IS srrniES in in'oian Ftnur, plants 



iniddlo. with a gland at the liack of each. Corolla large, sjircad- 

 iiig. yellow with a criiuson centre. Capsule globose, pointed, bristly. 

 Srcds iioarlv glahious. All parts agreeably acid. The stems fur- 

 nish til)n'. The specimen of //. Wit/htlaiiufi in Wallich's herbarium 

 is imperfect, but it is doubtless referable to this species : its leaves 

 ire simple." 



This description refers to the green stemmed form with divided 

 leaves so conunon in Northern India. This is the form always 

 referred to in the literature published up to tlie present and 

 is figured in Roxburgh's Coromundd Plants. In his concluding 

 sentence Hooker mentions a form with simple leaves. This is 

 the onlv allusion in the literature to the occurrence of distinct 

 varieties in this species. It appeared to us almost incredible that 

 such well-marked types as the purple stemmed form with entire 

 leaves (Type 1) and the purple stemmed form with divided leaves 

 (Type 4) should have escaped attention, considering that the value 

 of //. caitnuhinus as a fibre plant is discussed and the plant des- 

 ciibed in all the modern and also in the older books dealing with 

 Indian economic plants. A .search was therefore made in the 

 literature at our disposal and the collections in various herbaria 

 were examined to see if the rarer forms of this species, which dilTer 

 very nnicli from the foiin (les(ril)e(l in the Flora of British India, 

 hail been recorded under other names. Through the courtesy of 

 Major Gage, i.m.s., we were able to examine the specimens of the 

 genus Hibiscus in the Calcutta Herbarium and also the valuable 

 collection of coloured drawings. The Reporter on Economic Pro- 

 ducts to the Government of India kindly sent us the herbarium 

 specimens of the genus in the India .Museum, Calcutta, and all the 

 information on the subject at his disposal. While on special duty 

 in England during the current year (liilO) we examined the 

 collections of the Linnean Society of London. 



Neither descriptions nor specimens of the new types coukl 

 be found under any other species of Hibiscus. The only reference 

 to alierrant forms found in the literature is the one quoted above 

 Iroiii till' Flora of Jirilisli liulia. Herbarium specimens of a few 



