13. Strobilanthes.] 104. ACANTHACE^. 



A. Flowers in dense spikes:— 



Fls. yellow. L. hard, taperinof at base, ell or obovate . . 1, scaler. 

 F1.S. blue. L. soft, auricled at the base 2. aurieulatus. 



B. Flowers not seen. Determination uncertain :— 



L. .softly hairy, ovate, 3-6" long. Petiole 1-1*5" hairy . . d. jeyporenns?. 

 L. glabrous, narrowly lanceolate, 3-5-5". Petiole 'o-'l" . . 4. .? 



1. S. scaber, l^ees (in part). 



A somewhat harsh herb 1-3 ft. high with creeping rootstock, 

 hispid or strigose stems, opposite rather stiff or hard entire or crenate 

 elliptic or obovate scabrid leaves 2-5-6" long, and bracteate capitate 

 spikes of yelloAv tubnlar flowers 1" long and about -Q-l" diam. 

 Spikes often in short terminal panicles. Capsule •^" (nearly -5", 

 C^ar Are), downy, usually 4-seeded. 



Often sub-gregarious under shade and in wet places, along watercourses etc. 

 Purneah, probably (it occurs close by in Maldah!); Santal Parg. ! Singbhum ! 

 Pun, very common in the Mais ! Sometimes cultivated. Fl., Fr. Jan.-April. 



Not very characteristic of the genus. Leaves hispid or scabrous beneath, lineo- 

 late with short raphides above, rather grey above and glaucous beneath, tapering 

 both ends ; sec. n. 6-8, tertiaries rather reticulate. Petiole S-'Q". Spikes 1-1 "5" on 

 hairy peduncles, lanceolate bracts "7-1 "25" long, remarkable for their long tapering 

 but rather blunt tips, very hairy. Bracteoles linear, 'o". Sepals linear, -5", with 

 long often glandular hairs. Corolla narrowly tubular for -25" then ventricose, 

 villous within. Filaments hairy. Seeds discoid with broad margins and long 

 silky hairs, " with very large glabrous areoles, " Clarke. I have found the capsule 

 rarely 6-seeded ! 



2r. S. aurieulatus, Nees. Hutid, K. ; Gada Kalha, S. ; Marmari-dara, 



Gond. 



A shrub 2-6 ft. high, often gregarious, with sessile leaves auricled at 

 the base, those in a pair usually unequal, the larger ones 5-10" long, 

 soft, hairy, crenate. Flowers about \" long, blue, in axillary anli 

 terminal linear spikes 1-3" long Avith densely imbricate obovate 

 obtuse bracts with recurved margins densely covered with stalked 

 glands beneath. Corolla \" curved so that the mouth is sub-lateral, 

 the narrow tubular portion only •25--3" long then ventricose. Capsule 

 ■3" glabrous. 



Frequent under shade in the forests and often forming a dense undergrowth 

 under Sal in Singbhum. N. Champaran ! Gaya Ghats ! Jaspur, rocky hill tops. 

 Wood : Singbhum, often gregarious ! Manbhum, very common on the banks of 

 nalas, Campbell ! Hazaribagh! No notes of it from Orissa, though it surely occurs 

 there. Fl. Nov. -Feb. Fr. March-April. But only flowers periodically, the periods 

 about SIX years. 1 have records of a general flowering in 1898 and 1911, but an odd 

 plant or so may be found in flower most years, especially near the six-year period. 

 It IS exceedingly beautiful when in full flower, colouring the shades of the forest 

 with a sheet of blue, and it is sometimes cultivated in plant-houses. 



Branches nearly glabrous, angled, angles obtuse below, acute above. Leaves 

 often oblique or slightly falcate, lanceolate or oblanceolate (oblong or ovate, Clarke), 

 acuminate, narrowed at the base and again slightly widened at the auricle, thinly 

 hairy above and puberulous on the nerves beneath, sec. n. 9-12. Spikes very 

 numerous, terminating short axillary branchlets. Bracts •25--3", broader than 

 long, densely hoary pubescent or (Var. Edgeworthiana) with long spreading 

 white cilia. Bracteoles 0. 



The variety Edgworthiana is more common in Chota Nagpur than the type. The 

 sepals have also long white cilia at the tip. 



A form with prettily white-variegated leaves is often met with (Koderma, etc.). 



3. S. jeyporensis, Bedd. ? 



A gregarious shrub 4-6 ft. high with large softly hairy leaves often 

 with a purple tinge. Flowers not seen. 



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