188 
PLATAGHNACEiE. 
\Plantago. 
1. P. major^ Linn.; Decne. in DC. Prod. xiii. 694. Perennial, nearly 
glabrous. Leaves foot long, ovate or obovate, often repand, 5-9- 
nerved, with a broad channelled petiole nearly as long as the blade. 
Peduncle shorter than or as long as the leaves. Spike cylindrical, 3-12 
in. long ; bracts minute, green, lanceolate. Sepals in. long, oblong, 
imbricated, with a broad membranous border. Corolla brown, with 
spreading lanceolate lobes half as long as the tube. Stamens and style 
little exserted. Capsule 2-celled ; seeds 4-8 in a cell, black, rugose. 
P. asiatica, Linn. 
Mauritius, in fields at Moka, Plaines Wilhelms, Grandport, etc., con- 
sidered by Bojer as introduced. Rodriguez. Temperate zone of Old World, but 
now widely diffused. 
2. P. lanceolata, Linn. ; Decne. in DC. Prod. xiii. 714. Perennial, 
with a short oblique rootstock, pilose at the crown. Leaves lanceolate, 
f-1 foot long, narrowed to both ends, membranous, 5-nerved, with a 
short channelled pilose petiole. Peduncles much longer than the 
leaves. Spikes dense, usually oblong ; bracts minute, scariose. Sepals 
in. long, membranous beyond the keel. Corolla-tube urceolate; 
lobes deltoid. Stamens and styles much exserted; anthers yellow. 
Capsule 2-celled; seeds solitary, oblong, brown-black, shining. P. 
capensis, Bojer, Hort. Maur. p. 263, non Thurib. 
Mauritius, common both in the low country and on the peaks. Now widely- 
spread, but probably originating in the temperate zone of the Old World. 
Order LX.* PRIMULACEiE. 
* Anagallis arvensis, Linn., the common European Pimpernel, now 
spread widely as a weed of cultivated ground, occurs occasionally in 
Mauritius. It is a diffuse much-branched annual, with slender square 
stems, small sessile opposite ovate leaves dotted beneath, flowers 1-3 
from the axils of the leaves on long pedicels, 5 free lanceolate sepals \ 
in. long, broad, obtuse red or blue petals not longer than the sepals, 
and a globose capsule the size of a pea which dehisces in a horizontal 
line round the middle, with many seeds on a free central placenta. 
* Lubinia spathulata, Yent. Hort. Cels, 1. 19 (Lysimachia mauritiana, 
Lam.) which has been attributed to Mauritius, is evidently identical 
with Lysimachia lineariloba, Hook, and Am. (L. lubinioides, Sieb. and 
Zucc.) a plant of China and Japan. We have lately received it from 
Bourbon from Dr. Cordemoy. 
Order LXI. MYESINACE^l. 
Flowers regular, hermaphrodite or polygamous, usually pentamerous. 
Calyx minute, persistent, cut halfway down or more. Corolla rotate, 
