FoI
Bristly Blue Barleria
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Bristly Blue Barleria
P Native Unknown Photo: Pravin Kawale
Common name: Bristly Blue Barleria • Sanskrit: नीलकुरण्टकः Neelakurantak, नीलकुरुण्टकः Neelakuruntak, नीलकुसुमा Neelakusumaa • Nepali: बन उर्धायेरे Ban Urdhaayere
Botanical name: Barleria strigosa    Family: Acanthaceae (Acanthus family)
Synonyms: Barleria caerulea, Barleria polytricha

Bristly Blue Barleria is a subshrub up to 80 cm tall, branched. Stems are nearly round, coarsely fulvous bristly. Leaf-stalk is 0.7-2.5 cm, brownish yellowish bristly; leaf blade elliptic to ovate, 5.5-15 x 2.2-5.5 cm, both surfaces fulvous bristly, base wedge-shaped, narrowing into winged leaf-stalk, tip pointed. Flowers are borne in dense spikes in leaf-axils and at branch-ends, up to 5 cm. Bracts are oblong to elliptic-oblong, below shortly bristly along veins, tip sharply pointed; bracteoles elliptic, about 1.2 cm, 1-veined, margin fringed with hairs, tip pointed. Outer sepals are purple, ovate, about 3.2 × 1.8 cm, base rounded, margin subentire to toothed, tip pointed; inner sepals yellowish brown, lanceshaped, about 1.5 × 0.2 cm, both surfaces bristly, tip pointed. Flower are blue, purplish, 5-6 cm; tube basally cylindric for about 3.7 cm, throat about 1.2 cm; lobes obovate-oblong, about 2 × 1-1.5 cm, subequal. Stamens 4; filaments basally hairy, longer pair about 1.3 cm with anthers about 5 mm, shorter pair about 3 mm with anthers about 1.5 mm; staminode 1. Ovary ovoid, about 3 mm; style about 2.5 cm. Capsule ellipsoid, 1.4-1.8 × about 0.5 cm, hairless, shining, 4-seeded. Flowering: November.

Identification credit: Suraj Patil Photographed in Alibag, Maharashtra.

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