Phgllanthusj] 
ETJPHORBIACEAS. 
309 
very minute, deltoid-cuspidate. Female flowers solitary, nearly ses- 
sile in the axils of the leaves. Female perianth in. long ; segments 
oblanceolate, obtuse, with a narrow white membranous border. Capsule 
under -jL in. broad, brown, depresso-globose. Seeds longitudinally 
striate Male flowers smaller, in pairs in the axils of the upper leaves. 
Glands of the disk of both sexes free. Mull. Arg. in DC. Prod. xv. 
2, 361. P. linifolius, Comm. MSS. P. simplex, Bojer , Hort. Maur. 279, 
not of Retz. 
Mauritius, on the sands of the seashore, Commerson ! etc. ; He aux Tonneliers, 
Bory 'de St. Vincent. Also Bourbon.. 
2. P. Urinaria^ Linn. ; Mull. Arg. in DC. Prod. xv. 2, 364. A 
much-branched erect glabrous annual, 1-2 feet high, with acutely tetra- 
gonous spreading or ascending branchlets. Leaves nearly sessile, ob- 
long, obtuse, with a mucro, ascending, imbricated, in. long, green 
above, glaucous beneath, firmer than in P. Niruri ; stipules very 
minute, lanceolate, acuminate. Flowers sessile or nearly sessile in the 
axils of the leaves, usually solitary. Female perianth in. long ; 
segments oblong or lanceolate, with a broad membranous border, per- 
sistent. Capsule depresso-globose, -J^-in. broad, smooth or rugose. 
Seeds transversely ribbed. Male flowers in the axils of the upper 
leaves, very minute. Filaments monadelphous. P. cantoniensis, 
ILomem , PLort. Hafn , 910. 
Mauritius and Seychelles, a frequent weed at all elevations. Regarded by 
Bojer as an introduced species. Also Bourbon, Madagascar, and common in Tro- 
pical Asia. P. rubens , Bojer, MSS. is a common form with deep purple stems. 
3. P. maderaspatensis, Linn; Mull. Arg. in DC. Prod. xv. 2, 
362. An erect perennial, 1-3 feet high, with slender glabrous terete 
woody stems. Leaves nearly sessile, broad-oblanceolate, f-1 in. long, 
cuneate in the lower half, moderately firm, obtuse with a mucro ; 
stipules lanceolate, membranous, persistent, ascending. Flowers 1-2 
on very short pedicels in the axils of the leaves ; the sexes often mixed. 
Segments of female perianth in. long, obovate with a narrow white 
edge, persistent. Filaments monadelphous. Glands of both sexes free. 
Capsule depresso-globose, J in. broad. Seeds dotted in longitudinal 
lines. P. stipulaceus, Bojer , PLort. Maur. 280. 
Seychelles, on the shore of Praslin at Grand Anse, Home , 582 ! Island of Diego 
Garcia, where it is called Hcrbe a balais , Bojer ! Warmer regions of the Old 
World. 
P. simplex , Retz.; Mull. Arg. in DC. Prod. xv. 2, 391, which is given by Bojer 
as a Mauritian plant, but about which I suspect some mistake, differs from this by 
its lanceolate acute leaves and female flowers on pedicels -§•-£ in. long. It is spread 
through Tropical Asia and Polynesia, 
4. P. Niruri, Linn.; Mull. Arg. in DC. Prod. xv. 2, 406. A 
much-branched erect annual, 1-2 feet high, with slender terete glabrous 
