Polemoniwm.] xcviii. polemoniace^. (0. B. Clarke.) 133 



Obbub XGYIII. POXiEiaONIACEa:. (By C. B. Clarke.) 



Herbs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves exstipulate. Flowet's showy, regular, her- 

 maphrodite, 5-merous. Calyx inferior. Corolla gamopetalous, lobes twisted to 

 the right. Stamens 5, on the coroUa-tube, alternate with its lobes. Ovary 

 superior, 3-oelled ; style simple, shortly 3-fid ; ovules very many. Capsule 

 septicidal, 3-valved. Seeds many, albuminous ; embryo straight. — Species 150 ; 

 in America, a very few in N. Asia and Europe. 



1. POXiEXaONXUnE, lam. 



Perennial herbs. Leaves alternate, pinnate. Cymes terminal, corymbose. 

 Flowers blue. Calyx campanulate, lobed half-way down, scarcely ribbed. 

 Corolla funnel-shaped, lobes patent obovate. Stamens attached near the base 

 of the corolla ; filaments declinate, hairy, appendaged at the base. Ovary and 

 capsule ovoid. Seeds not or obscurely winged ; testa, when wetted, becoming 

 mucilaginous and breaking up elastically into spiral threads. — Species 8 ; from 

 Europe, N. and Central Asia, N. America to Mexico and Chili. 



P. coeruleum, Linn. ; Benth. in DC. Prodr. ix. 317 ; stem erect leafy, 

 leaflets lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, flowers many corymbose, calyx-lobes 

 ovate or lanceolate-oblong scarcely acute, corolla 2-3-timea longer than the 

 calyx. GaeHn. Fruct. i. 299, t. 62 ; Lamh. lU. t. 106 ; Wall. Cat. 1471 ; Syme 

 Engl. Bot. iii. t. 922 ; Boiss. Fl. Orimt. iv. 83. 



Alpine Western Himaxaya, alt. 9-12,000 ft. ; from Kashmir to Kumaon, frequent. 

 — DiSTEiB. Europe, N. and Central Asia, N. America. 



Stems 1-4 ft., viscous hairy or glabreseent. Leaves 5 by 3 in., leaflets IJ by J in. 

 Flowers often clustered ; corolla 1 in. diam. or more, a fine blue. Capsule | in., 

 ellipsoid, much overtopped by the persistent calyx. Seeds i in., oblong- ellipsoid, 

 smooth, not vriinged (in the Indian plant). — The Himalayan, like the European plant, 

 is taU with narrow leaflets. 



ObdebXCIX. KVBROPKYIiXiACXSS:. (By C. B. Clarke.) 



Differ from Gentianacets by the alternate leaves and imbricate corolla-lobes. 



The single Indian genus, forming by itself the tribe Hydrolece, is easily known 

 from GentianacecB by its 2 styles distinct from the base with capitate stigmas. — Species 

 150, mainly American, 3 or 4 only in the Old "World. 



1. KVDROZiEA, Linn. 



Herbs. Leaves alternate, entire. Flowers blue, in short terminal racemes 

 or cymes, regular, 5-merous. Ccdyx divided nearly to the base, segments lan- 

 ceolate. Corolla widely campanulate, subrotate, lobes imbricate. Stamens 5, 

 attached to the short coroUa-tube, alternate with its lobes, filaments filiform 

 often dilated at the base ; anthers sagittate, oblong. Ovary completely 2-ceIled ; 

 styles 2, distinct, stigmas capitate; ovules very many. Capsule globose or 

 ovoid, septicidal or irregularly 4-valved. Seeds minute. 



K. zeylanica, Vahl Symh. ii. 46 ; annual, unarmed, leaves lanceolate, 

 flbwers racemed on short lateral branches, calyx-lobes lanceolate striate exceed- 

 ing the capsule. Lamk. HI. t. 184 ; WaU. Cat. 4398 ; W.^ A. in Hook. Comp. 



