2O2 The Flowering Plants of Western India. 



These two are natives of America, but are called by JET. quasi-wild 

 throughout India. They run wild in gardens, and the first is common 

 in hedges in Guzerat. Of the second there is a white-flowered 

 variety. 



Sir W. Jones called the second the most beautiful of the order, and 

 applied to its blossoms Milton's beautiful words, "Celestial rosy 

 red, love's proper hue ; " but surely " the affable archangel " never 

 bluahed so deep a red as these flowers generally are in W. India. 



4. /. hederacea. A hairy twiner, leaves ovate cordate, 3- 

 lobed, flowers large, of a lovely light blue, sometimes streaked 

 darker, stamens included, capsule nearly round, smooth, 3-celled. 

 Nila pushpi. 



Also a doubtful native, but common in most parts. It is " the 

 Morning glory " of the W. Indies, as it shuts early in the day. " In 

 one piece of wild wood (in Bermuda) the morning glory vines had 

 wrapped the trees to their very top, and decorated them all over 

 with couples and clusters of great blue bells." Mark Twain. 



R. has two vars., one with entire leaves. 



5. J. digitata (Batatas paniculata, D.). A large handsome 

 climber, nearly all smooth, leaves large long-petioled, with 5 to 

 7 deep ovate lanceolate lobes, peduncles long, with many large 

 and broad bell-shaped purple flowers, capsule 4- celled, seeds 

 with long hairs. Bhuikohola, viddrikand. 



Bombay and the Konkans : very common in railway hedges in 

 Salsette. Tropical India (#.). 



The yonng tubers are called Asgand (Dymocty. 



6. /. pentaphylla (Batatas p. D.). Much smaller than the 

 last, every part except corolla and capsule very hairy, leaves 

 digitate, leaflets -broad lanceolate entire, petioles and peduncles 

 long, flowers large, white, sepals unequal, covering the round 

 smooth 4-celled capsule. 



D. calls this a common weed, which I think is too strong. Q. calls 

 it common on Malabar Hill, &c., and it grows in Salsette. Besides 

 India (chiefly W. India) it grows in Africa, Polynesia, and tropical 

 America, and is often cultivated (ff.) for the roots, I presume, like 

 the next. 



7. I. batatas. Hairy, with cordate-lobed leaves, flowers large, 

 white tinged with red, long peduncled, sepals as in the last. 

 Rdtalu, rdtanvel, Samarkand, Kdngi. 



This is the sweet potato, commonly cultivated in India and all 

 tropical countries, and it is what old English writers mean when they 



