LepidagathisJ] acanthace,e. 263 



6. LEPIDAGATHIS, VYilld. 



Sepals 5, the uppermost larger. Corolla 2 -lipped ; the upper lip entire 

 or 2-lobed, the lower 3-lobed. Stamens 4. Anther-cells parallel and equal. 

 Ovules 1 or 2 in each cell of the ovary. Capsule sessile, 2 -celled from the 

 base. Retinacula hooked. — Herbs or undershrubs. Flowers usually in short 

 dense spikes or heads, with imbricate bracts, often mucronate or pungent. 



A considerable genus, spread over tropical Asia and eastern Africa. 

 1. L. hyalina, Nees in DC. Prod. xi. 252. An erect, divaricate or 

 procumbent, coarsely pubescent perennial, 1 to 2 ft. high. Leaves ovate to 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong, usually 1£ to near 3 in. long, and more or less 

 decurrent on the petiole. Flowers in dense terminal oblong cylindrical or 

 somewhat one-sided spikes, which are f to 1 in. long or rather more, solitary 

 or 3 together, and softly hairy. Bracts and sepals 3 to 4 in. long, very 

 pointed, stiff though thin, and almost transparent. Corolla 5 or 6 lines long ; 

 the upper lip ovate, the lower broader. Anthers ciliate. Ovules 2 in each 

 cell. — Ruellia dependens, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 49. 



Near the Buddhist Temple at East Point, Champion. On roadsides at Saywan, Wilford ; 

 also Hance and Seemann. Common in India. 



7. ACANTHUS, Linn. 



Sepals 4. Corolla with a very short tube; the limb expanded into a large 

 entire or 3-lobed lower lip ; the upper lip wanting, or scarcely prominent. 

 Stamens 4. Anthers 1 -celled, hirsute or ciliate. Ovules 2 in each cell of the 

 ovary. Capsule 2 -celled from the base. Seeds large, flat. Retinacula thick. 

 — Herbs or shrubs. Leaves usually prickly. Flowers in bracteate spikes. 



A small genus, extending over tropical Asia, northern Africa, and southern Europe. 

 1. A. ilicifolius, Linn. An erect glabrous shrub. Leaves sessile or 

 nearly so, oblong, 4 to 6 in, long, coriaceous and shining, bordered with un- 

 dulate prickly teeth or short lobes. Spikes terminal or in the upper axils, 6 

 in. to 1 ft. long. Bracts and bracteoles ovate acute. Sepals oblong, coria- 

 ceous ; the 2 outer ones f in. long ; the 2 inner smaller. Corolla-limb 

 broadly ovate, blue, \\ in. long. Capsule coriaceous, shining, 1 in. long. — 

 Dilivaria ilicifolia, Juss. ; Nees in DC. Prod. xi. 268; Wight, Ic. t. 459. 



Borders of salt-marshes, Champion and others. A common shrub in maritime or saline 

 swamps in tropical Asia, extending from eastern Africa to northern Australia. 



8. JUSTICIA, Linn. 

 (Adhatoda and Gendarussa, Nees.) 



Sepals 5. Corolla 2-lipped; the upper lip concave, entire or notched; the 

 lower 3-lobed, convex, and veined or rugose in the centre. Stamens 2. An- 

 ther-cells oblique, unequally attached ; the lower one mucronate or spurred. 

 Style entire, obtuse at the top. Ovules 2 in each cell of the ovary. Capsule 

 laterally compressed below the seed-bearing part. Seeds tuberculate or muri- 

 cate. Retinacula obtuse. — Herbs or shrubs. Flowers solitary or in spikes. 



A large genus, widely distributed over the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, 

 with a few species in the more temperate parts of N. America or S. Africa. 



