Dceddlaccmtlms] LXXXI. ACANTHACEiE 499 



lobes obovate, twisted ia bud. Stamens 2, anthers not spurred. Seeds 4 

 finely hairy. Species 17, Indo-Malayan region. 



A. Lower half of corolla-tube cylindric, upper half ventricose. 



1. D. splendens, T. And. Sikkim, Sal and lower Hill foi-ests, ascending to 2,000 ft. 

 Upper Burma. L. entire or nearly so, spikes 3-12 in. long, bracts obovate, nerves 

 dark green. Corolla IJ in., jmrple or brick red. 



B. Corolla-tube slender, narrowly cylindric. 



2. B. nervosTis, T. And. Subhimalayan tract and outer valleys from the Siitlej east- 

 wards, often as underwood under Sal. Assam, Silhet, Barisal. Chutia Nagpur. L. 

 crenulate, spikes 1-3 in. long, in dense terminal panicles, bracts elliptic, shortly acumi- 

 nate, not ciliate, pale, almost white, nerves green, cor-olla bright blue. B. D, purpuxascens, 

 T. And. — Syn. Justicia puJckeJIa, Eoxb. Cor. PL t. 177. Assam. Behar. Singbhtim 

 Sambalpur. Chanda. Belgaum. North Kanara, Similar to 2, spikes few, long 

 pedunculate, bracts ovate-lanceolate, long acuminate, ciliate, corolla lilac or pale blue. 

 4. D. tetrag-onus, T. And. Upper and Lower Burma. L. lanceolate, nearly entire^ 

 spikes hairy, dense, oblong, bracts oblanceolate, green, clothed with long hairs, corolla 

 purplish-blue, tube 1-1| in. long. 



Petalidium barlerioides, Nees. Subhimalayan tract from the Jumna to the Great 

 Gandak. Behar. Singblitim in Sal forests. Central Provinces (dense underwood in 

 the Teak forests of Ahiri). Ganjam and the Northern Deccan. A gregarioiis shrub^ 

 bark exfoliating in long papery strips (Hole), fl, yellowish-white, solitary or on short 

 leafy racemes, each fll. supported by a pair of large scarious, elliptic acuminate, strongly 

 veined bracteoles f in. lone*. 



5. STROBILANTHES, Blunie; Fl. Brit. Ind. iv. 429. 



Herbs or shrubs, often gregarious. The L of the same pair often unequal^ 

 cystolith. cells linear, broader at one end, conspicuous on the upper surface. 

 M. mostly capitate or in strobiliform spikes. Calyx persistent, more or less 

 accrescent in fr., one segment often larger titan the others. Corolla tubular- 

 ventricose, lobes nearly equal, contorted in bud. Anthers muticous, ovules 4^ 

 style linear, stigma of one long lanceolate branch, the other minute. Species 

 180, mostly Asiatic. Many species of this and allied genera are eminently gre- 

 garious, either covering open Mil sides or forming a dense underwood under the 

 forest, covering the ground so completely as to impede regeneration by self-sown 

 seed. Some of these gregarious species flower annually, but the majority flower 

 periodically at intervals of 5 years or longer. After ripening their seed, the 

 stems die, giving a chance for the seeds of the forest trees to come up. 



A. Stamens 2. M. in dense heads, calyx-segments equal. 



1. S. KimtMantis, T. And. {PhJehophijUnm Kiintliiamt'm^ Nees ; Wight Ic. t. 448), 

 Nilgiris, Palnis, Shevaroys. A small gregarious shrub with rigid branches, covering 

 extensive bai^e slopes, fi, once in 5 or 6 years. L. rigid, underside white- torn entose 

 betw^een the prominent sec. n., blade 1-2, pet. J in. Corolla ventricose from near the 

 base, bright blue, seeds densely hairy when wetted. 2. S. foliosus, T. And. {jEkdopogon 

 foliosus and capitatus^ Wight To. 1. 1501, 1499). Nilgiris, eommoit in sholas above 6,000 ft. 

 A small shrub, 1. glabrous, serrulate, bright green, blade 1-3, pet. ^-1^ in. long, fl. 

 annual, blue, corolla-tube : lower lialf linear, upper campanulate, staminodes 2, some- 

 times 3, seeds glabrous. 3. S. jeyporensis, Bedd. Ic. t. 214. Hills of the Northern 

 Circars, common in sholas. A large shrub, 1. nearly glabrons, broad-ovate, acumi- 

 nate, blade 6-7, narrowed into pet. 8 in. long, sec. n. 10-12 pair, arching. Fl. white, 

 in axillary viscous hairy spikes 2 in., bracts lanceolate, | in. long, recurved, bracteoles 

 linear, as long as calyx, corolla J in. 



B. Stamens 4. M. in heads or short spikes, calyx-segments nearly equal. 



4. S. lieteromallus, T. And. Nilgiris. A large hairy shrub, attaining 20 ft-, gregarious, 

 forming the underwood in sholas, fl. at long intervals. L. hispid above (hairs stiff on a 

 tubercular basis) villous beneath, blade 3-5, decurrent into petiole 1-2 in. Bracts narrow , 

 oblong, corolla 1 in. long, lilac. 5. S. Perrottetiamis, Nees ; Wight Ic. 1. 1513. Nilgiris, 

 in the deep shade of sholas. A large, softly rufous-hairy shrub, fl. annually, 1. 2-4, 

 petiole 1-2 in., fl. heads 1-2 in. long, pedunculate, corolla light blue, lilac or pink. 6. 

 S. Wightiamis, Nees ; Wight Ic. 1. 1514. Nilgiris, on grass lands or in sholas. A small 

 shrub, ii. annually, clothed with long spreading hairs,!, ovate, thick rugose, blade 1-2, 

 pet. 4 in, Fl heads ovoid, hairy, in dense cylindrical panicles, corolla |-1 in., blue. 



