SYNOPSIS of t h e G e n e r a of I n d ia n Composite, t r a n sl a t e d a n d a b r id g e d from
D e Ca n do lle’s P rodromus— w ith a f ew a d d it io n s a n d occasional N ot es.
INTRODUCTION.
It will be seen by those who take the trouble to compare
the following characters with the originals, that I
have generally departed considerably from D e Candolle’s
arrangement. My object in doing so was to render
them more compendious, the alteration in form better
enabling me to retrench superfluities, and at the same
time give greater precision, by placing the strongest
points of each at the beginning. The characters taken
from the capitula, flowers, achænia, and pappus—which
are really the essential ones—occupy the first rank:
while those taken from the vegetation generally, including
the texture and duration of the stem, form, and
position of the leaves, peculiarities of the inflorescence,
the receptacle and its clothing, and the colour of the
flowers, are uniformly referred to the second. By following
this plan, the characters are in fact completely
recast, and, though still made up of the original materials,
are, I think, rendered of much more easy application
in practice, and to that extent at least are improved.
According to De Candolle’s classification, the whole
family is divided into three primary groups or sub-orders,
viz. Tubulifloroe, Labiatifloroe, and î/igulifloroe.
These are again divided into “eight tribes,” each of
which is still further divided into “sub-tribes,” “divisions”
and “sub-divisions.”
Of all these analytical divisions I have availed myself
in the construction of this Synopsis, not that I considered
the introduction of such elaborate machinery necessary
for the working out of the few genera I have to
deal with, but as furnishing an instructive example of
skilful and lucid analysis, successfully brought to bear
on the discrimination of individuals, among a vast assemblage
of natural objects, all so intimately blended
with each other that, without some such contrivance to
aid the apprehension and memory, they never could be
brought within the grasp of human comprehension.
* TuButiFLORiE. Hermaphrodite flowers tubular,
regular, 5- (rarely 4-) toothed. [In this division all sorts
of flowers occur, hermaphrodite, female and male, possibly
sometimes all in the same capitulum—two kinds
very generally, female and hermaphrodite—the character
is however limited to the hermaphrodite flowers.]
Tribe 1st Vernoniaceæ. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers cylindrical; branches usually elongated,
subulate, rarely short and obtuse, always equally and
longish hispid (semper equaliter et longiuscule hispidis) ;
stigma tic series ending above the middle of the branches
of the style. [Of this tribe D. C. defines 59 genera, 7
of which have Indian representatives.]
Tribe 2d. Eupatoriaceæ. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers cylindrical ; branches long, somewhat
thickened or clavate above, exteriorly puberulously papillose
; stigmatic series scarcely elevated, usually ending
above the middle of the branches of the style.
[Genera 44, of which 5 only are found in India.]
Tribe 3d. Asteroideæ. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers cylindrical ; branches exteriorly somewhat
flattened, equally and minutely puberulous above; stigmatic
series prominent, extending almost to the origin
of the exterior hairs. [To this tribe 172 genera belong,
38 of which have Indian species.]
Tribe 4th. Senecionideje. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers cylindrical; branches linear penicillate at
the apex, sometimes produced beyond the penicillus
into a short cone, or elongated into a narrow hispid appendix;
stigmatic series broadish and prominent, extending
to the pencil. [This is by much the largest
tribe of the family: it contains 388 genera, 42 of which
have Indian representatives.]
Tribe 5th. Cynare.®. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers nodosely thickened above, often penicillate at
the knot; branches sometimes cohering, sometimes free,
puberulous exteriorly; stigmatic series not prominent,
confluent, extending to the apices of the branches and
there confluent. [To this tribe 81 genera are referred,
18 of which have Indian representatives.]
** L abiatiflor®. Hermaphrodite flowers, usually
bilabiate.
