Capparis.] VI. CAPPAEIDEjE. 15 



vate, retuse or entire, mucronate, tidck, glabrous or glabrate. Flowers 

 large, 1-3 in. across, white, solitary, axillary, on a pedicel equal to or 

 longer than the leaf. Sepals unequal, ovate, obtuse, concave. Petals 

 obovate, unguiculate, undulate, longer than calyx, at first pure white, 

 then pink and purplish-red as they fade. Stamens numerous, longer 

 than petals ; filaments slender, purple. Ovary on a slender filiform 

 gynophore as long as stamens ; nectariferous glands at the base of gyno- 

 phore. Fruit oblong, 1-3 in. long, on a strong gynophore, bent down- 

 wards when ripe ; opening irregularly by 3-4 valves, crimson inside. 

 Seeds numerous, reniform. This species varies exceedingly in the size, 

 shape, pubescence, and consistence of the leaves. One form (var. galeata) 

 is found in Sindh, with glabrous, often glaucous, fleshy leaves ; the anti- 

 cous sepal very saccate. Another (var. leucophylla) is found in the lower 

 Himalayan valleys, floccose all over with white pubescence. 



Panjab, Sindh, Guzerat, Mahableshwar, N.W. Himalaya, ascending to 12,000 

 ft. in the inner arid valleys. South Europe, North Africa, Western Asia. 

 Time of flowering varies according to locality and elevation. In the Peshawur 

 valley and the trans-Indus territory, it flowers from April to July, the fruit 

 ripening about Nov. ; in the inner Himalaya flowers from June to Oct. 



A small trailing shrub on hot dry rocks and stony hills, with long green 

 branches, a thick woody root, penetrating deep into the clefts of the rock. 

 Strikingly handsome with its large flowers, long purple stamens, and the long- 

 stalked ovary protruding from among them. 



The flower-buds pickled are the capers of Europe, and might be prepared in 

 India. The fruit is pickled and eaten in Sindh and the Panjab salt range. The 

 leaves and ripe fruit are a favourite food of goats and sheep. 



3. 0. horrida, Linn. fil. ; Wight Ic. t. 173; Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 178; 

 W. & A. Prodr. 26.— Syn. C. zeylanica, Eoxb. Fl. Ind. il 567. Vern. 

 His, karmla, Pb. ; karralwa, Oudh. 



The entire plant when young covered with a dense ferruginous, cadu- 

 cous pubescence. Stipules laterally compressed, thorny, hooked. Leaves 

 from eUiptic-oblong to broadly ovate, mucronate. Pedicels supra-axillary, 

 2 to 4 in a vertical line, the uppermost flower opening first ; flowers large, 

 at first white, later rose-coloured. Stamens numerous, filaments long, fili- 

 form, purple. Gynophore as long as stamens. Fruit \-l^ in. diam., glo- 

 bose or obdvate, red when ripe, on a thick gynophore 1^ in. long. 



Plains and lower hills in most parts of India, from the Panjab to Ceylon and 

 Burma. Blooms from January or February to April ; flowers often so nu- 

 merous that the bush looks like a mass of white and rose colour. The fruit 

 ripens after June, and remains on the plant for some time. 



A scrambling shrub, found climbing at times to a great extent over the 

 tallest trees. Wood used for fuel ; the twigs, shoots, and leaves are greedily 

 eaten by elephants and goats. In the Southern Panjab and Sindh the fruit is 

 pickled. 



4. C. sepiaria, Linn. ; Eoxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 568; "W. & A. Prodr. 26 ; 

 Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 177. — Vern. Hiun gama (crooked Carissa), Panjab. 



Young parts pubescent. Stipules thomy,'hooked. Leaves ovate or ellip- 

 tic, occasionally emarginate, glabrate above, pubescent beneath. Flowers 



