18 AMAEANTACEM. [ NOTHOSJSRUA, 



spikes J-J in. long ; bracts and bracteoles hyaline, acute, persistent. 

 Perianth in. long, villous with silky hairs. Sepals acute or sub- 

 acute, hyaline. Seeds minute, black and shining. 



Near Saharanpur (Edgeworth), Moradabad (T. Thomson), Oudh 

 (Wallich), Bundelkhand and Merwara (Duthie). DISTRIB.: Punjab 

 Plain, Sind, C. Prov., and south to Mysore and Ceylon ; also in 

 Burma, extending to Mauritius and Trop. Africa. This plant is very 

 similar in general appearance to JErua lanata. 



7. ACHYRANTHES, Linn. ; Fl. Brit, Ind. iv, 729. 



Herbs, often woody below. Leaves opposite, entire, petioled. 

 Flowers 2-sexual, in slender simple or panicled spikes, soon deflexed; 

 bracts and bracteoles spinescent. Perianth- segments 4-5, sepaline, 

 rigid, somewhat connate below, lanceolate, aristate, shining, 

 at length hardened and strongly ribbed. Stamens 2-5 ; filaments 

 connate at the membranous base, with as many quadrate stami- 

 nodes, each of which is toothed or has a toothed scale at its back ; 

 anthers 2-celled. Ovary oblong, subcompressed ; style filiform, 

 stigma capitellate ; ovule solitary, pendulous from a long basal 

 iunicle. Fruit an oblong or ovoid utricle, areolate or rounded 

 at the apex. Seed inverse, oblong, testa coriaceous ; embryo 

 annular, surrounding the floury albumen, cotyledons linear or 

 lanceolate, radicle erect. Species about 15, in tropical and subtro- 

 pical regions. 



A. aspera, Linn. Sp. PL 204 ; Eoxb. FL Ind, i 9 672 ; Boyle 111, 

 321 ; F. B. I. iv, 730 ; Watt E. D. ; Collett FL SimL 414 ; Prin 

 Beng. PL 875 ; Cooke FL Bomb, ii, 495. Vern. Chirchita. 



A coarse weed, 1-3 ft. high. Stem erect, simple or slightly branched ; 

 branches striate, pubescent. Leaves very variable, up to 5 in. long' 

 elliptic obovate or suborbicular, usually rounded at the apex, tomen- 

 tose or velvety on both surfaces, rarely glabrate ; petioles J-f in. 

 long. Flowers many, greenish-white, sharply deflexed against the 

 stout pubescent rhachis of the terminal spikes which elongate in fruit 

 up to as much as 20 in. in length ; bracts shorter than the perianth, 

 ovate, acuminate, aristate, persistent ; bracteoles about as long as 

 the bracts, ending in a spine which hardens in fruit and remains 

 attached to the fruiting perianth. Perianth J-in. long, glabrous 

 and shining ; sepals ovate-oblong, acuminate, white 'margined. 



