1. DioscoREA.] 132. DIOSCOBEACEJE. 



below, with 3-5-foliolate leaves, glabrous or pubescent beneath. Leaflets 

 of lower leaves attain 5-5" by 2-2-5", rarely larger, centre ones obovate 

 or elliptic suddenly cuspidate or acuminate, cuneate towards base, 

 1-costate only, lateral leaflets sometimes 3-costate, but the lateral 

 costffi from the midrib. Male spikes •4-1-5" long, 1-2-nate in long 

 axillary racemes and sometimes terminally panicled, or the axillary 

 racemes sometimes branched. Female spikes long and solitary or 2-nate 

 rarely panicled, 2-4" . Capsule large oblong 1" by • 5" deflexed. 



Frequent. Purneah, Ham. ! Monghyr, Ham. OYall, No. 5098). Ranchi, 

 especially above 2000 ft. ! Palamau ! Hazaribagh (Koderma Forest) ! Sing- 

 bhum ! Angul ! Fl. r.s.-c.s. Fr. c.s.-h.s. Probably in all districts. 



There are probably two distinct species included under this name. One has 

 elongate obpyriform bulbils, the other with larger roundish corky and tesselate 

 bulbils ; this latter is much more pubescent or hairy than the former ; but as the 

 bulbils are not attached in the herbarium, I cannot with certainty correlate their 

 form with other characters, rrain and Burkill (Joarn. of Asiatic Soc.) have 

 recorded two varieties according as the plant is sLlvery-grey with tuber white and 

 soft (var. Linncei) or rusty red with root puce-coloured and stringy (var. Rumphii), 

 but they do not give the shape of the bulbils in these two varieties, nor have I 

 seen any description of other characters. 



The tubers are oblong or clavate, proceeding direct from the base 

 of the aerial stem and thickening downwards. The followdng very 

 distinct varieties occur in our area : — 



Var. communis, Bnrhill, m.s. ? 



Prickly. Lflts. mostly 5-foliolate or 3-5-foliolate, up to 4-5" by 2" mostly 

 suddenly cuspidate, blade thinly hairy, but petiolules densely closely rusty-pubes- 

 cent. Male fl. shortly pedicelled above the bract, bracts rather large, the bract 

 and bracteole together deltoid in outline with very broad partly amplexicaul base 

 •OS" wide, -06- -07" long, pubescent, sepals -04" long pubescent, petals subequal 

 more oblong, pistillode far exceeding the stamens. Fem. spikes 2-3" in flower, 

 sometimes panicled, 5" excluding the slender peduncle in fruit ; bracts • 08" long, 

 lanceolate, ovary -15" denselv tomentose, sepals -08". Fruit •?" by •SS" to 1" 

 by -5". 



Eanchi ! Singbhum ! 



Var. cyathiformis. 



Leaves mostly or all 3-foholate, lateral relatively much broader than in last 

 variety, semi-ovate, central broadly elliptic, less suddenly acuminate, sparsely 

 hairy. Pedicels -03" long below the bract, flower quite sessile in the bract and 

 bracteole which are glabrous and form a nearly complete cupule round the flower, 

 both orbicular concave, bract with a minute almost filiform sudden cusp. Sep. 

 triangular or lanceolate, petals more ovate, both thickened below and glabrous 

 or nearly so. Stamens longer than the pistillode. 



The bulbils are yet small and globose. The racemes laxer than in first variety. 



Ranchi ! Angul ! 



The tubers of D. pentaphylla are eaten, but that of oirr second variety is said not 

 to be very good. 



D. Kalka-pershadi, Burkill (in Kew Herb.), is, I think, a form of D. pentaphylla 

 with 6 very large leaflets attaining 5" by nearly 3" and with 8 sec. nerves. D. 

 pentaphylla has, however, leaflets often as large, and up to 8 sec. nerves in such 

 larger leaflets. The tubers are short cylindrical up to 1 ft. long, densely covered 

 with roots and the stems sparingly prickly. It is apparently considered to be a 

 hybrid between pentaphylla and tomentosa,'but does not appear to me to have any- 

 thing to do with tomentosa (except in so far as pentaphylla passes into that species). 



Ranchi (Biru), Cardon ! 



FAM. 153. BURMANNIACEiE. 



Herbs with linear, chiefly radical leaves or leaves reduced to scales. 

 Flowers regular, rarely zygomorphic, 2-sexual, spieate or racemed and 



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