GESNERIACEAE 431 



126, PEDALIACEAE (Sesame or Linga Family) 



Herbs with opposite leaves, or the upper ones alternate, entire, toothed, 

 or divided. Flowers irregular, axillary, solitary, and in terminal racemes, 

 rarely clustered, the pedicles short, the bracts none or very small. Calyx 

 deeply 4- or B-lobed. Corolla tubular-ventricose, the limb obscurely 2- 

 lipped, 5-lobed, the lobes imbricate. Stamens 4, in 2 pairs. Ovary 2- 

 celled; style filiform; stigma shortly 2-lobed; ovules many, superposed. 

 Fruit a 2- or 4-celled capsule, dehiscent or indehiscent. Seeds exalbumi- 

 nous, small. 



Genera 14, species about 50, a single representative in the Philippines. 



1. SESAMUM Linnaeus 



Erect herbs with entire, toothed or lobed leaves. Flowers -axillaty, 

 solitary, or few and fascicled, short-rpedicelled, pale or purplish. Calyx 

 small, B-partite. Corolla tubular-ventricose, base somewhat inflated, the 

 limb 2-lipped, the lobes 5, rounded. Stamens 4, in 2 pairs, included ; anthers 

 sagittate. Ovary 2-celled, early falsely 4-celled; ovules many. Capsule 

 dblong, loculicidally 2-valved, unarmed. Seeds numerous, obliquely oblong. 

 (From the Egyptian name of one of the species.) 



Species about 12, Indian and African, the following widely distributed 

 in cultivation. 



1. S. OMENTALE L. (S. indicum DC). Linga (Tag.); Ajonjoti (Sp.); 

 Sesame. 



An erect annual herb, 50 to 80 cm high, pubescent or puberulent. Leaves 

 oblong or ovate, 3 to 10 cm long, the lower ones often lobed, the middle ones 

 toothed, the uppermost subentire; petioles 1 to 6 cm long. Pedicels short, 

 solitary, or 2 or 3 in e;ach axil. Sepals lanceolate, 6 to 7 mm long. CoroUd. 

 about 3 cm long, pubescent, whitish, or with purplish, red, or yellow marks. 

 Capsule about 2.5 cm long, oblong, erect, scabrid-pilose, splitting half-way 

 or quite to the base. (Fl. Filip. pi. 273.) 



Widely cultivated in the Philippines, occasionally subspontaneous, fl. 

 most of the year. Probably a native of tropical Asia, but now found in 

 most tropical and subtemperate countries; certainly not a native of the 

 Philippines, although of prehistoric introduction. 



127. GESNERIACEAE (Gesneria Family) 



Herbs or undershrubs with opposite or alternate, entire or toothed leaves. 

 Flowers axillary or terminal, solitary, fascicled, or racemose, usually 

 bracteate and bracteolate. Flowers perfect, irregular, rarely regular, 

 sjnall to large. Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla gamopetalous, the tube long or 

 short, subequally 5-lobed or 2-Iipped and one lip 2-lobed, the other 3-lobed. 

 Stamens inserted on the corolla-tube, mostly in 2 pairs, often only 2 fertile. 

 Ovary superior 1- or 2-celled; ovules many; style linear; ovules very 

 numerous. Fruit berry-like or capsular, indehiscept or dehiscent. Seeds 

 small, fusiform or ovoid, smooth. 



Genera about 100, species more than 900, in, most tropical countries, 

 about 11 genera and 70 or more species in the Philippines. 



