Memorialis Buch.-Ham.
Monoecious, rarely dioecious herbs or shrubs. Leaves 3-costate, alternate or opposite, entire; stipules free lateral, scarious or glumaceous, often persistent. Inflorescence axillary, cymose sessile clusters. Male flowers pedicellate, bracteolate; female sessile to shortly pedicelled. Calyx (3-)4-5-lobed in male flowers, lobes valvate, acute or acuminate, concave or abruptly inflexed and transversely plicate outside; tubular-ventricose, with 2-4-teeth at beaked and narrowed mouth in female flowers. Stamens as many as calyx lobes. Ovary free from calyx; style terminal, filiform, laterally villous and stigmatic, deciduous. Achenes shining, ovoid, enveloped by hardly changed or rarely winged or ribbed calyx.
A genus of c. 50 species; distributed in tropical Asia, America, Africa and South Africa.
Excluded Species
Pouzolzia viminea Wedd. in DC., Prodr. 16 (1): 228.1869.
A north and central Indian (Kumaon eastwards ) shrub with 4-partite or toothed calyx and 4 stamens has been reported from Kashmir by R.R.Stewart (Ann. Cat. Vasc. Pl.W.Pak. & Kashm. 197. 1972). This report is based on M. Rashid's collection no. 29066 (RAW) from Pirkot, Poonch and Clarke’s no. 23727 A, C(K) from E.Kashmir, neither of which I have seen. I, however, agree with remarks of Parker (For. Fl.Punj. ed.3.467.1956) that this species has perhaps been misidentified or mistaken for either Villebrunea frutescens or Pilea scripta as I have noted a specimen of latter collected from Pirkot, Poonch and identified as Pouzolzi viminea (M.A.Siddiqi 29065-RAW). The occurence of this species in our area is doubtful.
