at,--On Variations in the Flowers of Limnanthemum 
indicum, Thwaites. 
By H. M. Curpeur, M.A. 
Acting Professor of Botany, Gujarat College, Ahmedabad. 
The observations recorded in this note on the flowers of 
Limnanthemum indicum were made on the 19th hee od 
1912, on the specimens collected by me from a Fae 
sein in Thana District of the Presidency of Bomb 
The plants have a floating aquatic habit. The stem and 
roots are submerged. The orbicular leaves are floating, and the 
flowers are slightly raised above the water. It was not practi- 
cable from the trailing habit of the stem _— water to recog- 
nize and isolate the individuals. Hence the enumerations 
made refer to several individuals taken aogaa ly. 
mnanthemum belongs to one of the gamopetalous orders, 
viz. Gentianacee. The majority of plants of this order are of 
the herbaceous erect or procumbent type occurring in more or 
less wet places. The genus Limnan ee is an exception to 
the type as it grows in waters several feet 
Dimorphism within the order in ese ollie than Limnan- 
themum has been observed in Canscora diffussa (Prof. W. 
Sioa unpublished notes) in which pra have been noted to 
in two different lengths on the same plant. Dimorphism 
in thee genus under consideration has been noted in all system- 
atic works. A short description of the flowers of Limnanthe- 
mum indicum may be given at this point. 
The flowers arise in clusters from anode. The node also 
roduces a bunch of roots, a single branch, and a single floating 
—- pg ogi leaf, whose petiole is in a line with the 
wer buds are a erat tcabegie im are under 
sere The Bad ds come up one by every evening to open. 
The flower remains open eee the night aah early part 
of the pes day. The pedicel again bends downwards to 
mature the fruit under water. The following technical descrip- 
tion is et e om Cooke’s Flora of Bombay fl graced 
rt Pedicels 2’-5” long; bracts ovate, acute sae til Calyx 
3i a one deeply aac tig sata ie - long, “oblong, * subacute. 
Crary one celled ; st entas 2,  eateral: : poh ion or ees 
stigma two lobed; Capsule subglobose, in diameter. 
numerous (30 or more), not muricate, nae, yellow.’ 
