Podostemacece. 187 



lular tissue, which falls off after flowering. Floral envelopes none. Sla- 

 mens 4, hypogynous, unilateral, the two lateral filaments abortive, com- 

 planate, and more than a half shorter than the intermediate ones, 

 which are fertile, about 1-line long, and united nearly to the apex, 

 forming a linear column, each fork of which bears a single anther : an- 

 thers 2-celled, introrse, dehiscing longitudinally, the cells disunited an- 

 teriorly, but connected behind by a thin cellular connective, the in- 

 ternal one smaller than the external. Pollen yellow, constricted in the 

 middle. Ovary superior, sessile, glabrous, covered with the same kind 

 of cellular tissue as the pedicel, obsoletely 8-sulcate, 2-celled. Ovules 

 numerous, ascending. Style none : stigma sessile, deeply 2-lobed, lobes 

 unequal, persistent. Capsule oblong, l|-line long, deeply 8-sulcate, 

 2-celled, 2-valved, with a septicidal dehiscence. Placentce flattened, at- 

 tached to the dissepiment, the whole of which at length become free. 

 Seeds numerous, small, ascending. 



Obser. — The characters by which this species may be 

 readily distinguished from the preceding one, have already 

 been pointed out. The only other with which it may be 

 confounded is the following one, but the nature of the scales 

 will immediately settle the point, they being so numerous 

 and so long in the present plant, as to give it the appear- 

 ance of being covered with fascicles of setaceous leaves, 

 while in the other they are very short and obtuse. 



8. PODOSTEMON RIGIDUM. Gardn. 

 P. frondibus linearibus complanatis versus basim ramosis, 

 floribus marginalibus, squamis paucis distichis imbricatis ovatis 

 vel ovato-oblongis obtusis, spatha irregulariter lobata glabra, 

 capsula 8-costata. 



Hab.— On rocks in the bed of the Pycarrah River, Neil- 

 gherries, Wight and Gardner. Fl. in February. 



Descr.— Fronds linear, complanate, straight, branched at the base 

 4-5-inches long, coriaceous, of an olivaceous colour, leafless. Flowers 

 marginal. Scales 3-4, distichous, imbricated, ovate, or ovate-oblong, 

 obtuse, about Inline long. Spathe clavate, membranous, glabrous, 



