20. IcHNOCARPUS.] 89. APOCYNACEM. 



20. ICHNOCARPUS, Br. 



Climbing shrubs with small or miniite flowers in long terminal and 

 axillary paniciilate cymes. Calyx 5-fid, glandular or not within. 

 Corolla salver-shaped, throat contracted or villous, petals narrowed 

 to an obtuse often twisted tip, iipper half deflexed in bud. Stamens 

 at or below the middle of the tube, anthers sagittate, adhering to 

 stigma, spurred at base. Disc free, 5-lobed. Carpels distinct, hairy, 

 exserted from disc, style short, top obconic, stigma columnar. 

 Follicles spreading or divaricate, slender and subterete or rigid and 

 compressed. Seeds narrowed at the tip with deciduous coma, albumen 

 copious, cotyledons long flat. 



Corolla-tube glabrous,* mouth villous I. friitescens. 



Corolla-tube pubescent, mouth puberulous 2. ovafifolius. 



1. I. frutescens, R.Br. Onol-sing, K.; Dudhi-lota, S.; Saon-lar, 



KlLartv.; Taparlohar, Soyam-noi, Or. 



A large rambling shrub Avoody below with rusty-tomentose branches, 

 elliptic or broadly-oblong acute or shortly acuminate glabrous leaves 

 l'5-4"5" by 1-2" and narrow panicles of small white floAvers "3" diam. 

 with narrow twisted bearded lobes. 



Common, especially in hedges in moist localities, in all districts ! Purneah, very 

 common! Fl. Sept.-Dec. Fr. Jan, -April. The leaves turn brown or reddish in 

 Feb. before falling. 



L. pale and finely reticulate beneath, base rounded or acute, sec. n. about 5. 

 Petiole ■17-'2o". Panicles usually leafy with short branches, pedicels •05-*2" only. 

 Calyx with linear glands within, sepals "07", corolla-tube swollen in the middle, 

 •12", usually pubescent, mouth villous. Follicles 3-6'5" linear divaricate slightly 

 flattened, "l" broad, densely red tomentose when young v^-ith a brownish thin 

 tomentum when mature. Seed about -5" brown linear grooved with a coma 

 about '2.5". 



The plant is much used for tying. The pi-operties of the roots are said to be the 

 same as those of Hemidesmus indicus but the plant is often confused with that and 

 the roots lack the sweet aromatic perfume of the Hemidesmus. 



2. I. oYatifolius, A.DC. 



This is said to occur in Chota Nagpur (Bevgal Flanfs), the distinguishing 

 characters being those given in the kej' above, but as the tube of I. frutescens is 

 vearly (iltcai/s puhescenf or silky and I)e Candolle himself states that the flowers 

 only dift'er in the slightly broader calyx lobes the distinction hardly seems adequate. 

 De Candolle gives as the chief character of ovafifolius the ovate acuminate leaves 

 with very obtuse base, whereas those of /. frufesceiis, according to his diagnosis, 

 are elliptic and acute both ends. Such ovate leaves occur in plants in our area but 

 these do not seem specifically different. 



FAM. 90. ASCLEPIADACEiE. 



Herbs or shrubs, usually twining and nearly always with milky 

 juice, closely allied to the Apocynacete and differing chiefly in the 

 androecium. Leaves opposite, sometimes undeveloped, very rarely 

 alternate, quite entire, exstipulate, but often Avith stipular lines and 

 intrapetiolar or interpetiolar glands. Flowers regular, 2-sexual, 

 5-merous, usually in axillary umbelliform cymes. Calyx-lobes im- 



* But .see remarks under both species. 

 546 



