143. COMMELINACE.E. [3. Ctanotis. 



stout curved rhachis of axillary and terminal small helicoid cymes 

 and enclosed in the biseriate falcate imbricating bracts, the petals 

 and stamens, rarely the whole flower exserted, very rarely in exposed 

 racemes. Sepals subequal, free or connate below. Petals subequal, 

 often united into a tube below. Stamens 6, all perfect subequal, 

 filaments usually bearded, often expanded towards the apex, anthers 

 oblong. Ovary 3-celled ; ovules 2 collateral in each cell, one erect, 

 the other pendulous. Capsule 3-celled, loculicidal. Seeds super- 

 posed, cuboid or pyramidal, usually rugose. 



A. Flowers in the axils of tlie leaf-slieatlis . . . . .1. axillaris. 



B. Flowers in spiciform scorpioid cymes with pairs of secund closely 



imbricating foliaceous bracts : — 

 Root fibrous. Bracts glabrous or villous on the margins only . 2. cristata. 

 Root of fascicled tubers. Bracts villous all over . . .3. tuberosa. 



1. C. axillaris, Eoem. Sf Sch. 



A glabrous sub-succulent creeping and rooting herb with numerous 

 erect and spreading branches often 2 ft. long with sheathing linear 

 acuminate leaves mostly 3-4" long, lower up to 5" bj^ • 5", floral • 5-1" 

 long. Flowers prett}^ bright blue in short axillary clusters in the 

 inflated leaf-sheaths, 1-6 in each axil, -75" long and -3" diam. Calyx 

 •3" long, split about half-way into 3 narrow greenish or hyaline seg- 

 ments, keeled in fruit. Cor. -tube very slender -5", petals ovate. 

 Filaments with long blue jointed hairs, clavate at tip. Capsule -2" 

 long, glabrous, acute, 6-toothed or -lobed (each valve being 2-fid). 

 Seeds sub-cylindric, punctate. 



"Very common in rice-fields and other wet places. In all districts! FL, Fr. 

 July- Jan. Annual. 



Stems shining, glabrous or sparsely hairy. L. tapering from base to apex. 

 Fls. sometimes wliite or violet. Top of filament clavate. Anths. yellow, oblong, 

 Inserted near base, cells with convolute walls, pollen purple. Style filiform spiral, 

 clavate above. 



2. C. cristata, Schultes. 



Stem slender branched creeping below, root fibrous, branches erect 

 or ascending glabrous or patently hairy. Leaves rather distant 

 sessile spreading 1-2.5-3" by -S-'To", ovate-oblong. Cymes recurved 

 not clustered, -5- -8" in the axil of a lanceolate spathe which usually 

 greatly exceeds the spike and is 1-1-5" long. Bracts imbricating, 

 -4-- 6" long by -17-- 2" broad, very falcate obtuse and apiculate, 

 glabrous or mth margin only villous. 



In wet ground. Gava, Nusker ! Rajmahal Hills, Kurz ! Chota I^agpur, 

 Wood (nithout locality) 1 Parasnath, Cal. Herb. ! Manbhum, Thoins. ! FL Oct. 



Stems 1-2 ft., pubescence sometimes confined to a line decm-rent from the 

 sheaths. L. rather fleshy, obtuse or subacute, usually densely ciliate and with 

 short hirsute sheaths. Flowers blue, sepals linear-oblong acute hairy, filaments 

 bearded, clavate below the tip. Capsule -1", slightly hairy above. Seeds 2 in 

 each cell, conic-oblong, truncate at their mutual extremity, other end umbonate, 

 slightly ribbed and warted (3-gonous, striate and pitted, Clarke). 



3. C. tuberosa, Schultes. 



Flowering stems stout prostrate ascending and erect, 12" to 2 ft. 

 high, hirsute at the base, hairy above. Leaves mostly radical, ensi- 

 form, or narrowly oblong, 5-10" by -4-1", subacute, without costa, 



1081 



