ORDER VII-A.— VIOLARIE^E. 



Gen. Char. Flowers hermatbrodite or rarely polygamous, irregular, or regular, sepals 5 equal or unequal imbricate in sestivation s 

 petals 5 nearly equal or the lower larger unguieulate or sessile, stamens 5 free or monadelpbous, antbers erect 2 celled witb the connective 

 generally produced beyond the cells, ovary sessile 1-celled, placentas usually 3, each with 1-many anatropous ovules, style usually simple 

 sometimes clavate, stigma terminal or lateral, fruit a capsule dehiscing loculicidally or septicidally 1-many seeded, seeds with a 

 fleshy albumen and axile embryo. Herbs, shrubs or small trees, leaves usually alternate entire serrate or creuate stipulate, flowers axil- 

 lary or terminal solitary fascicled racemose or panicled, small in the woody species. 



A small order only represented in Southern India by one small tree Alsodeia Zeylanica first discovered in Ceylon, and now delected in 

 South Travancore and in the Wynad. Of herbaceous plants this order gives us 2 indigenous species of Viola and 2 of Ionidium and 1 species of 

 ffcyphellandra, a small undershrub found in Ceylon. 



ALSODEIA. Thotjaes. 



Gen, Char. Sepals not produced atthe base, petals equal or nearly equal exunguiculate or nearly so, filaments connate the anthers inserted upon or 

 within the margin of the tube or free usually with a conspicuous dorsal or terminal connective produced beyond the cell, placentas 1 mauy ovulate, style 

 straight with a terminal stigma. Capsule 3 valved opening loculicidally few seeded, seeds round or angulate glabrous or cottony. Shrubs or trees, leaves 

 usually alternate serrate or crenate or entire, flowers small axillary or terminal fasciculate racemose or paniculate, rarely solitary. — Vareca, JRoxb. Pentaloba, 

 lour. Prosthesia, Blwrae. Medusa, Lour. 



ALSODEIA .ZEYLANICA. (Arnt.) A small tree or large shrub, branchlets terete, the young parts very minutely 

 puberulous. Leaves lanceolate to ovato-lanceolate acuminate 2|-6 inches long by 1-3 broad, shining beautifully reticulated, minutely 

 dentate furnished with hairy glands in the axils of the veins beneath, petioles 2^-5 lines long deeply channelled above. Stipules linear 

 lanceolate acute minutely hairy at the centre of the back and ciliate, 3-4J lines long, deciduous. Flowers polygamous in small many 

 bracteoled fascicles in the axils or at the axils of the fallen leaves, bracteoles acute minutely ciliate, pedicels 1-2 lines long, flowers 

 very small white, calyciue-segments ovate lanceolate acute slightly hairy, petals recurved at -the apex more than twice as long as the 

 sepals, stamen-tube 5 lobed the lobes crenated, the stamens inserted on the inside of the tube about its centre and opposite the lobes 

 small and sterile in the female, the connective large particularly in the male, petaloid and much produced at the side and terminating 

 at the apex in a large rounded lobe, anther-cells introrse, ovary 3 ovuled (small and sterile in the male) stigma small entire or suben- 

 tire. — Pentaloba Zeylanica, Arnt. Mag. of Zool. and Bot. ii. 543. Alsodeia, Thw. En. PI. Zey. p- 21. 



/ have found this small tree in the Travancore forests near Colatoorpalay and also in the Wynad. I have no specimens of the Ceylon 

 plant for comparison, and Dr. Thwaites informs me that that is devoid of the hairy glands in the axils of the veins on the underside of the leaves. 

 Specimens I forwarded to Kew were however named as above. No mention has been before made of any species of this genus being polygamous 

 •which this certainly is, The Travancore plant was in flower and ripe fruit in August. 



Analysis. 



1, 2. Bud and full flower (male.) 



3. The same, open. 



4. Stamens removed, showing the stamen-tube and small sterile ovary. 



4. The same calyx-tube opened out to show the attachment of stamens. 



5. Anther, front view. 



6. Anther, back view. 



7, 8, 9. Fertile flowers showing the large ovary, style and stigma, and the attachment of the sterile stamens. 



10. Sterile stamens, front and back view. 



11. Ovary cut trausversely, showing that it is 1-celled with 3 parietal placentas. 



12. The same more advanced cut vertically. 



13. Young fruit. 



14. Nearly ripe fruit cut vertically. 



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