760 



MELASTOMACE^;. XXXIV. OSBECKIA. 



nearly the length of the tube. Petals 4, obovate, somewhat 

 truncately acuminated, rose-coloured, largish. Stamens 8. 

 Style a little curved. Capsule elliptic, 4-5-celled. 



Ceylon Osbeckia. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1799. Sh. 1 to 2 ft. 



18 O. ANGUSTIFOLIA (D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 221.) stem her- 

 baceous, straight, tetragonal, beset with adpressed strigae ; leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, tapering to the apex, 3-nerved, beset with ad- 

 pressed bristles ; flowers bracteate, aggregate into terminal few- 

 flowered heads ; calyx tubular, glabrous, with 4 oval-oblong Idbes, 

 having the appendages between the lobes ending in a palmated tuft 

 of bristles ; ovarium crowned by 8 bristles. 1. S. Native of 

 Nipaul. Wall. pi. asiat. rar. 3. p. 33. t. 251 . O. ciliaris and O. 

 tennis Hamilt. herb. Flowers purple. Anthers 8, furnished with 

 a long slender beak each. Very nearly allied to 0. Nipaulensis. 



Narrow -leaved Osbeckia. PL 2 to 3 feet. 



19 O. LINEA'RIS (Blum, in bot. zeit. 1831. no. 27. p. 473.) 

 plant herbaceous, beset with short strigose bristles ; branches 

 tetragonal ; leaves sessile, linear-lanceolate, 3-nerved ; heads 

 terminal, few-flowered, bracteate ; calyx furnished with 5 ap- 

 pendages at the throat, terminating in palmate bristles ; caly- 

 cine segments ovate-oblong, acute, ciliated ; ovarium crowned 

 by numerous bristles. I/ . S. Native of Java, near Batavia, 

 in humid places ; also of the Moluccas. Tristemma angusti- 

 folia, Blum, bijdr. p. 1079. 



Linear-]eaved Osbeckia. PL 1 to 2 feet. 



20 O. NIPAULE'NSIS (Hook, exot. fl. t. 31.) suffruticose ; 

 branches somewhat tetragonal, rough from short adpressed 

 bristles ; leaves sessile, oblong-lanceolate, beset with short, ad- 

 pressed hairs, 5-nerved ; flowers bracteate, in fascicles ; scales 

 of calyx broad and palmately ciliated ; calycine lobes deci- 

 duous, length of the tube, which is obovate. Pj . G. Native of 

 Nipaul. O. speciosa, D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 222. Petals 

 5, obovate, violaceous. Anthers 10, somewhat falcate, undu- 

 lated. Fruit 5-celled, truncate, naked from the scales being 

 deciduous. 



I'ar. ft, albiflbra (Lindl. bot. reg. 1475.) flowers white. fj. 

 S. Native of Nipaul. 



Nipaul Osbeckia. Fl. June. Clt. 1821. Sh. 2 to 3 feet. 



21 O. STELLA'TA (D. Don, in bot. reg. t. 674. and prod. fl. 

 nep. p. 221.) suffruticose ; branches rough from adpressed hairs; 

 leaves petiolate, ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, 5-nerved, beset 

 with stiff hairs on both surfaces ; flowers corymbose ; tube of 

 calyx elongated, urceolate, covered with stellate plumose scales. 



1? . S. Native of Nipaul. Petals 4, obovate, violaceous. An- 

 thers 8, yellow, falcate, long. Style deflexed. Capsule 4- 

 celled, inclosed in the truncate, elongated calyx. Seeds sca- 

 brous. Hook, exot. fl. t. 37. Meldstoma stellata, Hamilt. mss. 



I'ar. ft; scales of calyx palmately ciliated, and more distant. 



Stellate-cdyxeA Osbeckia. Fl. Ju. Aug. Clt. 1820. Sh. 2 ft. 



22 O. TERNIFOLIA (D. Don, in prod. fl. nep. 221.) shrubby; 

 branches trigonal, furnished with rough bristles ; leaves oppo- 

 site, but usually 3 in a whorl, and sometimes even 4, almost 

 sessile, lanceolate, acuminated, 5-nerved, beset with minute 

 bristles along the margins and the nerves ; racemes disposed in 

 a terminal panicle ; bracteas cordate ; calyx urceolate, beset 

 with ciliately pectinated scales, which at length fall off, and the 

 calyx becomes in consequence naked ; lobes of calyx lanceo- 

 late-linear, acute, hispid, deciduous. I? . S. Native of Nipaul. 

 Wall. pi. asiat. rar. t. 3. p. 21. t. 240. Calyx almost like that 

 of O. stellata. Flowers large, purple. Anthers 8, yellow. 



Tern, leaved Osbeckia. Shrub 2 to 4 feet. 



