Justicia. ] ACANTHACEM. 209 



its spreading decumbent branches often strike root at the nodes ; also 

 the bracts are narrower and less conspicuously white. 



Var. villosa. F. B. I. ir,525 ; Pro in Kong. PI. 817. — An erect shrub with 

 softly hairy stems. Leaves densely hairy bonoath. Flowers salmon- 

 coloured. - Found in the southern portion of the area. Distrib. Com- 

 mon in Chota Xagpur and in Central India. 



3. J. quinqueangularis, Koen. ex Roxb. Hort. Beng. 80 ; Fl. Ind. i, 133 ; 

 F. B. 1. iv, 530 ; Frain Beng. PI. 818; Cooke FL Bomb, ii, 411. 



A slender glabrous somewhat prostrate herb. Stems often reaohing 2 

 in., angular, geniculate and with distant internodes. Leaves shortly 

 stalked, 1-3 in. long, linear or linear-lanceolate, obscurely lineolate, 

 glabrous. Spikes 1-5 in. long, terminal, slender, glabrous ; bracts £ in. 

 long, linear, obtuse, glabrous, the margins as also of the bracteoles and 

 calyx-segments ecarious ; bracteoles similar to the bracts, but 

 narrower. Calyx as long as the bracts, 4-partite ; segments linear, 

 obtuse. Corolla rose-coloured, $-$■ in. long, glabrous or slightly hairy 

 outside ; upper lip 5 in. long, notched ; lower lip rather longer, suborbi- 

 cular, shortly 3-lobed. Filaments glabrous. Ovary glabrous. Capsule 

 % in. long, oblong, pointed, tapering to the base, glabrous. Seeds 4>, 

 reticulately rugose. 



Abundant throughout the Upper Gangetic Plain. Distrib. From the 

 plains of the Punjab and Bengal southwards to C. and S. India. 



Var. peploides, F. B. I. iv, 537; Prain Beng PI. SIS; Cooke Fl. 

 Bomb, ii, 411.— A prostrate herb, usually more branched than the type, 

 Leaves oblong or elliptic -oblong, petioles up to $ in. long. Spikes 

 shorter and broader. Common within the area. Distrib. Plains of 

 Punjab and Bengal and southwards to C. and W. India, extending to 

 Afghanistan. 



4. J. diffusa, IV Hid. Sp. PI, i. 87; F.B. I. iv, 538 ; Frain Beng. PI. 

 818 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 410. J. procumbens, Linn, {in part) ; Roxb. Fl. 

 Ind. i, 132. 



A diffuse muoh-branched herb. Stems somewhat 4-angled, 1-2 ft. high 

 slightly woody below. Leaves 1-2 in. long, ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, 

 acute or acuminate, lineolate on both sides, glabrous or nearly so, baso 

 acute, petioles ^-i in long. Flowers in slender axillary and terminal 

 spikes 1-6 in. long ; bracts linear-lanceolate or linear, shorter than the 

 calyx, ovate, acuminate, margins scarious, tips minutely scabrous ; 

 bracteoles similar to the bracts, but narrower. Calyx £ in. long, 4- 

 partite nearly to the base ; segments unequal, lanceolate, acute, 

 minutely scabrous upwards. Corolla % in. long, pink or pale-purple, 

 slightly hairy outside. Filaments hairy at the base. Ovary glabrous, 

 Btyle hairy below. Capsule ^-5 in. long, oblong, shortly pointed, 

 glabrous. Seeds obscurely rugose. 



Abundant within the area. Distrib. Plains of the Punjab, Sind and 

 Bengal extending to S. India and Ceylon, also in Burma and Siam. 



