Barleria sepalosa - Sepalous Barleria

Sepalous Barleria is a perennial undershrub with stems erect, up to 1.5 meter tall, quadrangular when young, round when mature, bristly, hairy and glandular hairy. It was rediscovered in Maharashtra in 2014 after lapse of 128 years. Flowers are white, 2-lipped, 6-8 cm long, glandular velvet-hairy outside; tube 3.3-5.5 cm long, petals obovate-ovate, 1.5-2.5 x 1-2 cm. Outer sepals are equal or nearly so, 3.5-4.5 x 2-2.5 cm, ovate, pointed-tapering at tip, occasionally 2-toothed, distantly sawtoothed, fringed with hairs at margin, bristly on both surfaces, 12-16 veined. Inner sepals linear-ovate, 12-18 x 2-4 mm, pointed to tapering at tipFertile stamens are 2, protruding, filaments 2.2-4 cm long, anthers about 5 mm long, grey to black; staminodes 3, about 1 cm long. Flowers are 1-3, borne in cymes in leaf-axils, often crowded at branch-ends. Flower-stalks are about 2 mm long. Bracts linear- lanceshaped, 10-16 x 2-4 mm, 3-nerved, bristly. Leaves are variable ovate to lanceshaped, 6-14 x 1.6-8 cm, narrowed at base, pointed to tapering at tip, bristly above and densely on veins, lateral veins 5-12 pairs; reticulation prominent below. Leaf-stalks are 3-15 mm long, hairy. Capsules are ellipsoid, 1.5-2.2 x 0.5-0.7 cm, compressed, hairless. Sepalous Barleria is found in Maharashtra, Pune District, Torana; Concan. Flowering: October-December.