664

Jerdonia indica Wight

Family	:	Gesneriaceae
Flowering and fruiting period	:	March-July
Local name	:	English- Indian Voilet
Distribution	:	Southern Western Ghats
Distribution in kerala	:	Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragode, Palakkad
Habitat	:	Evergreen forests
Endemic/Exotic		Endemic  to Southern Western Ghats
Key Botanical Characters               : Erect scapigerous herbs, to 25 cm tall. Leaves simple, crowded at the base, up to 13 x 5.5 cm, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, subcordate at base, glabrous above, rusty villous beneath. Flowers ca. 2 cm long, pale lilac with red tinge, in scapes to 14 cm long; bracts small.Calyx 5-partite, the lobes lanceolate, long-pilose. Corolla-tube elongate, swollen upwards; limb oblique, 2-lipped, upper lip emarginate, lower 3-lobed. Stamens 4 perfect; filaments dilated, the lower pair with a descending spur; anthers 2-celled, cohering at their apices. Disk cup-shaped. Ovary ovoid; style linear; stigma peltate