BLEPHABIS. ] ACANTHACEM 183 



1. B. boerhavisefolia, Pers. 8yn. ii, 180 ; Royle III 298 ; F. B. I. iv t 



47? ; Prain Peng. PL 799; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 349. Acanthus maderaspa- 

 tanus, Linn. ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. Hi, 33. 



A prostrate roughly pubescent herb. Stems much-branched, wiry, rooting 

 at the nodes. Leaves petiolel, thin, 4 in a whorl, unequal, 1-2$ in. long, 

 elliptic or obovate, acute and finely apiculate, appresse Jly hairy above, 

 lower surface paler and with hairs only on the nerves ; margins entire 

 or with a few distant teeth, ciliate. Flower* axillary, solitary or 2 or 3 

 together ; bracteoles 8, in opposite pairs, becoming larger upwards ; 

 outermost pair $ in. long, second ^ in., third 3-3- in., all 3 pairs cuneiform, 

 below, broadly spathulate and rounded at the apex, strongly 3-nerved, 

 furnished on the upper margin with stiff retrose bristles ; the fourth or 

 innermost pair of bracteoles longer than the others, linear with a flat 

 rounded apex ; all four pairs of bracteoles white with green veins. 

 Calyx-segments - in long, lanceolate, acute, pubescent and ciliate, the 

 largest one 3-nerved, the opposite one 2-fid. and 2-nerved, the 2 lateral 

 ones with a single nerve running down the centre. Corolla ^-f in. long, 

 blue or pinkish-purple spotted with yellow on the lower lip. Capsule 

 -4-3 in. long, usually 2-seeded. Seeds obtusely eoliinate. 



Not uncommon within the area, but mostly in dry or rocky ground ; 

 Moradabad (T. Thomson), Saharanpur district (Eoyle), Siwalik range 

 (Falconer), Agra (Munro), Bundelkhand (Edgeworth), Ajmer (Lowrie), 

 Merwara (Duthie). Flowers during the cold season. DISTRIB. From 

 Mt. Abu and Chota Nagpur to S. India and Ceylon, also in Burma and 

 extending to Trop. and S. Africa. 



2. B. moUuginifolia, Pers. Syn. ii, 180 ; Royle III. 293; F. B. I. iv, 479 ; 

 Prain Seng. PI. 799; Coolie Fl. Bomb, ii, 350. 



Stems slender, prostrate, wiry, more or less hispid. Leaves -1 in. long, 

 sessile or nearly so in a whorl of four, unequal, fleshy, oblong or obovate, 

 obtuse, mucronate, hairy or minutely scabrous, pale beneath. Heads 

 usually 1 -flowered ; bracteoles 10, in opposite pairs, enlarging in size 

 upwards, varying in length from fa to | in., the 4 outer pairs very similar 

 to those of the preceding species, the 5th or innermost pair oblong or 

 oblong-spathulate, tipped with a spinulose mucro about fa in. in length 

 with sometimes one or two shorter ones alongside. Calyx-segments 

 linear-lanceolate, acute, margins membranous, nervation as in the preced- 

 ing species. Corolla blue, f in. long. Capsule included, in. long, 

 ellipsoid, 2-seeded. Seeds shaggy. 



Abundant within the area, especially in the drier southwestern and 

 western portions. DISTRIB. Chota Nagpur and southwards through 

 C. W. and S. India to Ceylon, extending to Trop. and S. Africa. 



3. B. sindica, T. Anders, in Journ. Linn. S<~c. ix, 500; F. B. I. iv, 479 ; 

 Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 350. 



