J^dhnis.] xvili. CARYOPHYLLEvE. (Bdgeworth & Hook, f.) 235 



broad, aurielecl, exceeding the calyx ; limb small, reourved ; appendages notched. 

 Capstile exceeding the calyx, 10-cleft. 



■ttt Stem elongate, visually laxly dichotomoudy branched {simple in L. 

 inflata). Leaves ovate elliptic or lanceolate. 



10. Xi. inflata. Wall. Oat. n. 618; minutely pubescent, stem simple 

 erect 1-3-flowei-ed leafy, leaves elliptic or lanceolate lower petioled, flowers 

 large 'terminal drooping,_ calyx very inflated pale with, dark brown nerves, 

 teeth rounded, petals with, a broad claw 2 large appendages and a short 

 rounded Umb, carpophore short woolly, seeds remform compressed, back 

 furnished with rows of long soft setse. Benth. in Eoyle III. 80, Melan- 

 dryum inflatum, Rohrh. in Linncea xxxvi. 226. Agrostemma inflata, Don 

 Gen. SysL i. 417. 



Western Temperatb Himalaya ; Kumaon, Blinhworih. 



Stem rather stout, 10-16 in., glandular-pubescent above, nodes swollen. Leaves 

 14-2J by |-| in., acute or acuminate. Pedicels slender, ebracteolate. Calyx | in. 

 long, nearly as broad, membranous ; nerves free or uniting in or below the broad hya- 

 line rounded teeth, which are not ciliate. — A very curious and distinct form, the seeds 

 of which are quite peculiar. It is singular that it should have escaped the notice of all 

 collectors in Kumaon since the days of Blinkworth, the first explorer of the Flora of 

 that region. 



11. Xia indica, Benth. in EoyU III. 81 ; finely-pubescent, stem leafy dif- 

 fusely dichotomously branched, leaves elliptic or ovate-lanceolate or orbi- 

 cular, panicle lax many-flowered, calyx oblong inflated, nerves green or 

 brown, lobes short rounded, carpophore short broad pubescent, petals with 

 a 2-fid or fimbriate limb, seeds reniform granulate. 



Tempepate Himalaya, alt. 5500-10,000 ft., from Nipal to Marri. 



A tall dichotomously branched spreading weak herb, 2-3 ft. high ; stem below some- 

 times as thick as a swan's quill. Leaves variable, more or less ovate-lanceolate, lower 

 petioled, largest 4 in. long, membranous, flaccid. Flowers drooping when young, in 

 open or contracted panicled glandular-hairy cymes ; pedicels ebracteate. Calyx 4-J in. 

 long, glandular-pubescent; nerves 10-15, free or combined, simple or branched; teeth 

 broad, obtuse rarely acute. Petals very variable, usually white inside and purplish out- 

 side; appendages short, obtuse, often crisped. Capsule ovoid, teeth 5, simple or bifid. 

 Seeds minute, very dark, the gi-anulations on the back stronger than on the sides. 



Vae. 1. indica proper; petals with a short 2-fld blade, lobes entire or 2-tnothed, 

 styles usually 3. Silene indica, Roxl. Sort. Beng. 34; Fl. Ind. ii. 447 ; Wall. Cat. 

 m in part. Melandryum indicura var. genuinum, Rohrh. in Linncea, xXxvi. 234. 



Vae. 2. fimhriata, Wall. Cat. 619 (Sp.) ; petals with a longer lacerate or fimbriate 

 blade, the lobes linear 2-fid, styles usually 5. Benth. in Royle III. 80, t. 20 B. L. erio- 

 stemon. Wall. Cat. n. 620. Melandryum indicum var. fimbriatum, Sohrb. I.e. 



12. Xi. nutans, Benth. in Boyle III. 80 ; finely pubescent, stems dif- 

 fusely dichotomously branched, leaves ovate or elliptic-lanceolate or orbi- 

 cular, panicle lax few-flowered, calyx globose inflated, nerves green or 

 brown, lobes short rounded, carpophore short pubescent or 0, petals with a 

 short purple crenulate limb, seeds reniform granulate tubercled on the back. 

 Melandryum nutans, Rohrh. in Linncea, xxxvi. 229. L. ciliata. Wall. Cat. 

 »i.621. 



Temperate Hiualata, from Sikkim to Kunawar, alt. 7500-11,000 ft.; Marri, alt. 

 10^12,000 ft. 



Very closely allied to L. indica, but apparently a smaller plant, more flaccid, with a 

 shorter more globose calyx, and short crenulate corolla-limb. The upper leaves are 

 sometimes orbicular-cordate. 



VOL. I. ~ Q 



