LVII. PRIMULACEJE 
303 
inserted at the base of the corolla, filaments hairy. Ovary globose ; 
style slender, stigma terminal, simple ; ovules many. Capsule 
small, globose,' opening by a circular fissure round the middle ; 
seeds numerous, minute. 
Simla, common in fields ; May-October. — Throughout India, ascending to 
7000 ft. — W. Asia, Europe (Britain, Pimpernel) ; the flowers are usually red in 
N. Europe. Widely colonised in other countries. 
5. CENTUNCULUS. Etymology doubtful. — Europe, Asia, 
America. 
*Centunculus tenellus, Duby ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 506. An annual 
herb ; stems erect, 2-6 in., simple or branched. Leaves alternate, 
sessile, ovate, less than J in. long, entire, acute. Flowers minute, 
white or pink, solitary, axillary ; stalks usually shorter than the 
leaves, elongating in fruit. Calyx 4- or 5-lobed. Corolla rotate, 
4- or 5-lobed. Stamens 4 or 5, inserted at the base of the corolla. 
Ovary globose ; style thread-like, stigma simple ; ovules many. 
Capsule globose, opening by a circular fissure round the middle ; 
seeds numerous. 
Hilly districts throughout India, ascending to 6000 ft. ; usually on damp, 
grassy places ; April-October. — Tropical America and Australia. 
6. SAMOLUS. Etymology obscure. — Chiefly temperate regions 
of the S. Hemisphere, and the following widely diffused species. 
Samolus Valerandi, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 506. A glabrous 
herb ; stems ascending or erect, 6-18 in., usually branched. 
Leaves obovate or spathulate, 1-4 in., entire ; lower crowded, 
spreading, stalked ; upper alternate, smaller, nearly sessile. 
Flowers small, white, not axillary, in terminal racemes corymbose 
at first, ultimately elongating ; stalks bracteate about the middle. 
Calyx-tube hemispheric, half adnate to the ovary ; limb 5-toothed. 
Corolla bell-shaped, deeply 5-lobed, J in. diam. ; limb spreading. 
Stamens 5, inserted at the base of the corolla, filaments very 
short, alternate with 5 minute scales. Ovary globose, lower half 
adnate to the calyx-tube ; style short, stigma capitate ; ovules 
many. Capsule globose, small, crowned with the calyx-teeth, 
splitting from the top in 5 valves ; seeds numerous, minute. 
Sutlej valley, on marshy ground near Suni ; April. — W. Himalaya, 3000- 
4000 ft. — Nearly all regions (Britain, Brookweed). 
