108. AMARANTACEjE. [8. Achyranthes. 



late-lanceolate, one or all aristate, shining, hardened and strongly 

 ribbed in fruit. Stamens 2-5, filaments connate at the base with 

 intermediate quadrate staminodes which are toothed, or have a 

 toothed dorsal scale, anthers 2-celled. Ovary oblong subcompressed 

 with filiform style and capitellate stigma. Ovule pendulous from a 

 long basal funicle. Utricle indehiscent, top areolate or rounded. 

 Seed inverse, oblong, testa coriaceous. Embryo annular. 



A. Outer (upper) sepal distinctly longer and narrower than the 



others, aristate, others muticous. Bracteoles not spinescent . 1. aquatica. 



B. Sepals subequal. Bracteoles spinescent : — 



Bracteoles ovate, awn not more than twice as long as blade . 2. aspera. 

 Bracteoles reduced to their awn which may be minutely auricled 



each side 3. bidentata, 



1. A. aquatica, Br. 



A stout aquatic with thick decumbent and rooting stems and erect 

 striate strigose branches terminating in the floral spikes. Leaves 

 2-6", linear-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, strigosely tomentose. 

 Spikes with villous (or pubescent, J.D.H.) rhachis elongating to 8" 

 or 18". Perianth with a thickened basal callus, outer (upper) tepal 

 in fruit linear-subulate spinous-tipped, -S-'SS" long, exceeding the 

 4 lanceolate shining coriaceous unarmed inner tepals. Fruit brown 

 ovoid truncate, -IG" long. 



Jheels and tanks, Purneah ! Prain says also Tirhut and Northern Bengal, but 

 as there are no specimens in the Calcutta Herbarium he perhaps judges from its 

 general distribution (Nepal Tarai to Assam, etc.). Fl. Sept.-Nov., Fr. Dec-Jan. 

 It is also a native of Coromandel, " straggling to a great extent about the edges of 

 sweet water." Roxburgh. 



Bracts ovate or ovate-lanceolate, "13", scarious. Bracteoles orbicular, mem- 

 branous, short, embracing the hardened base of the perianth, not aristate. The 

 flowers which fall with the bracteoles leave a hard callus at base of bract. Embryo 

 enclosing a very mealy or granular albumen. 



2. A. aspera, L. Sitir-Kadn, M. ; Chipchirit, S. ; Chirchira, Latjira, 



H. ; Chirchiri, Khariv. ; Apang, Beiig. 

 An erect or subscandent herb with elliptic, obovate, or suborbicular, 

 usually shortly suddenly acuminate leaves 1-5" long, generally with 

 close appressed hairs beneath, and long spikes of green polished 

 deflexed flowers. Exceedingly troublesome in fruit from the spinous 

 bracteoles and pungent pointed perianth which run into the hand 

 and adhere to the clothes. The fruiting perianth, •18--2" long, 

 becomes detached, as in other species of the genus, together with the 

 bracteoles, but leaving the reflexed bract. Bracteoles in flower with 

 thickened base and broadly ovate membranous blade, the sharp 

 excurrent awn not projecting more than the length of the blade, or 

 at least the length of blade and base together. Tepals all lanceolate, 

 outer with very pungent tips, base not hardened in fruit. Utricle 

 broadly-oblong or slightly wider above, '05", top circumsciss. 



Common, especially in the vicinity of villages, probably in all districts. Fl., Fr. 

 Oct.-Jan. 



Var. porphyristachya, Wall., is subscandent and common in the 

 forests with larger broadly elliptic acuminate more membranous 

 leaves 3-6" long, sometimes glabrous and therefore uniting this with 



767 



