114 XXY. MALVACEiE. 



Hibiscus syriacus, Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) p. 695. A bushy shrub, 4-5 ft. 

 high, not prickly. Leaves ^-2 in. long, cuueate at the base, the lower 

 ovate or rhomboid-ovate, the upper more or less 3-lobecl, repand-toothed, 

 slightly pubescent when young; petioles i— | in. long, puberulous. 

 Pedicels axillary, shorter than or equalling the petioles. Involucral 

 bi'acts G-7, linear, 1-nerved, shorter than the calyx. Calyx scurfy- 

 tomeutose ; lobes oblong, acute. Corolla lilac-blue, with dark purple 

 eye. Capsules oblong, obtuse, slightly hairy. Seeds pilose. ¥1. B. I. 

 v. 1, p. 344 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Suppl. p. 7 ; Pirm. Man. Gard. ed. 3, 

 p. 411 ; Woodr. Gard. Ind. p. 181, et in Journ. Bomb. JVat. v. 11 

 (1897) p.] 28; K. Schum. in EngL & Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 3, part 6, 

 p. 49, fig. 21. 



Cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens throughout India. — Distuib. Warm 

 regions of the Old World. 



12. THESPESIA, Soland. ex Corr. 



Trees or erect shrubs. Leaves entire, or angularly lobed. Inflor- 

 escence axillary, solitary or racemose. Involucral bracts 5, deciduous, 

 or 0. Calyx truncate, 5-tootlied. Staminal-tube toothed at the apex. 

 Ovary 4-5-celled ; cells few-ovuled ; styles club-shaped at the apex, 

 ^-furrowed, or subdivided into erect club-shaped short stigmatiferous 

 branches. Capsule loculicidally dehiscent or almost indehiscent. Seeds 

 glabrous or pubescent. Cotyledons much folded, usually glandular with 

 black dots. — Distetb. Tropical Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands ; 

 species about 6. 



Leaves 3-lobed 1. T. macrophylla. 



Lea\ es entire 2. T. jMindnea. 



1. Thespesia macrophylla, Blume, Bijdr. (1825) p. 73. A shrub, 

 3-4 ft. high. Leaves 3-G in. long, cordate or truncate at the base, 3- 

 lobed ; lobes triangidar, acuminate, finely reticulately veined, with black 

 glandular dots on the lower surface, subglabrous on the upper ; petioles 

 1 1-3^ in. long. Peduncles 3-4 in. long, axillary, 3-flowered ; pedicels |-g 

 in. long. Involucral bracts 5, small, subulate, fugacious. Calyx cupular, 

 truncate, persistent ; teeth subulate, -^^-^-2 ^^- long. Corolla 3 in. in diam., 

 yellow with crimson centre. Capsules 1 in. long, ovoid, pointed, 4-5- 

 valved, pilose. Seeds glabrous. Thespesia Lmnjias, Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. 

 Fl. (18Gl)p. 19; FLB. I. V. l,p.345; Talb. Trees, Bomb. p. 19; Woodr. 

 in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 128; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 

 0, part 4, p. 45. — Flowers : Aug. -Oct. Vern. lida-hhendi. 



The calyx-teeth vary much in length. Most of the Bombay speci- 

 mens have the minute calyx-teeth described by Dalzell {I. c.) ; in a few 

 they are longer. I have seen specimens from other parts of India with 

 calyx-teeth exceeding ^ in. in length. 



Very common alonf^ Mie Western Ghats. Konkan : Dahelll, Stocki^\. Law\; Ghats 

 and Konkan, RUchie\ Kanaka: in forests, Talbot. Deccan : Khandala, Cooke\ — 

 DisTimi. Tropical Africa, Java. 



2. Thespesia populnea, Soland, ex Correa, in Ann. Mus. v. 9 

 (1807) j). 290. A suiall tree. Leaves 3-G in. long, broadly ovate, 

 cordate, acuminate, entire, smooth, finely reticulately veined, with 5-7 

 prominent nerves and often a glandular pore in one or more of the 



