448 A FLORA OF MANILA 



long as the calyx. Capsule ovoid, about 4 mm long, not protruded beyond 

 the' calyx-segments. 



In waste places, fl., most of the year; widely distributed in the Philip- 

 pines, possibly introduced. India to Japan and Malaya. 



4. 0. herbacea L. (O. heynii R. Br.). 



An erect, slender, rather rigid, dichotomously branched, annual herb 20 

 to 40 cm high, the stems 4-angled, internodes long. Leaves linear, very 

 nari'ow, 1 to 3 cm long, sessile. Flowers axillary, solitary, white, about 

 5 mm long, the pedicels slender, 1 to 2 cm long. Capsule ovoid, about 3 

 mm long, the calyx-teeth lanceolate, short, the top of the capsule rounded, 

 protruded beyond the calyx-segments. 



In open grass lands, Masambong, fl. Oct.-Dec; occasional in the Phil- 

 ippines. Tropical Africa, India, and Ceylon. 



5. O. brachyphylla Merr. 



A very slender, erect, weak, pale-green, simple or sparingly branched 

 annual herb 4 to 25 cm high, glabrous or minutely scabrid, the stems 

 obscurely 4*^ngled. Leaves lanceolate, sharply acuminate, 3 to 7 mm long, 



1 to 1.8 mm wide, sessile, base scarcely narrowed; stipules very short, entire, 

 a mere connecting membrane. Flowers axillary, solitary, their pedicels 8 

 to 10 mm long. Calyx green, 2.5 mm long, cleft about half way to the 

 base into 4, lanceolate, acuminate teeth. Corolla white, the tube inflated, 



2 mm long, slightly contracted at the mouth, lobes 4, spreading, broadly 

 ovate, acute or obtuse, 1.6 mm long, throat villous. Capsule obovoid or 

 ovoid, 2 mm long. Seeds numerous, small, black, pitted. 



In old rice paddies and open wet grass lands, Caloocan to Masambong, 

 f}. Oct.-Jan.; known only from the vicinity of Manila. Endemic. 



5. MUSSAENDA Linnaeus 



Shrubs or small tre^s, rarely climbing, with opposite leaves. Flowers 

 yellow or white, in terminal cymes, the bracts and bracteoles deciduous. 

 Calyx oblong, the lobes 5, usually deciduous, 1 usually persistent and much 

 enlarged, forming a petioled, white, leaf-like appendage. Corolla tubular, 

 slightly enlarged above, pubescent, the lobes B, short, throat villous. Sta- 

 mens 5, inserted at the throat or below. Ovary 2-celled, many-ovuled. 

 Fruit fleshy, areolate at the top, with many small seeds. (From the 

 Singalese name.) 



Species 50 or more, tropical Africa to Asia and Polynesia, about 12 in 

 the Philippines. 



1. M. philippica L. C. Rich. (M. grandiflora Rolfe). 



A shrub or small tree .3 to 5 m high, more or less pubescent or nearly 

 glabrous. Leaves oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 6 to 14 cm 

 long, base acute; stipules about 4 mm long, 2-fid. Cymes terminal, rather 

 open, pubescent, few-flowered. Calyx about 7- mm long, four of the teeth 

 as long as the tube, one very much enlarged as a white, leaf-like, long- 

 petioled, elliptic-ovate appendage, the lamina 4 to 8 cm long. Corolla 

 yellow, pubescent, about 2 cm long, enlarged upward. Fruit aboiit 1.5 cm ' 

 long. (PI. Filip. pi. 58, M. frondosa.) 



In thickets, Masambong, fl. Aug.-Dec; common and widely distributed 

 in the Philippines, variable. Perhaps only the Philippine representative of 

 the Indo-Malayan Mussaenda frondosa L. 



