273 



(12) S. coLUKA. (Kunfh.) 

 Kunth. 1. 0. p. 261. 

 Syn. S. pseudo-China, Roxb. (not lAnn!) 



Spec. Chah. Scandent : stem and branches nnaimed, terete, 

 glabrous : leaves cordate or cordate-oblong, acuminate, S-nerved : 

 petioles sub-cylindric, without stipules. : 



Gairow HiUs. 



ORDER CLVIII. DIOSCOREACE^. 



Flowers dioecious, very rarely moncecious. Males, Perianth 

 more or less -deeply 6-parted, rotate, funnel-shaped, campanu- 

 late, urceolate, usually coloured, segments equal or unequal, 

 sestivation imbricated: stamens 6, generally distinct, shorter 

 than the perianth: anthers 2-celled, attached by the back, 

 dehiscing lengthways, introrse : ovary inferior, rudimentary : 

 obsoletely tiirbinate or none. Females. Perianth superior, 

 more or less constricted above the ovary, limb 6-parted : seg- 

 ments spreading, or urceolately comiivent: stamens 6, but 

 sterile : styles 3, more or less connate, sometimes very short : 

 stigmas 3, undivided or usually 2-cleft, recurved and plaited 

 upwards : ovary inferior, triangular, 3-ceIled : ovules 2 in each 

 cell, suspended from the inner angle at different heights, ana- 

 tropal : fruit capsular, very rarely baccate, crowned by the 

 persistent calyx, 3-celled, 3 — 6-seeded : seeds flat-compressed 

 in the capsules, sometimes surrounded by a wing, sometimes 

 only winged above and below, wingless in the berries : testa 

 thin, adnate to the albumen, usually continued in a wing: 

 albumen fleshy, cartilaginous, embryo piinute, situated below 

 the hilum : cotyledon flat. — Perennial herbs or undershrubs, 

 twining, rarely procumbent: rhizome usually tuberous, fleshy, 

 sometimes above ground, large: leaves petioled, scattered, 

 sometimes opposite, reticulately digitate-nerved, entire, some- 

 times digitately lobed or dissected, usually cordate, glandular- 

 dotted, more or less pellucid : petioles often geniculate above 

 the base, sometimes with two glands or two spines at the base: 

 inflorescence axillary, spiked or racemose, simple or branched ; 

 flowers solitary, glomerate or fascicled, bracteate at the base, 

 small, inconspicuous. ' 



18 



