lAII. ( I ( UIMilTACK.i:, 539 



nnincroiis, liorizoiital ; style short, surroundod at tlie base by an 

 auiiiilar disk ; stigmas 3, linear, rarely 2, or stigma 3-lobed. Fruit 

 small, baccate, globose, ovoid or fusiform, usually many-seeded. Seeds 

 ovoid or ellipsoid, compressed, usually margined, smooth or rarely 

 scrobiculate. — Distrib. Warmer regions of the globe; species 54. 



The genus has been enlarged by Cogniaux (DC. Monogr. Phan. v. 3 

 [1881] p. 572) so as to include the genera Mukia, Arn., and Zehneri't, 

 Endl., a course which has been followed by Jackson in ' Index Keweusis.' 



Flowers monoecious. 

 Male flowers fascicled. 



Seeds smooth ; leaves softly villous beneath 1. M. leiosperma.. 



Seeds scrobicidate ; leaves liirsute or scabrid beneath. 2. M. maderaspatana. 



Male flowers subumbellate at the apex of the peduncle . 3. M. perpusiUa. 



Flowers dioecious 4. M. heterophylla. 



1. Melothria leiosperma) Gy/nimix, in DC. Mono'jr. Phan. v. 3 

 (1881) p. 622. Monoecious ; stems hispid, furrowed, slightly branched; 

 young parts densely and softly villous-hairy. Tendrils simple. Leaves 

 2-3^ by l|-3 in., bright-green above, paler beneath, broadly ovate 

 in outline, acute, cordate at the base, scabrid and coarsely hairy above, 

 softly villous beneath, usually 5-angled or slightly 3-5-lobed, strongly 

 dentate; petioles |-2 in. long, d(;nsely hairy. Flowers axillary. Male 

 FLOWERS fascicled ; peduncles very short. Calyx densely hairy ; tube 

 ^ in. long, campanulate ; teeth litiear-subulate, g-^ in. long. Corolla 

 pubescent outside ; segments ovate-oblong, ^ in. long. Anthers sub- 

 sessile, oblong, the connective short, apiculate. Female flowers : 

 Peduncles usually solitary, |-2 in. long, thickened in fruit, densely 

 clothed with long hairs. Ovary densely hairy. Fruit g in. in diam., 

 globose, glabrous or slightly hairy. Seeds ellipsoid, \ by § by ^ in,, 

 turgid, conspicuously margined, smooth on the faces. Jackson, in 

 Index Kew. v. 3, p. 203. Mvl-ia leiosperma, Wight, in Ann, Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. V. 8 (1842) p, 268 ; C, B, Clarke, in Hook, f . Fl. B. I. v. 2, p. 623 ; 

 Trim, Fl, Ceyl. v. 2, p. 255. — Flowers : Julj^-Aug. 



Eare. Konkan: Matheran, H. M. Birdwood. Deccan : Kolhapur, Cooke\ — 

 Distrib. India (W. Peninsula) ; Ceylon. 



2. Melothria maderaspatana, Cogniaux, in DO. Monogr. Phan. 

 V. 3 (1881) p. 623, Animal, monoecious; stems scandent or prostrate, 

 slender, much branched, angular, very hispid ; young parts densely 

 covered with white hair. Tendrils simple, striate, sparingly hirsute. 

 Leaves variable in size, 1-5 by 1-4 in., deltoid-ovate, entire, 5-angled 

 or 3-5-lobed, very scabrid above, scabrid or shortly hispid beneath, 

 acute at the apex, cordate at the base with a wide sinus, the lobes often 

 overlapping, the margins dentate or subserrate ; petioles \-l in, long, 

 hairy, Male flowers in small fascicles on very short peduncles. 

 Calyx hairy; tube ^^y in, long, narrowly campanulate; teeth about 

 ■^'in. long, subulate". Corolla pubescent; segments ovate-oblong, 

 rounded at the apex, yW in. long. Female flowers almost sessile. 

 Fruit the size of a pea", smooth or slightly echinulate, at tirst green 

 and variegated with yellow, iinally wholly red. Seeds ellipsoid, com- 

 pressed, not or scarcely margined, scrobiculate on both faces. Jackson, 

 in Index K.e\v. v. 3, p.* 203. Mukin smhrella, Arn. in Hook. Journ. Bot. 

 V. 3 (1841) p. 276 ; C. B. Clarke, in Hook. f. Fl. B. I. v. 2, p. 623 ; Dal/.. & 



2x2 



