Rostellaria.] acanthace^. 265 



9. ROSTELLARIA, Nees. 

 (Rostellularia, Endl.) 



Sepals 4, or with a minute fifth one. Corolla 2-lipped, the upper lip con- 

 cave, entire or notched, the lower shortly 3-lobed, convex, and veined in the 

 centre. Stamens 2. Anthers 2-celled, the lower cell spurred and sterile. 

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

 (very shortly) laterally compressed below the seed-bearing part. Seeds tuber- 

 culate. Retinacula obtuse. — Herbs. Flowers small, in spikes, with narrow 

 sepal-like bracts. 



A small genus, limited to the tropical or subtropical regions of the Old World, scarcely 

 differing from the smaller flowered Justiciar. 



1. R. procumbens, Nees in Wall. PI. As. Rar. iii. 101 ; Wight, Ic. t. 

 1539. A procumbent or prostrate more or less pubescent annual, often above 

 a foot long. Leaves ovate or oblong, obtuse, f to 1 in. long. Spikes ter- 

 minal, cylindrical, f to 1 in. long. Bracts and sepals linear-lanceolate or 

 linear, acute, 3 to 4 lines long, hirsute with short stiff hairs. Corolla scarcely 

 longer. Capsule 2 or 3 lines, the compressed base very short. — R. Royeniana, 

 Nees, with the synonyms adduced by Anderson in Thwaites's Enum. PL Ceyl. 

 234. 



On roadsides and in waste places, Champion and others. Common in India, from Ceylon 

 and the Peninsula to the Archipelago, and northward to Loochoo and Japan. 



10. HYPOESTES, Br. 



Involucre calyx-like, of 4 more or less united bracts, enclosing 1 or rarely 

 2 or 3 flowers. Real calyx small, of 5 lobes or segments. Corolla 2-lipped, 

 the upper lip entire or notched, the lower 3-lobed. Stamens 2 ; anthers 1- 

 celled. Ovules 2 in each cell of the ovary. Style bifid at the top. Capsule 

 laterally compressed below the seed-bearing portion. Retinacula subulate. — 

 Herbs, shrubs, or small trees. Flower-heads in axillary clusters or short 

 spikes, often numerous, and forming terminal leafy thyrsi. 



A considerable genus, dispersed over Africa, tropical Asia, and Australia. 



1. H. purpurea, Br. ; Nees in DC. Prod. xi. 509. A shrub, the her- 

 baceous branches and foliage slightly pubescent or nearly glabrous. Leaves 

 from ovate-acuminate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire, about 2 in. long. 

 Spikes short and rather loose in the upper axils, with leafy bracts under the 

 heads. Involucres narrow, 1 -flowered, about 3 lines long. Calyx much 

 shorter. Corolla about 11 lines long, narrow, reddish-purple. Capsule 4 

 lines long. 



Near the Buddhist Temple at East Point, and at Little Hongkong, Champion ; also Hance. 

 In S. China and the Philippines. The Assam station given in the Prodromus arose from a 

 mistake in the label : the specimens were from the Calcutta Botanic Garden, introduced 

 from Chiua. 



11. RUNGIA, Nees. 



Calyx 5 -cleft. Corolla 2-lipped, the upper lip notched, the lower 3-lobed. 

 Stamens 2. Anthers 2-celled, the lower one spurred. Ovules 2 in each cell 

 of the ovary. Capsule short, the dissepiment separating from the valves and 



