Christolea Cambess.

Herbs, tufted, perennial, rhizomatous, suberect or procumbent, pilose or rarely glabrous. Leaves obovate or spathulate, toothed or lobulate above, sessile or subsessile; radical leaves rosulate. Racemes usually many-flowered; bracts linear. Flowers white or purplish, rarely mauve or yellowish. Sepals oblong, obtuse, inner pair sometimes pouched. Petals spathulate or obovate. Stamens 6. Ovary linear or elliptic-ovate, few to many ovuled; stigma usually depressed. Fruits oblong, cylindric. Seeds 12 - 15, 1 - 2-seriate.

Central Asia, China (Tibet) and Himalayas; about 20 species, 7 in India.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Racemes ca 3-flowered

5. Christolea pumila

b. Racemes 6 - 25-flowered

2

2a. Pedicels ca 6 mm long in fruit

3

b. Pedicels 8 - 10 mm long in fruit

4

3a. Fruits ca 20 mm long, 5 - 8 mm broad

3. Christolea lanuginosa

b. Fruits 25 - 35 mm long, 2 - 4 cm broad

7. Christolea stewartii

4a. Leaves spathulate-orbicular to more or less orbicular, usually with 8 - 10 marginal lobules or blunt teeth

6. Christolea scaposa

b. Leaves spathulate-ovate to obovate-oblong or narrowly spathulate, usually up to 3-toothed

5

5a. Fruits linear, ca 1 mm broad; ovules ca 8 in each locule

4. Christolea parkeri

b. Fruits oblong-obovate or oblong, 2 - 4 mm broad; ovules many in each locule

6

6a. Plants usually more than 15 cm long; leaves broad, up to 2 cm wide

1. Christolea crassifolia

b. Plants up to 15 cm long; leaves narrow, up to 1 cm wide

2. Christolea himalayensis

List of Lower Taxa