208 ACANTHACJ2JE. [ Justicia. 



nerves 8-12 pairs, veins reticulate, petioles £-1 in. long. Flowers in short 

 dense axillary peduncled spikes 1-3 in. long, arranged towards the ends 

 of the branches ; peduncles stout, shorter than the leaves ; bracts up to 

 § in. long, elliptic, subacute, glabrous or nearly so, 5-7-nerved, closely 

 reticulate ; bracteoles £ in. long, 1-nerved, margins ciliate. Calyx f-^ 

 in. long, often slightly pubescent ; segments equal, oblong-lanceolate, 

 acute, 3-nerved. Corolla white with pink or purple stripes in the throat, 

 H i n - long, hairy outside ; tube f in. long, upper half much inflated 

 laterally ; upper lip curved, ovate-oblong, notched ; lower lip as long as 

 the upper ; lobes oblong, rounded. Filaments hairy at the base, the 

 lower anther-cells apiculate (not spurred) at the base. Ovary and lower 

 portion of style hairy. Capsule f in. or more in length, clavate, pubes- 

 cent. Seeds suborbicular, tubercular- verrucose. 



Abundant in all parts of the area, especially in Dehra Dun and through- 

 out the Sub-Himalayan tracts eastwards. It is often cultivated near 

 villages, and sometimes in the form of hedges. Flowers chiefly after 

 the rainy season. Dtsteib. Throughout India and in Ceylon, ascend- 

 ing to 4,500 ft. on the Himalaya ; it is found also in Burma and in the 

 Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. All parts of the plant have a bitter 

 taste and possess pronounced medicinal properties, and this may account 

 for the fact of its not being eaten by goats. The charcoal prepared 

 from the wood is used for making- gunpowder, and in Bengal the wood 

 is sometimes manufactured into beads. The leaves yield a yellow dye ; 

 they are also much used in some parts of India as a manure, with the 

 idea of ridding the ground of noxious insects ; but, apart from this, the 

 • leaves containing as they do, a large amount of potassium nitrate must 

 add considerably to the fertility of the soil. The absence of a spur 

 at the base of the lower anther-cells connects this species with the 

 genus Ecbolium. 



2. J. Betonica, Linn. Sp. PI. 15, vae. ramosissima. F.B. I. iv, 525 ; 



Prain Beng. PI. 817 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 407. J. ramosissima, Roxb. 

 Ft. Ind. i, 129. Adhatoda ramosissima, Nees. 



A diffusely branched undershrub ; branohes more or less decumbent 

 and often rooting at the lower nodes, cylindric, often tinged with 

 purple above the nodes, slightly pubescent when young. Leaves 2-4 in. 

 long, ovate or lanceolate, subobtuse, entire or slightly toothed, glabrous 

 pale green, petioles up to 5 in. long. Sx>ikes 1-5 in. long, usually termi- 

 nal, simple or branched ; bracts white veined with green, about | in. 

 long, lanceolate, acute, glabrous ; bracteoles narrower, unequal at the 

 base, glabrous except the ciliolate margins. Calyx deeply 5-partite, 

 ^•iu. long, pubescent ; segments linear-lanceolate, acute. Corolla dull- 

 white, veined and spotted with pink. Filaments hairy at the base, 

 lower cells of anthers acutely spurred. Capsule § in. long, widely 

 clavate at the top and protuberant above the seeds. Seeds 4, nearly 

 spherical, intensely rugose. 



"Widely distributed within the area. Distrib. Throughout the warmer 

 parts of India. This differs from the type by its more bushy habit, and 



