472 LXXiy. ASCLEPIADAGEiE [Ccd(jtroj)is 



M. purplibli4ilac or wliite, inodorousj corolla \-l in. across, lobes spreading or reiiexecl, 

 buds ovoid. Apjiendages of corona hairy, niiicli longer than bioad. Fibre silk3'-, 

 made into i-opej paper and cloth. 2. C. procera, H. Br. Yern. Sj^almal, Bal. , Ak, 

 Iladar, Hind , Jelled u^ Tel Common in Sind, the Puniab and in the subhimalayan 

 tract east to the Saicla river. Drier districts of the Deccan. Dry region of the 

 Irawadi valley. Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Egypt and tropical Africa. 

 L. slightly larger and. somewhat less tomentose than 1, fl. with a strong (not un^jleasant) 

 &mell, purplish-red, corolla campaniilatej lobets erect, buds hemispherical. Appendages 

 of corona glabrous, rarely pubescent, nearly as broad as long. 



B. L. narrowed into petiole. 



3, C. Acia, Hamilton, Subhimalayan tract from Dehra Dun east"wards. Maiman- 

 singh. A small shrub or stout herb, 1. glabrous when mature, blade 6-10, pet. 1 in. 



Dittoceras AEdersoni, Hook. f. Sikkini outer hills, 2-4,000 ft. A large climbing 

 shrub, bark corky, branchlets, 1. beneath, petioles and pedicels rusty-pubescent, L. 

 ovate, blade 4-5. pet. l|-2 in. long. PI. large m sessile umbelliform few-lid. cymes, 

 sepals minute, corolla dark purple, rotate 1^ in. across, hairy outside, lobes triangular, 

 corona deeply 5-lobed, lobes oblong, Ij^ing iiat on the corolla, staminal column minute. 

 Pollicles recurved, 4-5 by | in., seeds black IJ in. long. 



7. LEPTADENIA, E. Br. : EI. Brit. Ind. iv. 63. 



PL small, in crowded nmbelliform cymes, calyx sliortly turbinate, lobes 

 much shorter than corolla. Corolla i*otate, lobes pubescent or bearded, margins 

 recurved. Staminal column short, girt at the base by a raised undulate ring. 

 Pollicles rigid, acuminate, seeds flat, winged, comose. Species about 10, 

 tropical Asia and Africa. 



1. L. Spartium, Wight. Baluchistan, ^indi {Kip). Punjab, extending eastwards as 

 far as Agra. Kattiawar. Arabia. Tropical Africa. A small glabrous erect, almost 

 leafless shrub, branches green, 1. few, 3-4 in. long, linear. Corolla J in. across. Follicles 

 3-5 in. long, beak straight long slender. The fibre used in Sind for ropes to draw- 

 water from, wells. 



2. L. reticulata, Wight et Arii.^ Wight Ic. t. 350, Kanjilal F. F1.244. Northern 

 India near the foot of the hills, from Ambala eastwards. Central India and Western 

 Peninsula chiefly in the dry districts of the Deccan but also on the coast. Ceylon, 

 dry country. A twining shrub, bark of old stems corky, branchlets more or less 

 minutely pubescent. L. ovate or ovate-lanceolate, blade 2-3, pet. ^-| in. long. Fl. 

 dirty- or brownish- white, in many-fld. umbelliform cymes, peduncles J-^ in. long, 

 pedicels shorter, varying in length. Calyx silky outside, corolla pubescent outside. 

 ^-J in. long, tube very short, widening into a cup divided into 5 narrow lobes, the 

 edfires reflexecl, the tip hairy often inflexed. Follicles a-enerally solitary, hard, straight 

 2-3 in. long, with a iborfc inoxirved teak. ^ 



Ortlxaiitliera viminea, Wight et Am. *, E,oyle 111. t. 66. Subhimalayan ti-act, eastwards 

 as far as the Gonda district of Oudh, common in dry watercourses on sand and shingle. 

 Pelhi and elsew^here in the plains of North- West India. Merwara. A small erect 

 glabrous leafless shrub, branches green. Fl. dirty-brown, in compact w^ooUy cymes, 

 peduncles J-1 in. long, pedicels very short. Sepals linear-lanceolate nearly as long as 

 corolla, corolla ^ in. long, tube ovoid, lobes erect, as long as tube. Minute scales 

 between the corolla-lobes and the staminal-tube girt at the base by an undulate ring. 

 Follicles solitary, 4-6 in. long, compressed, linear, pericarp thin, brown within, seeds J, 

 coma J in. long. Bopes made of the fibre. 



8. HETEROSTEMMA, Wight et Arn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. iv, 47. 



Twining shrubs or nndershrubs, 1. thin, -usually with 3-5 basal nerves. 

 Cymes umbelliform or racemiform, sessile or shortly peduncled, pedicels slender. 

 Calyx small, corolla rotate, lobes veined, broad-triangular, valvate in bud. 

 Corona on the base of the minute depressed staminal column, consisting of 5 

 large horizontally spreading lobes. Pollicles slender, terete, pericarp thin. 

 Species 10-12, Indian and Malayan. 



A. Western species. 



1. H. tanjorense, W. et A. ; Wight Ic. t. 848. East side of the Peninsula. Ceylon. 

 Glabrous, 1. ovate or ovate-lanceolate, blade 2-4, pet. 1-1^ in. long. Corolla J in. across. 



