MARSDEXIA.] ASCLEPIADACE^. 57 



tapering to a blunt point, longitudinally ribbed, velvety when young. 



L Seeds about -\ in. long, broadly ovate and with a wide margin ; coma 

 about 1 in. long, white. 



Abundant within the area. Flowers April-June, fruiting during the cold 

 season. DISTBIB. : Throughout the hotter parts of India and in Ceylon ; 

 it occurs in the Himalayan region up to 5,000 ft. from Bashahr east- 

 wards, and extends to China and Java. The stems yie d a very strong 

 fibre which is much used for the manufacture of rope and thread. The 

 leaves are used as an application for boils, and many other parts of the 

 plant are employed medicinally. The plant is easily recognized when 

 in blossom by the large umbels of bright green flowers. Hoy a Lacuna 

 of Buch.-Ham. appears to be merely a more pubescent form of the 

 species. 



2. M. Roylei, W. $ A. in Wight Contrib. 40 ; Royle 111. 273 ; Brandis 

 For. Fl. 333 ; Ind. Trees, 470 ; F. B. 1. iv, 35 ; Watt E. D. ; Kanjildl For^ 

 Fl. 242 ; Gamble Man. Ind. Timb. 492 ; Collett Fl. Siml. 318, fig. 99. 



A softly tomentose twining shrub. Leaves 3-6 in. long, broadly ovate, 

 acuminate, velvety beneath, base cordate; petiole ]|-2 in. long. 

 Flowers in compact peduncled corymbose cymes, i n . long, pale-orange. 

 Calyx about half as long as the corolla, pubescent outside. Corolla 

 fleshy ; lobes as long as the tube, villous on both sides. Coroim- append- 

 ages flat, linear, erect, much exceeding the anther-tips. Follicles about 

 3 in. long, turgid, beaked, transversely rugose, puberulous. Seeds $ in. 

 long, ovate, flat, margined. 



Dehra Dun and Siwalik Eange. Flowers May and June. DISTRIB. : 

 Himalaya up to 7,000 ft. from Hazara to Sikkim. The milky sap con- 

 tains a small quantity of caoutchouc. The stems yield a strong fibre 

 suitable for fishing lines. 



3, M^tenacissima, Wight $ Arn. in Wight Contrib. 41 ; Royle III. 

 274 ; Fibrous PL of Ind. 304 ; Brand. For. Fl. 333 ; Ind. Trees 470 ; F. B. I. 

 iv, 35 ; Watt E. D. ; Kanjildl For. Fl. 243 ; Gamble Man. Ind. Timb. 492. 

 Prain Beng. PI. 696; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 165. Asclepias tenacissima, 



Roxb. ; Fl. Ind. ii, 51. Vern. Jiti, mama frel, rani marua (Dehra Dun) 



(Bajmehal hemp). 



A large twining shrub. Baric of old stems grey and corky, deeply 

 furrowed. Young parts, leaves beneath and inflorescence densely 

 velvety and tomentoee. Leaves 3-6 in. long by -4- in. wide, broadly 

 ovate, acuminate, deeply cordate at the base with rounded lobes, both 

 surfaces densely velvety-tomentose when young, becoming almost 

 glabrous above when old ; petioles 2-4i in. long softly pubescent. Flowers 

 greenish-yellow, in much -branched congested corymbose cymes, 

 peduncles intrapetiolar. Calyx deeply divided ; lobes in. long, 

 oblong-lanceolate, acute. Corolla % in. in diam., hairy outside ; lobes 

 shorter than the tube, oblong, obtuse, spreading, glabrous within. 



