INDIAN FLOWERS. 515 



persistent cymes and retain their bright scarlet hue long after the fruit has 

 forured. There are wliite, pink and yellow garden varieties of them. The two 

 former are small flowered and throw out numerous close-packed umbellate cymes. 



Among the denizens of our fields we have yellow-flowered Argemone Mexicana 

 (Ffringliee dhatura), which, though of Ameri«nn origin, grows almost as wild as 

 any native weed. It is particularly found on the banks of tanks and ditches. It is 

 abundantly in flower now, and will continue to be so till the end of the hot 

 weather. Cleome viscosa (Kanphuti), a pubescent sticky weed as the name indicates, 

 bears beautiful yellow flowers. It infests our gardens, fields and way-side retreats 

 during the rains. Gynandropsis pentuphylla (Mabli) with its delicate terminal 

 racemes changing from white to ])ink, from pink to purple from day to day, marks 

 this garden plant as one of intense beauty. It flowers throughout the 

 rains. The Capparis fiorrida (Wagheti), which furnishes the people of the Konkan 

 with an edible fruit, throws out flowers which, from the arrangement of their 

 numerous filiform stamens and their delicate shades of white and pink colour, may 

 be classed among the beautiful products of our bushes. Tte flowers are so numer- 

 ous that often the whole creeper is one mass of pink and white hair in spring. 

 The pink terminal panicles of Bixa orellana (kesri) shaded ofl' by the rusty 

 petals is another of our exotic garden beauties. The dense white and pink racemes 

 of the Tamarix Indica (Zao) are exceedingly pretty, though the flowers are 

 small. They are common in our river beds and in marshy places along water- 

 courses. Our Sida shrubs generally bear solitary flowers of large and small size, 

 but Ave conspicuous by the delicacy and beauty of their yellow tints. 



The common Jaswan {Hibiscus Rosa- Sinensis) with its single and double 

 flowers is a standing beauty of our gardens. It is never weary of flowerinw 

 from day to day, regardless of seasonal changes. The colours which some of 

 the varieties of Hibiscus t'.i -play are well worthy of special consideration, but I 

 must rest content with only mentioning their beautiful tints, viz,, pale yellow, 

 pale pink, buff, deep yellow, pale purple and rich scarlet, with or without ventral 

 markings of deep crimson. Mr. Framji Nanabhoy Davar of Tanieo has in his 

 garden twelve well-marked varieties which are distinct from the ordinary tinted 

 varieties I have alluded to. They are as beautiful for their substantial petals as 

 for their gorgeous colours. 



The flowers of Zizyphus rugosa (Toran) are very tiny — without petals, and 

 perhaps do not deserve a special mention here as flowers, but they are worthy of 

 passing notice on account of the exceptional length of their flower-stalk, which rises 

 in the air three or four yards high above the surface of the top foliage of the plant 

 and droops in an ample compound axillary or terminal thyrsus. Pongamia glabra 

 (Karanj) is just now throwing out its fresh tender foliage. In a few days more 

 copious drooping racemes of its white purple-tinted flowers will be thrown out to 

 add beauty to the ending days of our Indian Spring. The semi -globose male 

 flowers of Punica granatum, the favourite of our Hindu ladies, is another common 

 beauty of our gardens. It is worthy of mention as it is one mass of densely- 



