508 Prof. Don's Descriptions of Indian Gentianese. 



Gen. I. GENT I AN A. Borch, Brown. 



Calyx 4 — 5-fidus. Corolla campanulata v. infundibuliformis, limbo 4 — 5-fida : 

 sinubus non productis. Antherce liberae. Stigma sessile, bilobum. Cap- 

 siila l-locularis. Semina parietalia, immaiginata, Isevia. 



Herbse (per orbem fer^ ubique sparsae) anmice v. perennes,floribus siibsoUtariis 

 ant corymbosis. 



1. G. contorta, annua; floribus solitariis, corolla infundibuliformi 4-loba: 

 lobis lineari-oblongis obtusis sestivatione convolutis, dentibus calycinis 

 lanceolatis acuminatis, foliis ellipticls obtusis 5-nerviis subsessiiibus. 

 Gentiana contorta. Royle III. p. 278. t. 69./. 3. 



Habitat in Emodi montibus ad Mussooree. Royle. Q . FI. tempore pluviarum. 



Radix fibrosa. Caulis erectus, ramosus, teres, purpurascens, 5-pollicaris. Folia 

 opposita, subsessilia, elliptica, obtusa, 5-nervia, glaberrima, subtils palli- 

 diora, pollicaria, basi angustata. Flores terminales, solitarii, brevissini^ 

 pedunculati, ebracteati. Calyx turbinato-tubulosus, 4-fidus : laciniis lan- 

 ceolatis, acuminatis, erectis, carinatis. Corolla infundibuliformis, calyce 

 longior, lilacina, fauce nuda, limbo 4-loba: lobis lineari-oblongis, ob- 

 tusis, aestivatione convolutis. Stamina 4, inclusa : Jilamenta subulata : 

 anthercE subrotundo-ovatse, obtusse. Ovarium obfusiforme, infern^ atte- 

 nuatum. Stylus nullus. Stigma bilobum, minut^ papillosum. 



I regret tbat I have seen no specimen of this remarkable plant, those col- 

 lected by Dr. Royle having been either lost or mislaid ; the foregoing descrip- 

 tion, therefore, is necessarily very imperfect, having been wholly derived from 

 the drawing taken at Mussooree, where the plant was first observed by 



Dr. Royle. 



The form of the ovarium, and the sessile stigma, as well as the naked co- 

 rolla, have induced me to place the species in this group : but its situation in 

 the family must remain doubtful until the plant is examined. 



The twisted aestivation of its corolla, analogous to that of the Apocynece, 

 and the apparent presence of four imperfect stamens, incline me to suspect 

 that it may prove to be the type of a distinct genus. 



