554 LXVr. FICOIUE.'E. 



tl)e calyx, filifonn, glabrous. Calyx deeply 5-lobecl, purplish outf>ide, 

 rosy witliin, ^-j\ in. long; lobes lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, with a 

 mucrc) just below the apex beliind. Stamens numerous, free or nearly 

 so; filaments red. O^ary usually 3-celled ; styles usually 3. Capsules 

 3celled, 3- in. long, enclosed within the persistent calyx, pointed, cir- 

 cumscissile. Seeds black, smooth and polislied. Tl. B. I. v. 2, p. G59 ; 

 Grab. Cat. p. 248 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 15 ; Trim. Fl. Cevl. v. 2, p. 268 ; 

 Pax, in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 3, part 1, B, p. 42,'fig. 17 ; Woodr. 

 iu Jouru. Bomb. Xut. v. 11 (1808) p. 042. — Flowers : IS'ov.-Dec. 



A tolerably coinnion weed on the sea-coast throughout the Presiclency. Konkan : 

 pea-shore near Basscin, ^Aft'a ! ; s(^a-shore, Revadanda, Woodrowl; Salsette, Graham; 

 Ooian, 6-'to/;«;« — DisTuiB. India (on sea-shores) ; Ceylon, shores of tropical and 

 subtropical regions. 



3. TRI ANTHEM A, Liun. 



Diffuse prostrate branched herbs, glabrous, pubescent or papillose. 

 Leaves petiolate, opposite, unequal, linear, ovate or ohovate, quite entire ; 

 stipules U, but the petiole dilated, with men)branous stipuliform margins. 

 Flo\\ ers axillary, sessile or peduncled, solitary, cyinose or panicled. 

 Calyx-tube short or long ; lobes 5, colored within, mucronate at the 

 back. Petals 0. Stamens 5-10 or many, inserted near the top of the 

 calyx-tube. Ovary fi'ee, sessile, 1-2-celled, often truncate at the apex ; 

 ovules 1-TO , basal ; styles 1 or 2. Capsule membranous below, with a 

 hard thick cap which is detached by a circumscissile dehiscence and 

 carries away one or more seeds, 1-2-celled. Seeds 1-co , subreniform ; 

 embryo annular. — Distrib, AVidely spread iu tropical and subtropical 

 regions ; species 10. 



Stamens 10 or more. 



Style 1 1 . T. monogyna. 



Styles 2 4. T. decandra. 



Stamens less tlian 10. 



Lower half of capsule 8-12-seeded 5. T. hi/da^pica. 



Lower half of capsule 1-2-seeded. 



Leaves less than i in. long ; style 1 2. T. friquetra. 



Leaves 3-I5 in. long ; styles 2 3. T. peniandra. 



1. Trianthema monogyna, Linn. Mantiss. (1767) p. 09. A pros- 

 trate somewhat succulent herb ; stems more or less angular, glabrous 

 or pubescent, much branched. Leaves subfleshy, obliquely opposite, 

 unequal, the upper one of the pair the larger, |-1| by |-1^ in., the 

 lower g-g by \-'^ in., broadly obovate, rounded and often apiculate at 

 the apex, cuneate at the base, glabrous ; petioles |-| in. long, much 

 dilated and membranous at the base, especially those of the smaller 

 leaves in which the membranous enlargement forms a triangular pouch. 

 Flowers solitary, sessile, almost concealed by the pouch of the petiole. 

 Calyx-lobes ovate, acute. Stamens 10-20. Ovary truncate; style 1. 

 Capsules small, almost concealed in the petiolar pouch, lid truncate, 

 slightly concave, with 2 spreading teeth, carrying away at least one seed, 

 the lower part 3-5-seeded. Seeds reniform, muriculate, dull-black. 

 Fl. B. I. V. 2, p. 600 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 269 ; Woodr. in Journ. 

 Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1898) p. 642 ; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 4, 

 p. 77. Trianthema obcordata, Eoxb. Hort. Beng. p. 34 ; Dalz. & Gibs. 

 p. 14 ; Wigiit, Icon. t. 288 ; Aitch. Pb. & Sind PI. p. 65.— Flowers : 

 Juue-Ang. VlORTf, Bis-hhdjvd. 



