77. RUBIACEJ^. [31. Knoxia. 



A common weed in waste lands and open places in the forests in most or all 

 districts ! Fl. r.s. Fr. Oct. -Dec. Annual. 



The stems have usually two narrow wings and are very sparsely shortly hispid; 

 .vometimes there are two additional equality strong- or weaker wings or lines, 

 making it 4-angled. 



2. S. hispida, L. 



A i^rocumbent scabrid or hisjiid herb much branched from the root 

 with rather distant pairs of obovate oblong or elliptic leaves •4-1" 

 long-, visually obtuse or rounded, more or less scabrid both sides. 

 Flowers clustered jjale lilac or white with tubes ST-'S" long slightly- 

 dilated upwards. Hyp, narrow ellipsoid, 08". Sepals 05-06'' hispid, 

 two usually stouter than the others. Petals short obtuse. Capsule 

 •11-"J2" long, septifragal, the thin septum being left entire between 

 the concave oblong loculicidal valves Avhich are entirely open ven- 

 trally. Seed brown, polished, microscopically tessellate. 



A very common weed in open wastelands and pastures. Fl. July-Oct. Fr. 

 Sept.-Dec. 



Stems usually with 4 acute angles or ridges sparingly scabrid below, hispid 

 above. Bristles on the stipules long in both species. 



30. HYDROPHYLAX, L.f. 



Creeping glabrous succulent littoral herbs with sessile ovate-oblong 

 leaves and stipules united with the petioles into an entire or toothed 

 cup. Flowers solitary, axillary, shortly pedicelled, rose or lilac, 4- 

 merous. Hypanthium 4-angled. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, persistent. 

 Corolla rather fleshy, between l)ell- and funnel-shaped, with a ring 

 of hairs within ; petals 4 ovate, valvate. Stamens on the throat, 

 filaments filiform, anthers linear. Ovary 2-celled, style filiform, 

 pubescent, stigma obscurely 2-lobed. Ovules 1 in each cell, peltately 

 attached to the septum. Fruit large, corky, oblong-ovoid, compressed,, 

 curved, acutely 3-4-keeled between the acute margins, 2-seeded. 



1. H. maritima, L.f. 



Stems creeping several feet, scarcely branched. Leaves very 

 fleshy -5-1" by "Zo-b", mostly obovate acute, sometimes papillose. 

 Flowers pretty, gentian-like, -S-'o" diam. with a tube "S-'S" long and 

 4 spreading lobes. Fruit -S-'T" long crowned with the enlarged 



sepals. 



Sandy sea shores of the Orissa coast, Puri ! Fl. June, 



The plant is a sand-binder, but is not of great use in this respect owing to hf> 

 being so little branched and the roots given off at the nodes are of no great length. 



31. KNOXIA, L. 



Erect herbs or undershrubs, stems often grooved, with two lines of 

 pubescence. L. opp., stipules connate with the petiole into a sheath. 

 Fls. dimorphous, pink or lilac, small, subsessile on the elongating 

 branches of terminal cymes. Calyx teeth minute or 1-2 elongate, 

 persistent. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, throat villous, lobes 4 

 valvate with inflexed tips in bud. St. 4 in the tube. Ovary 2-celled, 

 style filiform, stigma 2-lobed. Ovule 1 pendulous in each cell. 

 Fruit very small, of two connate or separating indehiscent mericarps 



30 451 



