33. Blepharis.] 104. ACANTHACE.E. 



1. B. boerhaaviaefolia, Pers. 



Undershrub or lierb Avith creeping rootstock and diffuse stems 2-3 

 ft. long. Leaves mostly 4 in a whorl l-3'5" long, elliptic or elL- 

 obiong, subacute, acute or acuminate, rarely obtuse, cuneate at base, 

 mostly remotely serrate or with feAv small teeth. Flowers white 

 •7--8" long, fascicled or solitary on abbreviated many-bracteate 

 spikes conspicuous by the long marginal setae of the bracts. Capsule 

 broadly ellipsoid -3" long. Seeds 2, densely covered with stout white 

 papillae •Oo--08" long branching into their component hyphse at the 

 tips. 



In shady places, ou rocky liills or along ravines. Monghyr hills, Kurz ! Bihar, 

 J.D.H.l Singbhum! Palamau ! Angul ! Fl., Fr. Aug.-March. 



Stems attain •25" diani. with thickened nodes and often with a reflexed suh- 

 hispid pubescence on the branches. "Leaves sparsely hispid-hairy above, sub- 

 strigosely hairy on the nerves beneath, sometimes in unequal pairs below. Petiole 

 •■15-"25". Bracts oblanceolate or spathulate, lower often only '2", uppermost 'S-'S", 

 3-nerved, bristles often •l-'lo' long retrorsely hispid. Outer sepals oblong, upper 

 ■C long, inner and lateral shorter. Cor. -tube almost horny bulbous white, "lo-'iy" 

 ,long with rim sub-truncate above, lower lip pubescent with pink veins, mid-lobe 

 sometimes with 3 crenatures of which the central is emarginate. 



2. B. molluginifolia, Pers. 



A much smaller plant than the last with diffuse patently hairy 

 stems 3-8" long and narrow-elliptic (linear-oblong in some Bundel- 

 khand specimens) to obovate rounded entire leaves usually only 

 •3-7", sometimes up to 1" long. Heads sessile dense ovoid -4" with 

 spinose-ciliate or awned bracts shorter than the bracteoles. Flowers 

 usually only one in a head, •25--3" long with corolla-lip only -15" 

 broad, minutely pubescent. 



Rare in our area. Purulia (Manl)hum), C/arkel Fl. Sept.-Dec. It is found 

 frequently to the west of our area in the United Provinces and Bundelkhand, so 

 that it very probalily occurs also in Shahabad and other drjj- western districts in 

 our area, especially as it penetrates as far as Purulia. 



34. ACANTHUS, L. 



Shrubs or herbs with pinnatifid, toothed or spinous leaves, rarely 

 scandent with entire {voluhilis) leaves. FloAvers subsessile iisually 

 large in dense strobiliform or interrupted terminal spikes with opp. 

 and decussate spinescent bracts, and large lanceolate (rarely 0) 

 bracteoles. Sepals in decussate pairs, 2 outer larger. Corolla Avith 

 short ovoid horny tube, limb lipped, upper lip obsolete, lower 

 elongate obovate, shortly 3-lobed. Stamens didynamous, shorter 

 than the lip, curved below the anther, anther-cell one, apical on the 

 filament, oblong, bearded. Disc 0. Style very shortly 2-fid. Ovules 

 2 in each cell. Capsule ellipsoid, compressed shining dark-broAvn, 

 4-seeded. Seeds compressed, glabrous. 



A. Erect, leaves spinous or spinulose-serrate :— 



Shrub, leaves rigid glabrous shining. Cor. To" . . . I. ilicifoliug. 

 Herbaceous, leaves soft. Corolla 1" 2. leucoffacht/us. 



B. Twining, leaves not sjiinose nor spinulose, entire . . .3. voluhilis. 



702 



