FiLAGO.] G0MP08ITM. 459' 



are usually involucrate by a few empty bracts, sessile on a common 

 receptacle and bracteate or not, heterogamoua, disciform. Outer' 

 flowers female, few or many, fertile, slender, minutely 2-3-toothed;, 

 Dish-flowers hermaphrodite, solitary or few, fertile or sterile, tube 

 thickened, limb 4-5 toothed. Involucre narrow ; bracts narrow,, 

 acute, dry, unequal. Receptacle small, naked. Anther-bases 

 sagittate, auricles acute or tailed. Style-arms of herm. flowers fili- 

 form or connate. Achenes oblons:, subcompressed. Pappus 0. 

 Species 8, in Trop. Asia, Africa, and Australia. 



S. indicus, Linn. Sp. PI. 927 ; Royle III. 248 ; F. B. I. Hi, 275; Wait, 

 E. D. ; Collett Fl. Siml. 254 ; CooTce Fl. Bomh. ii, 28. S. mollis, Roxb. ; Fl, 

 Ind. Hi, 446. 



A much-hranched glandular -hairy herb, about 1-2 ft. high. Branches 

 ascending, winged with the toothed bases of the decurrent leaves. 

 Leaves sessile, 1-2 in. long, obovate-oblong, narrowed to the base,, 

 obtuse or subacute, dentate or serrate, the teeth often bristle-pointed,, 

 glandular and hairy on both sides. Clusters of heads f-f in. in diam., 

 globose or shortly oblong ; wings of pubescent peduncles toothed. 

 Heads many, densely packed. Invol-brads shorter than the heads, 

 linear, ciliate at the apex. Flowers pink or purple. Achenes stalked, 

 smooth. 



Abundant all over the area, especially in damp ground. Flowers during 

 the cold season. Distrib. Throughout India and in Ceylon, ascend- 

 ing to 5,000 ft. on the Himalaya ; also in Malaya, China, Africa, and 

 Australia. This plant, which has a strong aromatic odour, is used 

 medicinally as a bitter tonic and also as a vermifuge. 



16. FILAGO, Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. iii, 277. 



Small woolly herbs. Leaves alternate. Heads small, sessile in 

 crowded terminal and axillary clusters, which are often inclosed by 

 floral leaves, heterogamous, disciform. Outer-flowers female, many- 

 seriate, fertile, filiform, 2-3-toothed. Dish- flowers herm., few, fertile 

 or not ; limb scarcely dilated, 4-5 toothed. Invol-bracts 2-many- 

 seriate, scarious, inner gradually passing into the pales but shorter 

 than these. Becepiacle cylindric, obconic or flat and constricted at 

 the base ; pales at the base of the outer or of all the flowers hyaline, 

 concave. Anther-bases sagittate ; auricles small, tails short slender. 

 Style arms of herm. flowers oblong or linear, obtuse. Achenes 

 minute, subterete or compressed, tip rounded, not ribbed. Pappus 

 of inner fern, flowers and of the herm. flowers 1-2-seriate, slender, 

 scabrid; of outer fem. flowers or scanty.— Species about 8, natives, 

 of the Old World. 



