238 



Plants of the Punjab. 



Herbs, Erect, with Alternate Stipulate Simple Leaves. 



Leaf Margins Toothed. 



Malvastrum 

 trieuspidatum, 



Malvace^. 

 F.B.Li. 321. 

 The PLains. 

 Lahore, Delhi, 

 Eawalpindi 

 (introduced). 



Petals united. 



medium size, branched, covered with simple hairs ; 

 leaves 2 in., ovate-lanceolate, irregularly toothed, leaf 

 stalk 1| in., stipules ununited ; flowers yellow, on axillary 

 or terminal stalks, \-\ in. long, bracteoles 3, narrow, calyx 

 bell-shaped, 5-lobed, triangular, short-pointed, petals 5, 

 twisted, over lapping, longer than the sepals, stamens many, 

 united below and to the petals, forming a tube, styles 8-12, 

 stigmas round ; fruit of 8-12 dry carpels, one-seeded, sepa- 

 rating from the central column, curved with 3 projecting 

 points. 



Sida humilis^ 



see Prostrate Herbs, Alternate, Stipulate, Simple. 



Sida spinosa, 



Gulsalxari, 

 jangli-metln. 

 Malvaceae. 

 F. B. I. i. 323 

 The Plains. 



medium size, perennial, shrubby, stems rough with 

 star-shaped hairs, branches usually armed with curved 

 spiny tubercles at the nodes below the leaf stalks ; leaves 

 |-2 in., very variable, ovate with or without a broad 

 apex, apex blunt or notched, base heart- or wedge-shaped, 

 grey below with star-shaped hairs, leaf stalks | in., stipules 

 awl-shaped ; flowers | in. diam., w^hite, on solitary or clus- 

 tered stalks, jointed near the flower, equal to or longer 

 than the leaf stalks, calyx tubular below, sepals 5, triangu- 

 lar, short-pointed, hairy, petals 5, united below and to the 

 staminal tube, stamens many, united below into a tube ; 

 carpels 5, separating from the central column, crowned 

 each by 2 long erect rough beaks, equal to the calyx, 

 seeds one in each carpel. The root and leaves are used 

 in Indian medicine, the former as a tonic and diaphoretic, 

 the latter as a demulcent. 



Sida carpinifolia, 



Bariara, i^areia, 

 Malvaceae'. 

 F. B. I. i. 323. 

 The Plains. 



like the last species, but without spiny tubercles, 

 leaves narrower, stipules broader, veined, bristly, flower 

 stalks jointed near the middle, calyx tube nearly round, 

 petals twice as long as the calyx, yellow, carpels 5-10, 

 wrinkled beak of 2 bristles. Good fibre is obtained 

 from the stems, and other parts are used medicinally, as in 

 tjie last species. 



