516 LIX. ONAGRACE-E. 



1. JUSSI^A, Linn. 



Herbs or undershrubs usiiall_y growing in swamps. Leaves alternate, 

 usually membranous and entire, rarely coriaceous and serrate, ilowers 

 yellow or white, axillary, solitary ; pedicels usually 2-bracteate at the 

 apex. Calyx-tube narrow, not or slightly produced abov^e the ovary ; 

 teeth 4-G, acute, persistent. Petals 4-6, inserted beneath the margin 

 of an epigynous disk. Stamens twice as many as the petals and in- 

 serted with them. Ovary 4-5-celled ; ovules numerous, axile, in several 

 vertical rows at the inner angle of eacli cell, placentas often prominent ; 

 style simple, sometimes very short ; stigma 4-6-lobed. Capsule terete 

 or 4-12-angled or ribbed, 4-6-celled, septicidally 4-5-valved, crowned 

 with the disk and calyx-lobes. Seeds numerous, without a coma ; 

 cotyledons obtuse ; radicle short. — Disteib. Chiefly Tropical American ; 

 species 30. 



Stems creeping or floating ; petals 5 1. J. repens. 



Stems erect ; petals 4 2. J. suffruticosa. 



1. Jussisea repens, Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) p. 388. Herbaceous ; 

 stem rooting at the nodes, elongate, prostrate or creeping, or floating on 

 the water, sustained by means of white spongy bodies which spring in 

 tufts from each side of the base of the petioles and may be modified 

 stipules. Leaves 1-2 by |-g in., oblanceolate or obovate-oblong, rounded 

 at the apex, glabrous or slightly pubescent, much narrowed into the 

 petiole ; main nerves 6-10 pairs, slender, nearly straight or slightly 

 curved upwards ; petioles very short. Flowers pale-yellow or white, 

 with yellowish veins ; pedicels usually as long as the capsule, more 

 or less hairy. Calyx-tube about i in. long, cylindric, glabrous or rarely 

 pubescent ; lobes 5, lanceolate, 5-^% in. long. Petals 5, shortly clawed, 

 |-| in. long, obovate, obtuse, sometimes retuse. Stamens 10. Capsules 

 |-1| in. long, cylindric, glabrous or sparsely clothed with scattered 

 hairs. Fl. B. 1. v. 2, p. 587 ; Grab. Cat. p. 75 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 98 ; 

 Hook. Bot. Misc. v. 3 (1833) p. 300, t. 40 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 233 ; 

 AVoodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1898) p. 638.— Flowers : Nov.- 

 Dec. 



Common on the margins of tanks and in rice-fields. Konkan : Law ! Gujarat : 

 Wood row. S. M. Country: Belgaum, EUchie, 1758!; Dharwar, Ritchie, 1758! 

 Kanaka: Hulikal, Ilhical — Distrib. Throughout the phxins of India; Ceylon; 

 generally distributed throughout the warmer regions of the world. 



2. Jussisea sufiFruticosa, Linn. Sj). PI. (1753) p. 388. A semi- 

 shrubby erect perennial, 1-4 ft. high ; stem woody below, much- 

 branched ; branches stiff, terete, striate. Leaves nearly sessile, 2-3 by 

 |-| in., varying from linear to broadly elliptic, but usually lanceolate, 

 acute, tapering much towards the base, villous, pubescent or subglabrous ; 

 maia nerves numerous ; petioles ^ery short or 0. Flowers yellow ; 

 pedicels shorter than the calyx, pubescent ; bracts minute. Calyx hairy ; 

 tube subquadrangular ; lobes 4, ovate-elliptic, acute or subacuminate, 

 I in. long, hairy, obscurely nerved. Petals 4, broadly obovate, |-| in. 

 long, pinnately veined. Capsules 1-1 1 in. long, subquadrangular, 

 truncate, tapering towards the base, 8-ribbed, villous or pubescent, 

 membranous, breaking up between the ribs which persist for some time. 

 Seeds minute, ovoid, didyraous, brown, polished. Fl. B. I. v. 2, p. 587 ; 



