Abutlilon neilgherrense
Munro ex Wight, Ill. Ind. Bot. 1: 66. 1840; Masters in Fl.
Brit. India 1: 328. 1874.
Undershrubs or shrubs, 2 -
3 m high; stems and branches ascending, velutinous by
minute stellate hairs. Leaves 4.5 -
11 x 2.5 -
9.5 cm, broadly ovate, cordate at base, acute
to acuminate at apex, coarsely crenate to dentate or nearly entire, 7 - 11-nerved at base,
stellate-pubescent on both the surfaces; petioles 2.5 -
10 cm, minutely stellate-hairy, basal
portion of the main veins and petioles with both stellate and some simple hairs; stipules
5 - 20 mm long, linear, stellate-pubescent. Flowers usually 2 -
5, in axillary, long,
peduncled cymes, rarely solitary; peduncles up to 10 cm long, densely stellate-pubescent;
pedicels 0.5 -
5 cm long, jointed near apex, densely stellate-pubescent. Calyx 5 -
8 mm
across, campanulate, divided to the middle or below, lobes 6 -
12 x 3 -
7 mm, ovate to
ovale-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, each with one prominent midvein, stellate-pube-
scent on both surfaces. Corolla 1.5 -
3 cm across; petals 1.5 - 2 x 0.8 -
1.7 cm, broadly
obovate, obtuse or truncate, ciliate at base. Staminal column 5 - 10 mm long, glabrous
or densely stellate-pubescent, antheriferous towards apex. Schizocarps 1.2 x 2 cm,
subcylindric, deeply indented at apex; mericarps 8 - 12, each 15 x 8 mm, flattened
reniform with a short mucro, densely stellate-pubescent, 2 -
3-seeded. Seeds ca 3.5 x 2.5
mm, subreniform, tubercled, glabrous, hilum pubescent.
KEY TO THE VARIETIES
| 1a. Staminal column 5 mm long, densely stellate-hahy | 5.1. fischeri |
| b. Staminal column 8 - 10 mm long, glabrous | 5.2. neilgherrense |