Tribe 6th. Mu t is ia c e®. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers cylindrical, or somewhat nodose above; branches
usually obtuse or truncated, very convex, and clothed
on the superior part with minute hairs, which are rarely
wanting. [This tribe includes 54 genera, only 6 of
which are referable to the Indian Flora.]
Tribe 7th. Nassauviace®. Style of the hermaphrodite
flowers not nodosely thickened; branches linear
longish, truncated at the apex or penicillate. [This
tribe contains 26 genera, but has no Indian representative.]
* * * L ig u l iflo r®. All the flowers hermaphrodite.
Tribe 8th. Cichorace®. Style cylindrical above;
branches longish, somewhat obtuse, equally pubescently-
roughish; stigmatic series ending above the middle of
the branches o f the style. [This last includes 83 genera,
of which 16 have Indian species.]
The total number of genera is extracted from Meis-
ner’s “Genera Plantarum,” as, owing to some errors in
the numbering of the series in D. C.’s Prodromus, they
could not be so correctly obtained from that work. A
few genera were omitted by D. C. which, when added
to the above, make up the total number to about 920.
Several have however been since added to that series,
so that the total number now defined in Botanical works
may perhaps amount to about 950. Some of these will
probably require to be reduced, but others must be
formed to include imperfectly known species, which are,
for the present, referred to genera to which they seem
most nearly related, but to which they may not properly
belong, as for example Oligolipes, in this list.
P. S. Oct. 1848. According to Lindley’s Veg. Kingdom,
published last year, but the preface dated October
1845, there were then 1005. If his list was completed
three years ago, it is probable the list of genera at
the present time amounts to 1050. According to this
estimate the Indian portion of the Order has representatives
of about one-eighth of the whole number of genera,
but only about one-fourteenth or one-fifteenth of
the species.
SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA OF INDIAN COMPOSITE.
T U B ZJLIFL ORE.
Tribe I. Vernoniace®.
Sub-tribe. V e r n o n ie ® . Capitula discoid homogamous.
Branches o f the style elongated or acuminate.
Div. I. E u v e r n o n ie ® . Anthers ecaudate, involucre
not compressed, polyphyllous.
* Pappus none, or simple, croton-like.
1. Oiospermum (Less. D. C. Prod. 5-11). Capitula
many-flowered, flowers equal. Achaenia rounded at the
apex, 10-ribbed. Pappus wanting.—Herbaceous, diffuse,
opposite-leaved plants. Capitula solitary, long pedun-
cled, opposite the leaves. Involucre spreading, terete,
surrounded at the base by unequal-sized leaves, longer
than the capitulum. Receptacle naked, broad. Corolla
regular, 5-cleft, pale. Peninsula, one species, station
unknown.
2. Ethulia (Cass. D. C. 5-12). Capitula many-flowered.
Achaenia obpyramidal, 4-sided, 4-ribbed, glabrous,
glandular, truncated at the apex. Pappus minute,
entire, fleshy, crown-like.—Erect, ramous herbs; leaves
alternate, pellucid, dotted. Involucre terete, many series,
scales sub-foliaceous. Receptacle naked. Corolla
rosecoloured or purple. Bengal, one species.
** Pappus 1, or several series; interior ones always
bristle-like.
3. Vernonia (Schreb. D. C. 5-15, R . W. Icon. 829 and
1076 to 79). Capitula usually many-flowered. Achaenia
with a cartilaginous callous at the base, and a large
epigynous disk. Pappus usually a double series, the
interior one bristly, much longer than the paleaceous
outer one.—Herbs, shrubs or trees; leaves alternate,
often glandulose. Involucre imbricated; interior squamae
longest. Receptacle naked, or rarely sub-fimbrillose.
Flowers few or many. Corolla regular, 5-cleft, usually
purple or rose-coloured. Generally diffused over India.
