willi acute inaryiiis ami with al)()iit 3 proiiiiiieiit aciilo rih.s on each facf, 

 crowned with tlie hirj^e calyx-leeth, sniooili, ghibroiis and nhining. Seeds 

 1- in. long, linear-oblong, i-lerete, rounded on the back and with a groove 

 on the ventral face. F\. B. I. v. 3, p. liM) ; (Jrali. Cat. p. 03; Tiini. 

 Fl. Ceyl. V. 2, p. 370 ; AVoodr. in Journ. Bomb. Xat. v. 11 (1808; p. (j40 ; 

 Wight, Icon. t. 7G0. 



KoNKAN : Dalzelll; Ooran, Kimmo ex Graham, Gijarat: Porbander (coast of 

 KaUiiawar), JJhival — Distuib. India (shores of W. Peninsula); Ceylon. 



32. SPERMACOCE, Liiui. 



Annual or perennial herbs or low undershrubs ; branches usually 

 4-gonous. Leaves opjiosite, sessile orpetiolate; stipules connate with 

 the pt^tioles into a broad truncate tube with unequal bristles. Flowers 

 small or minute, solitary, or in axillary or terminal fascicles, heads, or 

 cymes. Calyx-tube various; limb 2-4 (rarely 5) -toothed, sometimes 

 with interposed teeth or bristles. Corolla infundibuliform or hypo- 

 craterit'orm ; tliroat naked or hairy ; lobes 4, valvate. Stamens 4, on 

 the throat or tube of the corolla ; filaments short or long ; anthers 

 linear or oblong. Ovary 2-celled ; ovules solitary in each cell, attached 

 to the middle of the septum, amphitro])ous ; style filiform, with 2 short 

 arms or a capitate stigma. Fruit of 2 coriaceous or crustaceous meri- 

 carps which dehisce variously. Seeds oblong, ventrally grooved ; testa 

 thin, often granulate ; cotyledons leafy ; radicle terete, inferior. — 

 DiSTBiiJ. Scattered throughout tropical and subtropical regions, abundant 

 in America : species about 150. 



Stem erect ; both niericarps ventrally dehiscent ]. S. sfricfa. 



Stem procumbent ; one niericarp only ventrally dehiscent 2. S. hispida. 



1. Spermacoce stricta, Linn. f. Sujiph (1781) p. 120. Annual ; 

 stem erect, G-14 in. long, slender, thickened at the nodes, quadrangular, 

 the angles scabrid with recurved prickles ; internodes long. Leaves 

 subsessile, 1-2 by ^-| in., linear-oblong or ovate-oblong, acute, muero- 

 nate, more or less scabrous on both sides, the margins often recurved, 

 base much tapered ; stipules hairy and with numerous long filiform 

 bristles which are much longer than the sheath. Flowers in globose 

 dense-flowered heads, surrounded by a whorl of 2-6 linear, acute, 

 spreading or at length reflesed leaves ; bracteoles filiform, hyaline, as 

 long as or longer than the calyx. Calyx -^\-}^ in. long ; tube densely 

 pubescent in the upper part, glabrous near the base; teeth about as 

 long as the tube, linear-subulate, pubescent and with pointed hyaline 

 tips. Corolla white, g in. long ; tube almost filiform ; lobes ^'- in. long, 

 linear, acute. Stamens much exserted ; filaments very long. Stigma 

 subglobose or somewhat funnel-shaped. Capsides g in. long, membranous, 

 narrowed, veined and glabrous at the base, densely pubescent towards 

 the apex, crowned with the erect calyx-teeth, dehiscing from above, each 

 mericarp ventrally dehiscent. Seeds -^ in. long, ^-ellipsoid, rounded at 

 both ends, smooth, polished, with a deep groove on the ventral face, 

 brown. Fl. B. I. v. 3, p. 200 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 371 ; AVoodr. iu 

 Journ. Bomb. ISat. v. 11 (1808) p. G46. — Flowers: Oct.-Nov. 



Konkan: Stocls !, Lambert ! ; Worlee (Bombay), Stocks I Deccan : Pooua, Woodrow] ; 

 Dongergaon near Ahmednagar, Cooke ! S. M. Cointky : Eadami, Woodrow ; Belgaum, 

 Kitthie, 1707 !— Di^tkib. Throughout India ; Ceylon, Tropical Asia and Africa. 



