HOWARD AM) IIOWARU. 17 



2. Var. vlridis. 



Tij'pe 2. Stems green ; leaves entire with gi'een petioles. 

 (Plate II.) 



3. Var. ruber. 



I'l/pe 3. Stems red below, greenish above ; leaves divided with 

 green petioles. (Plate III.) 



4. Var. pwiyureus. 



Stems piu'ple ; leaves divided with purple petioles. 



Tjjpe 4. Late, stems very tall and slender ; leaves with narrow 



lobes of a diffused purple colour ; petals purplish. 



(Plate III.) 

 Ti/'pe 5. Early ; stems short and robust ; leaves green with 



broad lobes. 



5. Var. vulfjaris. 



Stems green ; leaves divided with green petioles. 



Type 6. Plants very early. 



Type 7. Plants late ; seedlings with reddish stems. (Plate III.) 



Ti/pe 8. Plants late ; seedlings with green stems. 



The following is the description of H. cannabinus as given 

 by Hooker in the Flora of British India. 



''Hibiscus cannabimcs, L. DC. Prodr. i, 450 ; annual or peren- 

 nial, prickly, stem glabrous, lower leaves entire, upper lobed, mid- 

 nerve glandular beneath, peduncle very short, bracteoles 7-10 

 linear, shorter than the calyx, sepals grandular. Cav. Diss, iii, 

 148, t. 52. f. 1 ; Roxb. Fl. hid. iii, 208 ; Cor. PI. i, t. 190 ; Wall 

 Cat., 1898 ; W. & A. Prodr. i, 50 ; Thwaites Enum. 26 ; Dak. ct 

 Gibs. Bombay Fl. H. Wightianus, Wall. Cat. 2695 and 1898. 



Generally cultivated ; apparently wild East of the Northern Glials, 

 Distrib. Cultivated in most tropical countries. 



Stem glabrous, prickly. Lower leaves cordate, upper deeply pal- 

 niately lobed, lobes narrow, serrate ; petiole prickly, lower much 

 longer than the blade. Stipules linear, pointed. Peduncles axil- 

 lary, very short. Sepals bristly, lanceolate, connate below the 



