2. Lepidagathis Willd., Sp. Pl. 3: 400. 1800. Nees in DC., Prodr. 11: 249. 1847; Boiss., Fl. Or. 4: 524. 1879; Benth. & Hook. f., Gen. Pl. 2: 1101. 1876; Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 4: 515. 1885.
KAMAL AKHTAR MALIK & ABDUL GHAFOOR
Prostrate to erect, mostly pubescent herbs or subshrubs with nodally thickened stems, woody rootstock present or absent. Leaves cauline, sessile or petiolate, narrowed at both ends, entire or crenate-serrate. Flowers small, sessile to subsessile, in terminal or axillary, dense, spinescent or sericeous, condensed spikes or sometimes in globose, capitate, ± radical heads; bracts conspicuous, lanceolate or elliptic, sharp acute or spinescent; bracteoles 2 or absent, smaller and similar to bracts. Calyx deeply 5-lobed, lobes unequal, anterior lobes mostly basally connate making the calyx apparently 4-lobed, imbricate, mucronate. Corolla sericeous outside, tube uniformly cylindrical below, constricted in the middle, suddenly swollen above, as long as or scarcely baler than the patent limb, 2-lipped, upper lip 2-fid, erect to patent, lower lip 3-lobed, lobes imbricate. Stamens 4, didynamous, inserted at the base or throat of corolla tube, included or exserted, all fertile, anthers oblong, minutely ciliate, dithecous, thecae equal or unequally placed, basally acute. Ovary globose, bilocular, each locule 2(-1)-ovuled; style filiform with minutely 2-fid stigma. Capsule ellipsoid or oblong, 2-4-seeded, apically hairy. Seeds flattened, ovate-oblong or ± orbicular. hairy.
A genus of c. 100 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia; represented in Pakistan by 7 species.
