178 eoMPOsiT^. 



IBlpmea. 



ovate or obovate, coarsely toothed, rather thin, gi-een on both' sides, the lower 

 ones often 3 to 5 in. long and almost lobed at the base, with long stalks,_the 

 upper ones smaller and narrower, but all stalked. Flower-heads about 4 lines 

 long, aU pedunculate in the Hongkong specimens, the upper ones nearly sessile 

 and clustered in some S. Indian oiies, forming a large pyramidal panicle often 

 a foot long.' Style-branches in tliis and the three following species Imear- 

 filiform, as in the two last, but somewhat obtuse. 



. Roadsides at Aberdeen, Wilford. A south Indian specips, extending from Ceylon and the 

 Peninsula to Chittagong and the Philippines, and probably spread OTer the Indian Archipelago. 

 The Hongkong specimens agree precisely With those of the var. ft Thwaites (Enum. Ceyl. PI. 

 163), which is taller and less glandular than usual, although evidently viscid when fresh. 



, 4. B. hieracifolia, -DO. Pra^Z. v. 442 ; TFigM,lc.t.\0'd'i {a dwarf form) j 

 An erect stift' almost simple annual, 1 to 2 ft> high, more or less tomentose 

 or viUpus, but not viscid.. Leaves oblong, irregularly and rather sharply 

 toothed, the lowest nearly obovate, 2 to 3 in. long and stalked, the others 

 sessile, though narrowed at the base, the uppei-most almost lanceolate. Kower- 

 heads about 4 lines long, mostly sessile and clustered, the lower clusters dis- 

 tant, the upper' ones forming a terminal leafy spike, or seldom branching into 

 an oblong terminal panicle. Involucres always tomentose, the bracts linear 

 and acute, but always broader than in the two foUovnng species. 



Hongkong, Champion, Hance, Wright. Common all over southei-n Asia from Ceylon 

 and the Peninsula to the Archipelago, extending. northwards to Assam, the Philippines, S. 

 China, and Formosa. 



This as well as the two following are very variable species, and it is probable that the 55 

 species classed by De CandoUe under the Paniculatis, ■Senecioniflora, and Tasdmlaflorie, 

 and among which they are included, might be reduced to about 10, which, from good speci- 

 mens, would be fairly distinguishable from each other. Of the 5, hieradfolia there-vare 

 three principal foi-ms .among the Hongkong specimens : — . 



Yar. a. giabfescens. Tall, stiff, slightly branched ; leaves rather rigid and glabrous on both 

 sides. — B. erinita, Steetz in Seein. Bot. Her. 387 ; but perhaps not of Ar'nott, for the Ceylon, 

 plant of that naraemay be a distinct species. 



Var. t. tomentoso-mllosa. The old leaves pubescent or nearly glabrous above, more densely 

 villous underneath. — B.javanica,, Zoll. ex parte, Benth. in Kew Journ. Bot. v. 234. 



Var. u. holosericea. Under side of the leaves and panicles thickly clothed with silky or 

 almost woolly white hairs. — B. holosericea, DC. Prod. v. 442, 



5. B. lacera, BC. Prod. v. 436. An erect annual, 1 to 2 ft. high, simple 

 or slightly branched, but not so stiff as B. hieracifolia, more or less clothed 

 witK soft whitish hairs or pubescence. Leaves all stalked, obovate, ovate, or 

 rarely oblong, coarsely toothed, the lower ones often somewhat lyrate. Flower- 

 heads seldom above 3 lines long, and often smaller, very numerous, in narrow 

 oblong dense panicles, leafy at the base, the upper ones of the short branches, 

 sessile and clustered. Involucral bracts usually very narrow.. 

 , Common in paddy-fields and waste places, Wilford. One of the commonest weeds all 

 over East India, extending westward into tropical Africa and down to Port Natal, and east- 

 ward through the Archipelago to North Australia. 



6'. B. Wightiana, DG. Prod. v. 435. Closely allied to B. lacera, and 

 probably,, as suggested by Thwaites, a mere variety. It is more slender and 

 more frequently branched, the leaves are broader and thinner, the inflorescence 

 looser, and the involucres still smaller, often not exceeding 2 lines. 



Hongkong, fiiaif^awrf, Hance. Equally common with B. lacera, and as widely distributed 



