i.xx. itiBivfEt. 623 



indehiscent cocci, crowned with tlio onlnrged calyx. ]•'!. H. I. v. TJ, 

 p. 202 ; JioisH. Fl. Orient. \.[i, p. 15; W'oodr. in Joiirn. Bomb. Nut. 

 V. 11 (1898) p. 64G. 



A rare plant, confuHHl (in tlie Eombay Presidency) to Sine], Sini» : Tliano-Btillo- 

 Khan, U'oodrow. 



Woodrow reports tliia plant from Sind, but I liave seen no spi-ciniens from liicre. 

 The specimens in Herb. Kcw. are from Waziristan, the Panj/ib, Alfjlianistan, and 

 Seluchistan. 



34. RUBIA, Linn. 



Scabrid liis|)id or prickly erect diffitse or climbing herbs ; stems long, 

 4-gonous. Leaves 4-8 in a whorl, exstipiilate. Flowers small or 

 minute, in axillary and terminal cymes ; pedicels articulate with the 

 calyx. Calyx-tube ovoid or globose ; limb 0. Corolla rotate or sub- 

 campanulate ; lobes 4-5-valvate. Stamens 4-5, inserted on the corolla- 

 tube ; filaments short ; anthers didymous, exserted. Ovary 2-celled ; 

 ovules solitary in each cell, attached to the septum, amphitropous ; 

 style 2-fid or styles 2 ; stigmas capitellate. Fruit small, lleshy, didy- 

 mous or globose by the suppression of a carpel. Seeds suberect, 

 adhering to the pericarp; testa membranous; cotyledons broad, thin; 

 radicle slender, inferior. — Distrib. Chiefly in the tempei'ate regions 

 of the world ; species about 30. 



1. Rubia cordifolia, Linn. Si/st. Nat. ed. 12, v. 3 (17GS) p. 229.— 

 Perennial, herbaceous, climbing ; roots very long, cylindric, flexuose, 

 with a thin red bark ; stems often many yards long, rough, grooved, 

 becoming slightly woody at the base ; bark white ; branches scandent 

 by means of numerous divaricate or detlexed branchlets' and petioles, 

 quadrangular, sometimes prickly on the angles, glabrous, shining. 

 Leaves 11-31 by |-1|, in whorls of 4 (one pair of each whorl often 

 larger and with longer petioles than the other), ovate, acute, the lower 

 leaves larger than the upper, all scabrous above, on the nerves beneath, 

 and on the margins with minute white prickles, base rounded or slightly 

 cordate, the base of the upper leaves sometimes acute, all 5 (rarely 7)- 

 nerved from the base ; petioles triangular, with many sharp recurved 

 prickles on the edges, often deflexed ; stipules 0. Flowers in terminal 

 panicled glabrous cymes; branches trichotomous, spreading; bracts 

 ovate acute, leafy. Calyx J^ in. long ; tube globose, glabrous, limb 0. 

 Corolla greenii^h, divided nearly to the base ; tube scarcelv any ; lobes 5, 

 ovate, acute, g in long. Styles 2 ; stigmas globose. Fruit ^-J in. in 

 diam., didymous or globose, smooth, shining, purplish-black when ripe. 

 Fl. B. L V. 3, p. 202 ; Grab. Cat. p. 93 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 121 ; "Wight, 

 111. t. 128, Ms, fig. 1 ; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 372 ; AVoodr. in Journ. 

 Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1898) p. 040 ; AVatt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 1, 

 p. 570. — Flowers : Oct.-Jan. Verx. Manji^hth ; Jtta. 



On the higher Ghats tolerably common. Koxkan: SlocAs\; Amboli Ghat, 

 Kanitkar\ Deccan: Phunda Ghat, i?(/t7*/e, 361 ! ; hills at Bbor, A'aw/Z/ar! ; hills 

 at Par, Law'.; Mahablesliwar, CooA-cl; hills near Sinhagnd (Poona districts), 5^/ca ! 

 S. M. CousTKv: Belgamn, JilLhie, 361 ! — Distrib. Throughout India iu hilly districts ; 

 Ceylon, Malacca, Japan, Java, Tropical Africa. 



The roots furnish a valuable dye which is used largely by the natives of India. Tlie 

 plant is known as Indian Madder. A very full description of the dyeing process will 

 be found in Watt's Diet. Econ. Prod. 1. c. 



2t 



