IXT. MALTACEvE. 105 



Invol. bracts aduate to the calyx-tube, accresceut, 



thick, fleshy, purple 17. H. Sabda.riffa. 



Calyx elongate, spathaceous, circumsciss. 

 Invol. bracts 4-0, broad, leafy. 



Invol. bracts 4, distinct 19. H. tetraphylhis. 



Invol. bracts 4, connate for their entire length 20. H. angulosus. 



Invol. bracts .'5-6, fugacious , 18. H. ficulncus. 



Invol. bracts more than 5, linear. 



Invol. bracts shorter than the calyx 21. H. Abclmoschus. 



Invol. bracts equalling the calyx 22. H. esculcntus. 



Capsule with false dissepiments, spuriously 10-celled. 

 Invol. bracts connate at the base. 

 A tree 23. H. tiliaceus. 



1. Hibiscus Trionum, Lmn.Sp. PI. (1753) p, 697. Annual, more 

 or less clothed with stellate hairs. Leaves 1-1| in. long, palmately 

 divided to the base (the lower leaves sometimes orbicular and undivided) ; 

 lobes usually 3, again variously lobed and tojthed ; petioles l-lj in. 

 long ; stipules subtdate, clothed with long stifi: hairs. Pedicels axillary, 

 longer than the petioles, jointed near the tiower. Involucral bracts S- 

 12, linear-subulate, less than half as long as the calyx, ciliate with long 

 hairs rising from thickened bases. Calyx divided above the middle ; 

 lobes broadly ovate, acute, membranous, with many hispid tortuous 

 nerves, which are green at first, afterwards turning purple. Corolla 

 ^ in. in diam., yellow with a purple spot at base. Capsules oblong, 

 obtuse, pubescent. Seeds rounded on the back, dotted with minute, 

 stellate pubescence. Fl. B. I. v. 1, p. 334 ; K. Schuai. in Engl. & 

 Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 3, part G, p. 49, fig. 20, J ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. 

 Nat. V. 11 (1897) p. 127. H. vesicarius, Cav. Diss. 3, p. 171, t. 64, tig. 2 ; 

 Grab. Cat. p. 13 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 19. — Plowers : Aug.-Jan. 



Common during the rains, chiefly on black soil, Dalzell ij- Gibson. Konkan : Stocks] ; 

 'Bomba.j, dipt. Gebur lie \ Deccan: widely, JFoorZTOw ! ; Poona, 6'oo^'e ! Sind : widely, 

 Woodrow.— Dis.TiiiB. Southern Europe and the tropics of the Old World. 



2. Hibiscus surattensis, L'mn. Sp. PI. (1753) p. 696. Erect or 

 trading ; branches slender, sparsely covered with recurved prickles. 

 Leaves up to 2 in. long, from orbicular, or ovate, acute, to palmately 

 3-5-lobed, with a more or less truncate base, crenate-serrate ; petioles 

 1-1^ in. long, prickly ; stipules broad, leafy, ear-shaped, toothed, ciliate. 

 Pedicels prickly, longer or shorter than the petioles. Involucral bracts 

 9-12, each consisting of a prickly stalk i in. long, carrying a spatbidate 

 apiculate leaf-hke appendage y% in. long, prolonged downwards into a 

 linear toothed cihate spur | in. long. Calyx membranous, deeply 

 divided ; lobes ovate, acuminate, the tips often armed with stout 

 recurved prickles, with colored mid- and marginal-nerves and hairy, 

 sometimes prickly, margins. Corolla yellow, centre dark purple. Capsules 

 ovoid, hairy. El. B. 1. v. 1, p. 334 ;" Grab. Cat. p. 13 ; Dalz. & Gibs. 

 p. 20 ; K. tSchum. in Engl. & Prantl, Pfianzeuf. v. 3, part 6, p. 48, 

 fig. 20, G ; Trim. El. Ceyl. v. 1, p. 152 ; AVoodr. in Joiu-n. Bomb. Nat. 

 V. 11 (1897) p. 127; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 4, p. 246.— Elowers : 

 Nov.-Dec. 



A rare plant. Konkan: Island of ^&\sQiie, Jacquem. Voy. 794!; Malabar Hill, 

 3om\}a.y, Dalzell ^Gibson. Kanaka: Kumpta, Woodrow\—t)i&xs.\B. Tropical Asia, 

 Africa, Australia. 



