XXV. MALTACE.'E. 109 



13. Hibiscus vitifolius, Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) p. 096. Herbaceous, 

 more or less hairy and touientose. Leaves cordate (the lower 4-5 in. 

 across), 3~7-lobed ; lobes acute or acuminate, crenate, serrate or toothed, 

 tomentose beneath ; petioles 2-3 in. long, hairy. Pedicels axillary, 

 solitary or clustered at the ends of the branches, jointed about the middle, 

 longer (rarely shorter) than the petioles. Involucral bracts 7-12, free, 

 I in. long, linear, acute, hairy. Calyx | in. long ; lobes h in. long, 

 ovate, acute, 3-5-nerved. Corolla 2-2| in. across, sulphur-yellow with 

 a purple centre. Capsules hairy, apiculate, 5-winged, the wings reti- 

 culatelv veined. Seeds brown, minutely tubercled. Fl. B. I. v. 1, 

 p. 338"; Grab. Cat. p. 13; Dalz. & Gibs' p. 20; Trim. FL Ceyl. v. 1, 

 p. 154; Woodr. in .Tourn. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 127 ; Watt, Diet. 

 Econ. Prod. v. 4, p. 248. — Flowers : Oct.-Dec. Vern. Vdn-'kdpas. 



KoNKAN : Stocks !, Law ! ; Revadanda, Woodrow ! ; below Matheran, Coole ! ; Malwan, 

 Balzell (.j- Gibson. Deccan : Baluili (Tooiia districts), Woodrow ! ; hills in the Deccan, 

 S/ocksl S. M. Country: Belgaum, Eitclde, 491 ! — Distrib. Tropical Africa, 

 Australia, Ceylon. 



14. Hibiscus cannabinus, Linn. Si/st. Nat. (1759) p. 1]49. A 

 shrub with prickly stems. Leaves 2 in. across, glabrous, cordate (those 

 near the base often undivided), roundish-ovate, the upper deeply 

 palmately 3-5-lobed ; lobes usually narrow-lanceolate, serrate ; petioles 

 l|-2 in. long, sometimes prickly ; stipules | in. long, subulate. Pedicels 

 axillary, very short. Involucral bracts 7-10, free, | in. long, linear, 

 acute, often A\ith prickly margins, shorter than the calyx. Calyx (in 

 fruit) 1 in. long, divided three fourths of the way down; lobes long, 

 lanceolate, very acute, with a strong midrib and thickened, often prickly, 

 margins, and with an oblong-obovate gland at the base of each lobe. 

 Corolla yellow with purple centre. Capsules ovoid, beaked, very hairy. 

 Seeds large, brown, dotted with miniite stellate scales. Fl. B. I. v. 1, 

 p. 339 ; Grab. Cat. p. 13 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 20 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. 

 Nat. V. 11 (1897) p. 127; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 4, p. 231.— 

 Flowers : Jan. Veen. Amhddi. 



Said to be found wild on the Ghats, but largely cultivated for its fibre, which is 

 extensively employed by the natives in the manufacture of ropes, coarse sacking and 

 other articles required for agricultural purposes. For a full account consult Watt, 

 Diet. Econ. Prod. I.e. — Distrib. Cultivated in most trojaical countries, 



15. Hibiscus caesius, '^'arcA:*?, in Oesler. Bot. Zeit. (1849) p. 850, 

 & in Peters, Iteise Mossamh. p. 125. Herbaceous, erect, 4-5 ft. high ; stem 

 and branches light-colored, terete, with a few, often bristle-pointed 

 prickles. Leaves 3-5-partite ; segments 1-2 in. long, lanceolate, sharply 

 serrate, more or less stellately hairy ; petioles 3^"^ "^- ^^^S' "'i^h a few 

 small prickly and scattered bristles ; stipules i in. long, subulate, with 

 long hairs. Pedicels up to 4 in. long, jointed near the flower, slender, 

 with a few small prickles below, the prickles longer and more numerous 

 above the joint. Involucral bracts usually 10, free, 1-1^ in. long, 

 straight or very slightly curved, spreading like a ray beneath the flower, 

 subspinous, prickly. Calyx ^ in. long, divided nearly to the base ; lobes 

 lanceolate, strongly nerved, distantly ciliate. Corolla large, yellow with 

 purple centre, stellately hairy on the outside. Capsules ovoid, pointed ; 

 valves setose. Seeds pilose. H.pentaphyUiis, Muell. Fragm. Austr. v. 2, 

 p. 13 ; Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. v. 1, p. 198. //. hepaphyllus, Dalz. & Gibs. 



