Spebmacoce.] BUBIACEM. 429 



in axillary or terminal fascicles heads or cymes. CalyX'tube various, 

 limb of 2-4, (rarely 5) teeth with oftea interposed teeth or bristles. 

 Corolla f unnel-or salver -shaped ; lobes 4, valvate. Stamens 4, on the 

 throat or tube of the corolla, filaments short or long ; anthers linear 

 or oblong. Ova/ry 2-celIed ; style filiform, with 2 short arms or a 

 capitate stigma ; ovules 1 in each cell, on the middle of the septum, 

 ampbitropous. Fruit of 2 coriaceous or crustaceous mericarps which 

 dehisce variously. 8eed?> oblong, grooved ventrally, testa thin, often 

 granulate.— Species about 80, chiefly temperate. 



Stems erect, both carpels dehiscing ventrally . 1. S. ^tricta. 



Stems procumbent, one carpel dehiscing ven- 

 trally, the other remaining indehiscent • . 2. /8^. hispida. 

 S. stricta, Linn. f. SuppL 120 ; Boxh. Fl. Ind. i, 370; F. B. I. m; 200 ; 



Collett, Fl. Siml. 233; Cooke FL Bomb, i, 623, Bigelovia lasiocarpa, 



Boxburghiana and Kleinii, W, ^ A, Prod. 437. 



Annual. /Siews erect, 6-14 in. high ; simple or branched from the base, 

 angles more or less scab rid with recurved prickles. Leaves sub-sessile, 

 spreading or ultimately reflexed, 1-2 in. long, linear to ovate, acute 

 and often mucronate, more or less coriaceous, glabrous or scabrid, 

 , margins oftea recurved ; stipules with many long bristles. Flowers 

 many, in globose compact axillary heads ; hracteoles filiform*, exceeding 

 the calyx. Calyx-tuhe pubescent above, glabrous near the base ; teeth 

 linear-subulate, pubescent. Corolla I in. long, white ; tube very slender ; 

 lobes linear, acute. Stigma sub globose. Capsule i in. long, narrowed at 

 the base, glabrous below, rather membran(<us, crowned with the erect 

 calyx-teeth, both carpels dehiscing ventrally. Seeds polished. 



Moradabad (T. Thomson), Bundelkhand (Mrs. Bell). Distbib. Trop. 

 Himalaya from Kashmir eastwards up to 5,500 ft. and throughout 

 India to Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Peninsula and China* The prevalent 

 form in N.-W. India of this very variable species is 8. lasiocarpa E. Br. 

 S. liispida, Linn. Sp. PI. 102; Roxh. Fl. Ind. i, 373; W. <t A. Prod. 



438; F. B. 1. Hi, 200 ; Watt E. D.; Collett Fl. Siml. 233 ; Cooke, Fl. Bomb, 



i, 624. S. articularis, Linn f. ; Boxb. I. c. ; W. 4* A. Prod. I. c. S. scabra. 



Willd, ; Boxb. I. c. 37h * 



X procumbent herb with hispid hairy or sub'glabrous stems. Leaves sub- 

 sessile, ^-1^ in. long, obovate, spathulate oblong or elliptic, acute or 

 obtuse, rigidly coriaceous, pale when dry, usually very scabrid above ; 

 margins often thickened and cartilaginous, scabrid or ciliate ; stipules 

 membranous, hispid, bristly , Flowers 4-6 in a whorl, shortly pedi- 

 celled ; bradeoles as long as the calyx, filiform, hyaline. Calyx i in. 

 long, hispid; teeth linear-lanceolate, acute, reflexed, equalling the 

 tube. Corolla g-i in., blue or white; lobes oblong, acute, bristly 

 outside. Stigmas 2, very short. Capsule ^ in. long, pubescent or 

 hispid, rounded at the base, crowned with the calyx-teeth, one carpel 

 dehiscing ventrally. Seedi not polished. 



