Stillingia.] euphorbiace^:. 303 



on both sides, on slender petioles, with 2 prominent glands at the base of the 

 limb. Spikes solitary, 2 to 4 in. long, the first all male, the subsequent ones 

 with 1 to 4 female flowers at the base. Male flowers 6 or more in each clus- 

 ter, very small and yellow. Female pedicels 1 to 2 lines long. Style divided 

 to the middle. Capsule glaucous, nearly globular, but rather acute, about ^ 

 in. diameter. 



Common as a shrub, though seldom allowed to grow to a tree, Champion and others. A 

 native of China, and perhaps of the Philippines and the Archipelago, and has been introduced 

 into India and tropical America. 



2. S. discolor, Champ, in Kew Journ. Bot. vi. 1. A glabrous, more or 

 less glaucous shrub. Leaves oblong or oval-oblong, shortly acuminate, 1^ to 

 2 in. long, glaucous or white underneath, the primary veins numerous and 

 almost transverse. Petioles slender, with 1 or 2 small glands at the summit. 

 Spikes about 2 in. long, dense like those of S. sebifera. Perianth usually 3- 

 lobed. Style as in 8. sebifera. Capsule rather smaller and very obtuse. 



Hongkong, Champion, Wright. Also in Malacca. 



3. S. japonica, Sieb. and Zucc. Fam. Nat. FL Jap. i. 37. A glabrous 

 shrub, with slender branches. Leaves from ovate to oblong, 2 to 4 in. long, 

 acuminate or the lower ones obtuse, green on both sides, the primary veins 

 oblique and not numerous. Petioles rather shorter than in the two last, with 2 

 small glands at the base of the limb, sometimes wanting. Spikes slender, 

 about 1 in. long, the clusters rather distant. Male flowers as in the two last 

 species, but few in each cluster and smaller. Style of the females deeply cleft. 

 Capsule rather smaller, obtuse. 



Hongkong, Eyre, Wright, Ranee. Also in Japan. 



3. ACALYPHA, Linn. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious. Perianth small and calyx-like. Male 

 flowers clustered in catkin-like spikes, with a small bract under each cluster. 

 Perianth 4-lobed. Stamens 8 to 16, the anthers distinct, linear, and wavy or 

 tortuous. Female flowers 1 to 4 together within a leafy bract. Perianth 3- 

 cleft. Styles 3, finely branched. Ovary 3-celled, with 1 ovule in each cell. — 

 Herbs, shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate. Spikes unisexual or androgynous. 



A large genus, widely spread over the warmer regions of the globe. 



1. A. indica, Linn.; Roxb. FL Ind. iii. 675; Wight, Ic. t. 877. An 

 erect annual of 1 to 2 ft., glabrous, or the young leaves and branches slightly 

 hairy. Leaves ovate, toothed, 1 to 2 in. long, on slender stalks. Spikes 

 axillary, interrupted, with 1 to 8 distant orbicular leafy bracts, 3 or 4 lines 

 diameter, each containing 2 to 4 sessile female flowers, and ending in a small 

 slender male catkin, sometimes not longer than the last bract, sometimes twice 

 as long, and occasionally terminated by a single pedunculate 4-lobed flower, 

 often imperfectly female or hermaphrodite. Capsule hairy. Seed smooth. — 

 A. chinensis, Eoxb. I.e. 677. 



In waste places, Champion, Wilford. A common weed in tropical and subtropical Asia 

 and Africa. 



4. MAPPA, Juss. 

 Flowers monoecious or dioecious, in racemes or panicles. Perianth small 



