286 xcviii. ACANTHACE^ (clarke). [EcboUum. 



deeply 8-lobed ; posticous lip subentire. Stamens 2, without rudiments 

 of others ; anther-cells 2, linear, muticous, nearly at equal height ; pollen 

 globose, with 3 meridional lines or bands and stopples. Ovary glabrous 

 or hairy ; ovules 2 in each cell ; style branches 2, subequal, very small. 

 Capsule ovoid, much flattened, 2-seeded, on a solid stalk ; placentae not 

 rising elastically from the base of the valves ; seeds in Eu-Ecbolium 

 rather large, much flattened, tubercular scabrous, without hairs, but in 

 Choananthus often without tubercles, smooth or papillose or with 

 minute hairs. — Shrubs, glabrous or hairy. Leaves entire, rather thick. 

 Spikes terminal, many-flowered ; bracts large, ovate or obovate, imbri- 

 cate, enclosing the small calyx (in the Tropical African species) ; 

 bracteoles linear, a little longer than the calyx. 



Species 12 ; in Africa, Madagascar, Arabia-and India. 



Kurz grounded his genus Echolium mainly on the shape of the corolla, which 

 approaches that of Rhinacanthus. The subgenus Choananthus here added might, 

 almost equally well, be attached to Megalochlamys. 



*Eu-EcBOLiUM. — Corolla-tube long, linear ; posticous lip 

 narrowed from an ovate base to a linear tip. 

 Bracts longer than the calyx. 



Petiole short ; leaves tapering into the petiole . . 1. J?, linneanum. 

 Petiole 0. 



Leaves glabrous, hastate, amplexicaul . . . 2. U. amjplexicaule. 

 Leaves hairy. 



Leaves narrow at the bqse, auricled . . . 3. J&. auriculatum. 



Leaves broad at the base, subcordate . . ^. E. suhcordatum. 



Bracts rather shorter than the calyx . . . . b. E. parvihracteatvm. 



**CH0ANANTHirs. — Corolla-tube narrowly funnel-shaped or 

 cylindric ; posticous lip oblong. 

 Bracts not 3-nerved. 



Petiole \-\ in. long Q. E. striatum. 



Petiole rarely attaining \ in., usually very short. 



Seeds tubercular-scabrous, without hairs . . 7. E. barlerioides. 



Seeds smooth, without tubercles. 



Seeds shining, without hairs . . . . 8. ^. Anisacanthus. 

 Seeds with scattered glochidiate hairs . . 9. E. revolutum. 

 Seeds shining, with very minute hairs . , 10. E. hamatum. 

 Bracts distinctly 3-nervcd 11. ^. trinervium. 



1. E. linneaniuny Kurz inJourn. As. Soc. Beng. xl. part 2 (1871), 

 75. Leaves often 3 by J in., tip triangular, obtuse, base narrowed, 

 glabrous or obscurely puberulous ; petiole 0-^ in. long ; leaves varying 

 from narrowly oblong to broadly ovate, also much in size. Spikes 

 often 4 by 1 in., strobilate; bract J by f in., ovate, apiculate, often 

 pubescent, entire or nearly so in the African examples, often strongly 

 toothed in the Indian; bracteoles \ in. long, linear, hairy. Calyx 

 \ in. long. Corolla-tube J-1 in. long, linear to the top ; lobes of anti- 

 cous lip 3, J- J in. long, elliptic ; posticous lip J- J by -^ in. upwards, 

 notched at the tip. Pollen globose ; meridional smooth depressions very 

 narrow, not reaching the poles. Ovary glabrous; style-base hairy. Capsule 

 whole length f in. ; stalk linear-cylindric ; head compressed, J in. in 