23 O. LESCHENAULTIA'NA (D. C. prod. 3. p. 142.) shrubby ; 

 branches tetragonal, beset with stiff pili ; leaves sessile, ovate, 

 acutish, approximate, 5-nerved, villous on both surfaces ; flowers 

 sessile, bracteate, in heads, usually of threes ; tube of calyx 

 globose, with the scales palmately ciliated, and the lobes 4 and 



lanceolate. Jj . S. Native of the East Indies, on the Nelli- 

 gherry mountains, where it is called Taberi-Guida. Leaves 

 hardly an inch long. Stamens 8. 



Leschenaulfs Osbeckia. Shrub 3 to 4 feet. 



24 O. MANILLIA'NA (D. C. 1. c.) suffruticose ; branches te- 

 tragonal, and are as well as the petioles hispid ; leaves petiolate, 

 ovate, acuminated] 5-nerved, somewhat ciliately serrated, and 

 with a few scattered hairs on both surfaces, pale beneath ; 

 flowers terminal, and in the forks of the brandies, 3-5 in a 

 fascicle ; tube of calyx beset with long stellate hairs : having 

 the lobes and appendages deciduous. fj . S. Native of Ma- 

 nilla, one of the Philippine Islands. Flowers large, purple, 

 almost like those of a species Lasidndra. 



Manilla Osbeckia. Shrub 6 to 8 feet. 



25 O. A'SPERA (Blum, in bot. zeit. 1831. no. 27. p. 474.) 

 shrubby, rough from short strigose bristles ; branches obscurely 

 tetragonal ; leaves on short petioles, oblong-ovate, or oblong- 

 lanceolate, acute, obtuse at the base, 3-nerved ; flowers decan- 

 drous, on short pedicels, terminal, subracemose ; calyx clothed 

 with adpressed down, furnished with subulate, minute appen- 

 dages at the throat ; calycine segments ovate-oblong, obtuse ; 

 ovarium rather downy. T? . S. Native of Ceylon. Melastoma 

 aspera, Lin. spec. p. 560. Rheed. mal. 4. p. 91. t. 43. Rumph. 

 amb. 4. p. 135. t. 71. Flowers red or purple. 



Rough Osbeckia. Shrub 3 to 4 feet. 



26 O. RE'PENS (D. C. prod. 3. p. 142.) stem suffruticose, 

 branched, creeping at the base, tetragonal at the apex, gla- 

 brous ; leaves petiolate, roundish-obovate, somewhat cuneated 

 at the base, 3-5-nerved, glabrous, almost quite entire ; flowers 

 terminal, solitary, on short pedicels ; tube of calyx beset with 

 chaffy bristles ; lobes 4-7, lanceolate : with the appendages between 

 the lobes spiny-ciliated. Tj . S. Native of China. Melas- 

 toma repens, Desrous. in Lam. diet. 4. p. 54. Rh6xia heteran- 

 thera, Bonpl. rhex. t. 23. Flowers rose-coloured. Capsule 5- 

 celled. Habit of Cornus Canadensis. 



Creeping Osbeckia. Shrub creeping. 



27 O. OCTA'NDRA (D. C. prod. 3. p. 142.) stems suffruticose, 

 glabrous, but beset with adpressed bristles at the tops, creeping 

 at the base ; leaves petiolate, ovate, 3-nerved besides the 2 

 marginal nervules, glabrous, except the margins and the nerves 

 on the under surface, which are beset with adpressed bristles ; 

 flowers solitary, terminal, on short pedicels ; tube of calyx 

 ovate, scabrous from bristles. fj . S. Native of Ceylon. Me- 

 lastoma octandra. Lin. spec. 560. Willd. spec. 2. p. 595. Very 

 like 0. repens, but differs in the leaves being not cuneated at 

 the base. 



Octandrous Osbeckia. Shrub 1 foot. 



28 O. CHULE'SIS (D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 221.) shrubby; 

 branches lepidotted ; leaves oval-oblong, mucronulate, 5-nerved, 

 cordate at the base, pilose and rough on both surfaces, canes- 

 cent beneath ; flowers corymbose ; scales on calyx membranous, 

 ciliated with bristles, scattered : segments ovate-oblong and 

 ciliated. Tj . G. Native of Nipaul, at Narainhetty. Melas- 

 toma Chulesis, Hamilt. mss. Leaves 3 inches long and 

 an inch or an inch and a half broad. Flowers large, pale purple, 

 5-cleft, at first bracteated by broad membranous scales. 



Chulesis Osbeckia. Fl. June. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



29 O. ROSTRA'TA (D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 221.) leaves lan- 

 ceolate, acute, somewhat 5-nerved, rounded at the base, nakedish 

 on both surfaces, green ; flowers corymbose ; bracteas cor- 

 date ; calyx oblong, furnished with numerous scattered bristly 

 scales ; the lobes oblong-lanceolate and ciliated. T? . G. Native 

 of Nipaul, at Narainhetty. Melastoma? rostrata, Hamilt. mss. 

 Flowers purple, 4-cleft. 



Beaked Osbeckia. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



Cull. All the species of Osbeckia are worth cultivating for 



