284 AMAKANTACE-'E. * [Celosia. 



1. OELOSIA, Linn. 



Perianth of 5 nearly equal segments. Stamens 5, united at the base. An- 

 thers 2-cellecl. Ovary with several ovules. Style single, with a capitate or 

 minutely 2-lobed stigma. Capsule opening transversely. Embiyo coiled 

 round the albumen. — ^Herbs. Leaves alternate. Flowers white or coloured, 

 in terminal spikes. 



A tropical genus, dispersed over the New as well the Old World. 



1. C. argentea, Linn.; Moq. in DO. Prod. xiii. pari ii. 342; Wight, 

 Ic. 1. 1767. An erect glabrous annual, 1 to 2 ft. high. Leaves stalked, from 

 ovate to lanceolate or Enear, acuminate, 1 to 3 or 4 in. long, green on both 

 sides. Spike cylindrical, 1 to 4 or 5 in. long. Perianth-segments white and 

 scarious, lanceolate, about 4 Hnes long ; the bracts similar but smaller. 



In waste places, Champion, Hance. Common in tropical Asia and Africa, and introduced 

 into some parts of America. 



Var. cristata. Spikes dilated at the top or variously branched, and usually on a shorter 

 peduncle. Howers often smaller, and many of them barren. — C. cristata, Linn. ; Moq. 1. c. 



In waste places, Hance. A much cultivated variety, which is also frequently sent as wild, 

 but probably of garden origin. 



a. AMARANTUS, Linn. 



Flowers polygamous. Perianth of 5 equal segments. Stamens 5 or rarely 

 3, free and slightly perifi;ynous. Anthers 2 -celled. Ovule sohtaiy. Style 

 divided to the base into 2 or 3 stigmatic lobes. Utricle opening transversely 

 or indehiscent. Embryo coiled round the albumen. — Annuals. Leaves al- 

 ternate. Mowers small, green or reddish, clustered in axillary or terminal 

 spikes or panicles. Perianth thin, but less scarious than in most genera. 

 Bracts small. 



A genus not numerous in species, but widely diffused over the warmer regions of the 

 globe. 



Spines axillary. Stigmas usually 2. Utricle opening transversely . . . \. A. apinomi. 

 Plant unarmed. Stigmas usually 3. Utricle indehiscent or bursting ir- 

 regularly . . . i. J. viridis. 



1. A. spinosus, Linn.; Moq. in DC. Prod. xiii. part ii. 260 ; Wiffht, 

 lo. t. 51S. A branched, spreading, glabrous, hard-stemmed annual, extending 

 to 1 or 2 ft., armed with 1 or 2 straight spines in each axil. Leaves stalked, 

 from ovate to lanceolate, of a duU green, the pinnate veins prominent under- 

 neath. Flowers numerous, greenish, in dense axillary clusters, the upper 

 ones forming long dense terminal spikes, either simple or paniculately branched. 

 Stigmas usually 2. Utricle opening transversely. 



In waste places all over the island, Hance, Seemann, Wilford. A common weed in tro- 

 pical and subtropical countries both in the New and the Old World. 



2. A. yiridis, Linn. A glabrous spreading annual like the last, but 

 without spines, the leaves usually rather broader and more obtuse, the clustere 

 of ilowers looser, and the terminal spikes broader and shorter. Stigmas usually 

 3, and the utricle has a much thinner and closer pericarp, which either rots 

 away or bursts irregularly. — Uuxolus viricMa, Moq. in DC. Prod xiii Bart ii 

 273. ■ ■ ^ 



