YASIN J. NASIR

Perennial up to 100 cm or more tall, erect, branches softly pubescent-glandular; indument brown, with long flexuose jointed hairs and shorter capitate ones. Leaves opposite (lower ones) or verticellate (2-3 per node), subsessile; petiole up to 4 mm long. Lamina 50-58 (-120) x 12-(28-) 32-40 mm, acuminate, elliptic-ovate or oblanceolate, upper surface of a darker colour, glabrate at length, sometimes glandular-punctate, margin entire. Flowers in compact terminal paniculateracemes. Bracts opposite, 5-6 mm long, linear-lanceolate, glandular-pubescent, margin glandular streaked, the streaks red, darker at maturity. Pedicel exceeding the bracts, up to 8 mm long in fruit. Calyx shallow cupular, c. 4 mm long, 2/3 rd cleft, glandular and with longer and weaker eglandular hairs; lobes c. 3.8 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, margin glandular streaked, membranous and glandular-ciliolate. Corolla 10 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes imbricate, basally united, 7-9 x 4.5-5.5 mm, ovate-oblong, sessile, glandular-scurfy on the upper surface. Stamens included; filaments glandular, connate basally to form a glandular tube adnate to the corolla anthers basifixed. Ovary subglobose, apex glandular; style about equalling the stamens or exceeding it, persistent, up to 5 mm long in fruit, lower half glandulose; stigma obscure. Capsule equalling the calyx. Seeds trigonal, dull brownish-white.

Fl. Per.: June-July.

Holotype: Described from W. Europe (LINN. 207/1!).

Distribution: N. America, Europe, N.W. & S. Turkey, N.W. Africa, W. Iran, Iraq, Aral-Caspian and Lake Balkash area, Caucasus, W. & E. Siberia, Tien Shan, Sinkiang, Japan and Korea. Sparingly recorded from Kashmir.

Lysimachia vulgaris appears to have a very limited distribution in Kashmir. According to R.R. Stewart (1972, p. 537) it is adventive in this region, being either cultivated or found as an escape.