578 cxxxvi. URTICACE.E. (J. D. Hooker.) [Boehmeria. 



pedicelled narrowly ellipsoid beaked villous rnucli shorter than the slender 

 style. 



PEGU, Kurz. 



Branches slender. Leaves 5-7 by 2-2^ in., coriaceous, finely reticulate, base 

 acute; nerves strong, somewhat glandular in the axils beneath; petiole -!- in. T 

 rather stout. Spikes about equalling the leaves ; male fl. villous. Near B. macro - 

 phylla, but quite glabrous, with much more slender spikes, and smaller villous fruits 

 with a longer style. The leaves more resemble B. rugulosa, but are opposite and 

 quite entire. Kurz has named one specimen B. Hamiltoniana, Wedd.. and another 

 " nov. sp." In Herb. Calcutt. it is called var. Kurzii of B. platyphylla. I think 

 there are traces of crenatures in some of the leaves, but they are very obscure. 



8. Bi platyphylla, Don Prodr. 60; monoecious or dioecious, leaves 

 mostly opposite broadly ovate elliptic or orbicular acuminate or caudate 

 coarsely toothed pubescent tomentose scaberulous or glabrate on both 

 surfaces, base rounded or cordate, spikes usually longer than the leaves 

 simple or sparingly branched, fruit compressed or angled. Wedd. Monoqr. 

 364; DC. Prodr. xvi. i. 210; Brand. For. FL 403; Maximov. Diagn. xx. 

 641. 



TROPICAL and SUBTROPICAL HIMALAYA, from Simla eastwards, ascending to 

 7000 ft., and southwards to BEHAR and TRAVANCORE on the West, and TENASSER>M 

 on the East. CEYLON; ascending to 6000 ft. DISTRIB. Malay Islands, China, 

 Japan, Africa. 



Shrubby, branches soft, glabrous or substr4gose. Leaves 3-9 in., teeth usually 

 large, triangular; 3 nerves all penninervuled ; petiole 1-5 in. FL clusters pisiform. 

 Fruit narrowed or beaked at the 4-toothed tip. A most variable plant. Biandis 

 makes three principal varieties of the North -Western forms: 1. macrostachya, with 

 long-petioled leaves and simple fern, spikes; 2. rotundifolia, with orbicular cuspidate 

 leaves ; 3. scabrella, with smaller leaves and shorter spikes. Weddell enumerates 

 still other forms, which may be approximately defined as follows. 



B. PLATYPHYLLA PROPER ; leaves rounded sparsely hispid or pubescent, base 

 eglandnlar, fern, spikes very long pendulous. B. macrostachya, Wedd. in Ann. Sc. 

 Nat. Ser. 4>, i. 199 ; Blume Mus. Bot. ii. 224. B. Wightiana, Blume 1. c. 217. B. 

 mauritiana, Wedd. I. c. 200 ; Blume I.e. 216. B. caudata, Poir. in Bonpi. Jard. 

 Halm. t. 15 ; Kurz I. c. 424. Splitgerbera macrostachya, Wight Ic. 1. 1977. Urtica 

 macrostachya, Wall. Cat. 4582 (excl. D). U. platyphylla, Ham. mss. 



Var. zeylanica, Wedd. in DC. 1. c. 211 ; leaves membranous elliptic ovate or ovate 

 oblong caudate-acuminate crenate serrate throughout sparsely hispid above, nerves 

 beneath hairy, spikes simple much shorter than the leaves. Ceylon, Thwaites, with 

 var. scabrella, under C. P. 2197. 



Var. scabrella, Wedd. I.e. ; leaves orbicular elliptic or obovate cuspidate usually rugose 

 above and lacunose beneath, spikes short subsimple erect. B. scabrella, Gaud. Bot. 

 Fretjc. Voy. 499 ; Miquel Fl. Ind. Brt. i. ii. 252. B. ourantha, Miq. PI. Jungh. i. 33 

 Blume I, c. 221. Splitgerbera scabrella, Dalz. $ Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 239. Urtica 

 caudata, Burm. Fl. Ind. 198 ; Blume Bijd. 492. U. scabrella, Eoxb. FL Ind. in. 

 581 ; Wight Ic. t. 691 ; Wall. Cat. 4581. U. uragera, Steud. Nomencl. ii. 736. 

 All India, common. Clarke (Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. xv. 125) considers this a very 

 distinct species. 



Var. rv.gosissima, Wedd. 1. c. 212; leaves coriaceous rugose serrate throughout hispid 

 nbove pubescent beneath, spikes subfnscicled shorter than the leaves. B. rugosissima, 

 Miquel PI. Jungh. i. 32; Fl. Ind. Bat. \. ii. 251 ; Blume Mus. Bot. ii. 222. Urtica 

 rugosissima, Reinwdt. in Blume Bijd. 490. Ceylon, Sumatra, Java. 



Var. tomentosa, Wedd. 1. c. ; leaves subcoriaceous acutely serrate softly tomen- 

 tose or villous on both surfaces, teeth medium -sized ? spikes simple often short and 

 very stout. B. tomentosa, Wedd. in Ann. Sc. Nat. Ser. 4, i.2UO. Khasia Mts., alt. 

 4-5000 ft., Sikkim and Bhotan. 



