14 AMARANTACEZ. [ AMARANTUS. 
grooved and striate. Leaves 14-23 in. long, ovate-oblong or rounded, 
usually notched at the apex; base cuneate; nerves prominent 
beneath ; petioles 1-24 in. long. Flowers in axillary clusters and in 
terminal simple or branched spikes ; bracteoles shorter than sepais. 
Sepals 3, linear-cblong, obtuse or acute. Stamens 3. Ubtricle + Ga: 
long, broadly ovate and with a blunt apex; styles 3, very short. 
Seeds lenticular, dark-brown and shining.—Cultivated throughout 
india and in Ceylon. The leaves are extensively used as a pot-herb, 
and in the submontane tracts of Garhwal and Kumaon ; this plant 
is grown also for its grain, and the parched seeds are either eaten with 
milk or mixed with sugar and made up into sweetmeat balls (ladus). 
7. A. polygamus, Linn. Amen. Acad. iv, 294; Royle, Il. 321 q 
F. B. I. w, 721; Watt E. D. ; Comm. Prod. Ind: 63 ; Prain Beng. 
Pl. 871 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb. ii, 491. A. polygonoides, Willd. ; Roxb. 
Fl. Ind. tii, 602 ; Royle l. c. 
A diminutive annual glabrous weed. Stems prostrate or ascending, 
striate. Leaves $-1 in. long, obovate, obtuse, rarely retuse or some- 
what 2-lobed at the apex, often rigid and apiculate, base tapering ; 
petioles 3-4 in. long. Flowers few, in axillary clusters ; bracteoles 
membranous, shorter than the sepals, lanceolate-oblong, slightly 
awned, mid-nerve prominent. Perianth 3,-y5 in. long. Sepals 3, 
ovate-oblong, awned. Stamens 3. Fruit ovoid, rugose, tapering up- 
wards, usually circumscissile ; styles 3, distinct. Seeds lenticular, 
black and shining. ge 
A common weed in gardens and cultivated land throughout India and 
in Ceylon, extending to Trop. Africa. Though not cultivated, this 
plant is largely used in India as a pot-herb, and is considered to be 
very wholesome. It is closely allied to A. Blitwn. 
8. A. tenuifolius, Willd. Sp. Pl. iv, 381; Roxb. Fi. Ind. wi, 
602; F. B. I. iw, 722; Watt E. D. ; Prain Beng. Pl. 871; Cooke 
Fl. Bomb. wi, 491. 3 
A glabrous annual weed ; branches many from the root, 6-18 in. long, 
spreading, prostrate or ascending. Leaves 2-1 in. long, linear or 
oblanceolate-oblong, rounded and usually notched at the apex, base 
tapering ; petioles 3-4 in. long, often obscured by the decurrent leaf- 
blade. Flowers in minute axillary clusters, bracteoles shorter than 
the sepals, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, mid-nerve green. Perianth 3, 
in. long. Sepals 2, ovate-oblong, subacute, concave. Stamens 2. 
Utricle indehiscent, 2, in. in diam., orbicular, compressed, mem- 
branous, plicate when dry. Seeds lenticular, brown and shining. 
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