34 



on the margin, thickly herbaceous in texture, green and often shaded with 

 purple colour, albo-variegated between the midrib and margins, glabrous but 

 pubescent-pilose on veins and towards the margin, 6-15} cm. long, 4-10 cm. 

 broad ; midrib slender ; main nerves 3 on each side of the midrib radiating 

 from the base : veinlets fine, invisible superficially ; petiole slender, more or 

 less unequal in length than the blade, terete, canaliculate in the inside, 

 glabrous, 7-16 cm. long; scaly leaves 2, ovate, acute or obtuse, membranaceous, 

 ciliated. Flower 3—5} cm. in diameter, solitary, nodding on the ground ; 

 peduncle terete, curved, glabrous, shorter than the flower, l}-3 cm. 

 long. Calyx 3 -partite with acute sinuses, broadly campanulate with patent 

 or recurvo-patent lobes ; lobes ovato-deltoid to ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, even- 

 sided, l}-4 cm. long, carnose, glabrous, often minutely sub- scabrous externally, 

 dark-purple and often more or less yellowish towards margins internally, the 

 basal connate portion constricted below and connected to the tube with a small 

 orifice in centre, with concentric plicate rugosities on the inner face ; the tube 

 globose with the ovary below, ventricose, glabrous, obscurely longitudinal-striate 

 above externally, with numerous thick-membranaceous longitudinal lamelhe 

 internally. Rudimentary inner calyx lobes 3, minute, 1}- nearly 2 mm. long, 

 linear-spathulate, erect and closely placed on the back of stamens, alternate to 

 the normal outer calyx-lobes. Stamens 12, inclined inward?, 2-2} mm. long ; 

 filament extremely short; anther ovate-elliptical, cells extrorse and adnate to 

 the connective with its round-obtuse apex a little exceeding the anther. Styles 

 6, free, erect, slightly exceeding the stamens, ovato-cylindrical, glabrous, the 

 top obtuse and silicate with a minute channel which run over the inner side 

 of the style ; stigma minute, elliptical, situated on the back of the top. 

 Ovary inferior with a little free upper portion, 6-locular; ovules minute, 

 numerous, obvato-elliptical, arranged in 2-rows at the axial placentas. 

 Seed (immature) obovoid, smooth, brown, with a large prominent fleshy raphe. 



Nom. Jap. Sakaiua-sawhin. 



Bab. Frov. Tosa : Sakawa in Takaoka-gori (T. Makino ! 1887, April 

 18 and May 9, 15, 1889, June 1893). 



This is commonly found at mountain foot and hills in Sakawa* 

 Village and its vicinities in the province of Tosa in Isl. Shikoku, and it has 

 the largest flower among the Japanese species of Asarum. The inner 

 lamella? of the calyx-tube are arranged longitudinally without being reticulated 

 one another, which never occurs in any Japanese species known till now r . The 

 habit of leaves are as that of Asarum Thunbergii Al. Br. ( = Heterolropa- 

 asaroides Morr. et Decne.), 



