



Stamens 10 3. B, capensis. 



1. Bergia odorata, Ed<jew. in Joum. Asiat. 8oc. Beng. v. 7 (1838) 

 p. 765. Shrubby, 6-24 in., decumbent or spreading, glandular-pubes- 

 cent ; the bark deciduous in cinnamon-colored flakes. Leaves subsessile, 

 often fascicled in the axils, -pQ— | in. long, from oblong-lanceolate to 

 elliptic, obtuse, crenate-serrate, hispid and often glandular on both sides, 

 often with revolute margins ; stipules linear. Flowers solitary or in 

 axillary fascicles of 2 to 6 or 8 ; pedicels about as long as the sepals. 

 Sepals ovate, acute, Iiairy without and on the margins. Petals obovate- 

 oblong, entire. Stamens 10, alternately shorter or nearly equal ; fila- 

 ments dilated below. Ovary ovoid, sulcate, narrowed into the styles ; 

 styles 5, one half the length of the ovary. Capsules 5-ceJled. Seeds 

 minute, numerous, slightly curved, dark brown, shining. Fl. B. I. v. 1, 

 p. 251 ; AVoodr. in Jouru. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 125. Bergia 

 cestivosa, AV^oodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 125. Elatine 

 odornta, Dalz. tt Gibs. p. 14. Bergia sitffruticosa, Fenzl, in Denks. Bot. 

 Gesel. Kegens. v. 3(1841) p. 183 ; Boiss. Fl. Orient, v. 1, p. 783 ; Oliver, 

 Fl. Trop. Afr. v. 1, p. 153 ; Niedenzu, in Engl. & Prantl, PQanzenf. v. 3, 

 part 6, fig. 130, a-j. — Flowers : Oct.-Nov. 



The leaves vary much in size ; while usually g-^ in. long, they occa- 

 sionally reach nearly 1 in. 1 have noticed these large leaves in specimens 

 from Baroda as also in some fi'om Senegal. 



Common in Gujarat and Sind. Gujarat : Surat, Dcdzell '. ; Baroda, Woodrow ! ; 

 Porbandar, CooJcc ! Sind : Sibi, Woodrow ; Jemadar ka Landa, near Karachi, Stocks ! ; 

 Hyderabad, Coolic\ — Distrib. Trop. Africa, Persia, Egypt. 



2. Bergia ammannioides, lioxh. Hort. Beng. (1814) p. 34. Annual, 

 6-15 in. high, erect, often with many decumbent branches from the base; 

 stem and branches glaudular, pubescent. Leaves \-^ by 4— g in., oblan- 

 ceolate or elliptic, acute, tapering to a long base or into the petiole, very 

 sharply serrulate, thinly hispid or glabrescent ; stipules subulate, hairy. 

 Flowers minute, crowded in dense axillary fascicles, subsessile, or pedi- 

 celled. Sepals 5, linear-lanceolate, very acute, ^vith ciliate, often colored 

 margius. Petals 5, very thin, elliptic- oblong, acute. Ovary subglobose, 

 sulcate ; styles 5, short. Capsules subglobose, the margins of the valves 

 incurved. Seeds numerous, minute, ovoid, polished. Fl. B. I. v. 1, 

 p. 251 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 14 ; Boiss. Fl. Orient, v. 1, p. 782 ; Oliver, 

 Fl. Trop. Afr. v. 1. p. 152 (e.vclud. citation) ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. 

 Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 125. Elatine ammannoides, AV. & A. Prodr. p. 41 ; 

 Grab. Cat. p. 12. — Flowers : Nov.-Dee. 



On the margins of tanks and in other moist places. Konkan : Stocks ! Deccan : 

 Poona, banks of the river Mula, Ranadel ; Kelgaon, Cooke !, Woodrow I Sind: Karachi, 

 Cooke I; Bubak, Woodrow. — Distrib. Abyssinia, Nubia, Senegambia, Australia. 



