AN 



ACCOUNT 



OF THE 



Genus GOMPHOSTEMMA Wall 



CHAPTER I.— INTRODUCTION. 





The name of the Labiate genus Gomphostemma 1 first appeared 



the 



>gra plied 



catalogue of the Indian Herbarium distributed by Walliclr in 1828 and subsequent > 

 AVallich had, however, recognised the genus ( 

 Herbarium) eight years bef 



from a MS. note in the Calcutta 



to accommodate two species 



(G. ovatum\ collected by 



himself in Nepal, and another {G. melisslfolium) , introduced into the Calcutta 



Gard 



from 



Silhet by Roxburgh 



This latter species Roxburgh had in 1814 referred to the genus 



Prasium; 3 the same was done by Blume in 



1826 



th two Java species described by 



h 



lm 



.4 



GOMPHOS 



of Wallich is thus equivalent to Pm 



of Roxburgh 



.1 of 



Blume. but not of Linnaeus. I 



> 



1828 Wallich issued along with these two 



j)ecie8 seven 



others 



d 



m 



1829 he added two more. 



6 



Bentham described all these 



described them in 1835 



X 8 



d described them 



third time 



1848 



i 



Me 



in 1831 

 mer in 



re 



183 



* 



10 



d 



Endlicher about 1838 11 published definitions of the genus, Walpers 



1845 reprinted 



Bentham's account of 1835," Moritzi described a Java species in 184G," Wi*ht figured the 



O 



- 



two S. Indian 

 Indies in 1856 



species in 



1850 



zr\ it 



and Miquel described the species of the Dutch 1 ist 



15 



Bentham denned the genus anew in 1876 



Oliver described a Chim 



ipecies in 1884, 17 and* Hooker those of th 



B 



East Ind 



1885 



XL 19 



1 Gomphostemma. ryo/icpo? (a nail), <rrefifia ; the two 



species to which the name was first applied have 

 prostrate steins rooting at the internodes. 



2 Lith, Cat, p. 39. 



3 Roxb., Hort. Beng. 45 ; Flor. Ind. iii, 26. 



* Blume, Bijdr. 840. 



5 Lith. Cat. nn. 2151—2159. 



6 Lith. Cat. nn. 2709, 2710. 



660—5 



10 Afeisn., Gen. PL Vase i, 289; ii, 197 

 »» Endl, Gen. PL 630, (fate. 3). 

 '2 Walp., Rep. iii, 89C— 898; yi, G84. 

 » Zoll. et Moritz., Sy*t. Yerzeich*. 6i. 



14 



222 



. 9. 



Wall 



Bar. ii, 12, 13. 



s 



Lab. Gen. et Sp. 646 



•650. 



is Flor. Ind. Bat. ii, 985—989. 

 16 Benth. et Uook.f., Gen. PL ii, 

 i" Hook., Iron. PL xr, 64, t. 1468, 

 I s Fljr. Brit. Ind. iv, 696-699. 



Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta Vol. III. 



