ixx. itiiiiAci;-T:. 619 



27. SAPROSMA, Hlimio. 



Shrubs iisimlly ol;iI)rutis, Id id wlioi luniised, ol'trii with .suhulalii 

 bristles Jit the tips ol' tlu' braiic-lics and bases of tlic jjcdiindus. Jjcaves 

 opposite or ;}-4-\vhorled, ineiiibratious ; stipules interpetiolar, broad, 

 usually connate, 1-3-cuspidate, deciduous. Flowers small, wliite, sessile 

 and congested, or on axillary or terminal peduncles, solitary or .'j-nate ; 

 bracts and bracteoles minute, often connate. Calyx-tube obconic ; limb 

 dilated, 4-6-lobed or -tootlied, persistent. Corolla canipanulate or 

 infundibuliform, throat villous ; lobes 4-5, broad, obtuse, valvate, with 

 indexed Hat or, crisped margins. Stamens 4-5, in the corolla-throat ; 

 iilaineiits short or 0. Ovary 2-ceIled ; ovules solitary in each cell, 

 erect from the base, anatropous. Drupe small ; pyrenes 1-2, thin, 

 crustaceous. Seeds erect, plano-convex, the ventral iace not hollowed 

 out ; tesla membranous ; cotyledons foliaceous ; radicle elongate, 

 terete, truncate, inferior, next the hilum. — DibiBiu, Trofjical A&ia; 

 species 8. 



1. Saprosma indicum, Balz. in Kcw Joiim. Bot. v. 3 (1851^ p. 37. 

 A shrub 3-4 it. high ; branches pale, terete, dichotomous, glabrous. 

 Leaves opposite (one of the pair often smaller than the other), sessile or 

 nearly so, 2|-5 by g-l| in., thin, elliptic-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 

 acute or acuminate, glabrous, base acute or rounded ; main nerves 

 8-10 pairs; stipules usually 3-cuspidate, small. I'lowei's terminal, 

 on short pedicels, 1-3 in a fascicle at the apices of twigs between the 

 last paii's of leaves ; pedicels 4^^ iu- loug, with a cup-shaped whorl 

 of rigid connate glabrous scaly bracts at the base. Calyx jV in. lotig, 

 cup-shaped, unequally 4-5-toothed ; teeth triangular, acuminate, with 

 broad sinuses between. Corolla \ in. long, white ; lobes ovate, acute, 

 as long as the tube. Style shortly 2-fid. Berry g-^ in. long, ellipsoid, 

 smooth, crowned by the calyx, blue, very fetid, usually 1-seeded by 

 suppression. Seeds broadly ellipsoid or globose. Fl, B. I. v. 3, p. 1U2; 

 Dalz. et Gibs. p. 112 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 368 ; Talb. Trees, Bomb, 

 ed. 2, p. 199 ; Woodr. in Jouru. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1898) p. 616. 



KoNKAN : Western GhAts, Woodrow. S. M. Country : Ohoria Ghdt, Dahcll .' 

 Kanaka : cominoa on the southern Gh^ts of N. Kanara, Talbot. 



28. GEOPHILA, T). Don. 



Small slender i)erennial herbs, cireping and rooting. Leaves opposite, 

 long-petiolate, orbicular-reniform or ovate-cordate; stipules inter- 

 petiolar, ovate, entire. Flowers small, solitary or umbelled, subsessile, 

 or on axillary or terminal peduncles ; bracts subulate, linear, or leafy. 

 Calyx-tube obovoid ; limb short, 5-7-toothed or -partite, persistent. 

 Corolla elongate, infundibuliform, throat hairy ; lobes 4-7, spreading 

 or recurved, valvate. Stamens 4-7, inserted on the corolla-tube ; fila- 

 ments filiform ; anthers linear. Ovary 2-celled ; ovules solitary in each 

 cell, erect from the base, anatropous ; style slender, with 2 short or 

 elongate branches. Drupe fleshy ; pyrenes 2, plano-convex, not 

 grooved on the ventral face ; testa membranous ; albumen horny ; 

 embryo basal, minute ; radicle inferior. — Disxeib. Tropical Asia, 

 Africa, and America ; species 8-10. 



