34. Tridax.] 78. COMPOSITE. 



Invol. bracts fe\v-seriate, outer short broad herbaceous, pales mem- 

 branous. Anther-bases with short acute auricles. Style-arms of 

 herm. fl. hairy above with subulate tips. Cypsele turbinate or 

 oblong', silky. Pappus of aristate feathery bristles. 



1. T. procumbens, L. 



Stems iisually several procumbent hairy, attaining 18" in length 

 with ascending- tips and very long erect peduncles. Leaves in rather 

 distant ]3airs, 1-2" long, coarsely toothed or lobed, lobes serrate, both 

 sides hairy, petioles short. Peduncles sometimes 12" long. Heads 

 •3-5" diam. in flower, •75" in fruit. Involucre hirsute "25" long. 

 E,ay fls. with a slender hairy tube and spreading deeply 3-lobed ligule 

 •l-'lo" long. Cypsele black densely hairy or silky, pappus of ray fls. 

 •13", of disc fld. fls. longer. 



Abundant in pastures, banks and waste ground in Chota Nagpur and south to 

 Kalaliaudi ! Probably in all districts. Introduced from South America. Fl., Fr. 

 all the year round. 



35. FLAYERIA, Juss. 



Herbs with opposite leaves and yellow flowers formed into close 

 clusters of heads resembling single heads. Individual or simple 

 heads small 1-5-fld. homogamous or with 1 very shortly ligulate 

 female, involucre of 2-4 bracts with sometimes 1-2 outer scales. 

 Receptacle naked. Style of herm. fl. Avith truncate arms. Cypsele 

 narrow, 8-10-ribbed. Pappus 0. 



1. F. repanda, La Gasca. Syn. F. contrayerba. Flora of Bombay; 

 F. australasica, Flora of Madras. 



An erect glabrous often 2-chotomously branched herb varying much 

 in stature from 8" to 2 ft. with opp. or pseudo-verticillate linear- 

 lanceolate, lane, or oblanceolate, rarely ell.-lanceolate, 3-nerved 

 leaves 1-2" long, tapering into a slender petiole which is again 

 dilated at the amplexicaul base or those subtending the heads sessile 

 with dilated base. Compound heads -S-d" diani. globosely fasciculate, 

 involucrate, axillary, subtended by a leaf (see above) and several 

 bracts equalling or exceeding the head. 



Watery places, occasional. Fl., Fr. Sept. -Jan. 



There seems to be a difference of opinion as to the name of this plant. The 

 cypseles in our species are grey-black, "1" long with about 10-12 black tine distinct 

 ridges and are enclosed in the two proper bracts of the simple heads, which are 

 connivent, ■18-'2'' long. F. confrai/erba, Per^., differs by the usually larger leaves 

 and far more looselj' compound heads (sometimes becoming distinctly branched). 

 F. australasica, Rook., also has somewhat larger leaves and its cypseles are longer, 

 viz. "li" long with stronger ridges, 1)ut the plaht would appear to be little more 

 than a varietj-. The two former are natives of Central America and the last a 

 native of the interior of Australia. 



36. TAGETES, L. 



Herbs, often gland-punctate, with ojDposite pinnatisect, rarely 

 subentire, serrulate leaves. Heads orange with 1-seriate (rarely 0) 

 fem. ligulate ray fls., disc fls. 2-sexual with o-fid corolla. Invol.- 

 bracts 1-seriate more or less connate into a campanulate or cylindric 

 cup. Receptacle fimbrillate. Anther-bases obtuse. Style of disc fls. 



486 



