674 
LIII. LYTHRARIE^E. 
[Ammannia. 
imbricate decussate spikes. Flowers solitary in the axils, sessile or nearly so. 
Calyx small, very thin and membranous, somewhat 4-angled, with 4 acute lobes 
shorter than the tube, without accessory teeth. Petals rudimentary. Stamens 
usually 2, inserted below the middle of the tube. Ovary 1-celled or imperfectly 
2-celled. Capsule opening in 2 valves. 
Hab.: Around tbe lagoons and moist banks of livers, Gulf country. 
The specimens are all in fruit ; in some the calyx is scarcely 1 line long and shorter than the 
oblong capsule ; in others the calyx is nearly 2 lines long, with a very much shorter globular 
capsule. In all I have found either small rudimentary petals or their scars, and the stamens 
adherent to about one-third of the calyx. — Benth. 
4. A. triflora (three- dowered), R. Br. Herb.; Benth. FI. Austr. iii. 297. A 
diffuse much-branched annual, with slender ascending stems of A to 1ft., minutely 
hoary-pubescent or glabrous. Leaves distinctly petiolate, oval-oblong, narrowed 
or rounded at the base, mostly under Ain. long. Peduncles short, with 1 to 8 
sessile or very shortly pedicellate flowers, much larger than in A. indica. Calyx- 
tube broadly campanulate, with 4 broad triangular lobes, and the sinuses 
produced into as many short horizontally spreading accessory lobes. Petals 
none. Stamens 4, inserted in the middle of the calyx-tube. Capsule 2-celled, 
depressed, irregularly circumsciss. 
Hab.: Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, E. Brown. 
5. A* indica (Indian), Lam. Illustr. n. 1555 ? ; DC. Prod. iii. 77 ; Benth. FI. 
Austr. iii. 297. Erect, more or less branched, and often exceeding 2ft. in height. 
Leaves lanceolate or oblong-linear, acute, narrowed at the base, mostly \ to lin. 
long, but luxuriant ones sometimes longer, and those of the side branches 
smaller. Flowers very small, in little axillary cymes or clusters, the pedicels 
slender, but rarely 1 line long, and the common peduncle very short or scarcely 
any. Calyx broadly campanulate, usually about f line diameter, with 4 short 
broad triangular lobes, Avithout accessory teeth. Petals none. Stamens 2 to 4 . 
Ovary 2-celled. Capsule depressed-globular, usually exceeding the calyx, and 
bursting irregularly. — W. and Am. Prod. 805 ; Blume, Mus. Bot. ii. 133 t. 46 ; 
A. resicatoria, Roxb. FI. Ind. i. 426; DC. Prod. iii. 78; W. and Am. Prod. 305. 
Hab.: Endeavour River. Hunts and Solunder ; Shoalwater Bay, E. Brown. 
Common in tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia. Lamarck describes the leaves as 
decurrent, but this is undoubtedly the species to which his plant has been referred by De 
Candolle and others. — Benth. 
6. A. multiflora (many-flowered), Roxb. FI. Ind. i. 426; Benth. FI. Austr. 
iii. 298. Erect and branched, but usually smaller than A. indica or A. auriculata, 
and often only 3 to 4in. high. Leaves linear or lanceolate, often above Ain. long, 
and narrowed below the middle, but always more or less dilated and cordate- 
auriculate at the base, as in A. auriculata. Flowers minute, in little axillary 
dichotomous cymes shorter than the floral leaves ; the peduncles, branches and 
pedicels short but filiform. Calyx about f line long, at first narrow at the base 
with the upper part folded, with 4 very short teeth, afterwards truncate, with the 
teeth scarcely conspicuous. Petals 4, minute. Stamens 4, or fewer. Ovary 
2-celled ; style rather long. Capsule depressed-globular, under 1 line diameter, 
scarcely exceeding the calyx, bursting irregularly and transversely.— DC. Prod, 
iii. 79 ; W. and Arn. Prod. 305 ; A. australasica, F. v. M. Trans. Phil. Soct. 
Viet. i. 41. 
Hab.: Keppel Bay, E. Brown. 
7. A. auriculata (eared), Willd.; DC. Prod. iii. 80 ; Benth. FI. Austr. iii. 
297. Erect and not much branched, usually 6in. to 1ft. high, and coarser than 
the other Australian species, with larger flowers. Leaves lanceolate or oblong- 
linear, mostly A to lin. long, sessile and dilated at the base, and more or less 