4. Decaneurum (D. C. 5-66, R. W . Icon. 1080 to 84).
Capitula many-flowered. Achaenia usually glabrous,
marked with 10 prominent ribs. Pappus 1 series, bristles
thick, rigid, densely barbellate.—Herbaceous or
suflruticose; leaves alternate. Involucre imbricated,
often surrounded with foliaceous bracts. Receptacle flat,
alveolate. Flowers regular, 5-cleft, purplish. Widely
diffused, preferring alpine ranges.
5. Cyanopis (Bl. D. C. 5-69). Capitula many-flowered,
homogamous. Achaenia prismatico-pentagonal,
glabrous, the terminal areola broad sub-capitulate. Pappus
1 series; bristles rigid, distinct to the base, deciduous,
rough.—Erect, ramous herbs, probably annuals;
leaves alternate. Capitula few on the points of the
branches. Involucre hemispherical, scales many series,
imbricating. Flowers bluish. Java, Burma, Moluccas.
6. Monosis (D. C. 5-77, R . W . Icon. 1085). Capitula
1-flowered. Achaenia glabrous, terete. Pappus 2-3
series, bristles rigid, scabrous.—Arboreous or sufiruti-
cose, leaves alternate. Panicles naked, the apices of
the branchlets bearing numerous sub-umbellate, sessile
capitulae. Scales of the involucre imbricated, obtuse,
shorter than the flowers. Corolla rose-coloured. [M.
Wightiana is a considerable tree, with large obovate
leaves, traversed by thick transverse veins, like those of
a Dillenia.] Eastern slopes, Neilgherries.
Div. II. Elephantope®. Anthers ecaudate. Involucre
compressed; scales alternately conduplicate.
7. Elephantopus (Cass. Lin. D. C. 5-85, R. W . Icon.
1086). Capitula of several (3-5, usually 4) equal flowers,
densely congested into a glomerulous, enclosed by
leaves. Achaenia slightly compressed, many-ribbed,
pilose. Pappus 1 series, some of the bristles dilated at
the base.—Perennial, erect, pilose herbs with alternate,
sessile leaves and terminal glomerulus. Involucre compressed,
scales in a double series, alternately flat and
conduplicate. Rachis naked. Corolla palmate, limb 5-
cleft, one of the fissures deeper. Generally diffused.
Tribe II. Eupatoriace®.
Sub-tribe. Eupatorie®. Capitula homogamous. Flowers
never, strictly speaking, yellow.
* Agerate®. Pappus paleaceous or partly squamel-
late.
8. Ageratum (Lin. D. C. 5-108). Capitula many-
flowered. Achaenia somewhat 5-angled, attenuated at
the base. Pappus 5-10, free paleaceous scales, aristato-
acuminate, or pectinate obtuse.—Annual, erect herbs,
with opposite leaves. Involucre imbricated. Receptacle
naked. Flowers blue or white. A common weed
every where.
9. Adenostemma (Forst. D. C. 5-110, R. W. Icon.
1087-88). Capitula many-flowered. Achaenia obovate
oblong, surmounted by 3-5 rigid bristles, glandular,
globose or clavate at the apex.—Herbs with opposite
leaves and corymb osely panicled capitula. Involucre
campanulate, somewhat shorter than the flowers. Squamae
1 series, foliaceous, oblong. Receptacle flat, naked,
foviolate. Corolla white. Stigmas long exserted, thickened
at the point and coloured. Alpine plants, widely
distributed over India.
*# Pappus setose, barbellate or plumose.
10. Eupatorium (Toum. D. C. Prod. 5-141). Capitula
many-flowered. Achaenia angled or striated. Pappus
1 series, pilose, rough.—Herbs or under-shrubs.
Leaves usually opposite. Capitula corymbose or panicled,
Scales of the involucre 1 to several series imbricating.
Receptacle flat, naked. Corolla dilated at
the throat, purple, blue, or white. Branches of the style
exserted, obtuse. Nepaul, Khassya mountains, &c.
11. Mikania (Willd. D. C. Prod. 5—187). Capitula 4-
flowered. Achaenia angled. Pappus 1 series, pilose
H