Linaceae
PRISCILLA ABDULLA
Stewart Herbarium, Gordon College, Rawalpindi.
Herbs or shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate or opposite, entire to serrate; stipules present or absent. Flowers bisexual, regular, in cymose or racemose clusters. Sepals 5, free or connate below. Petals 5, free, imbricate or con¬torted, fugaceous. Glands present or absent, opposite the petals. Stamens 5-10, sometimes alternating with staminodes; filaments free or connate at the base. Ovary superior, 2-5 locular, each locule often sub-divided into two by a complete or an incomplete secondary septum; placentation axile, 1-2 ovules per locule; styles 3-5. Fruit a septicidal capsule or a drupe; seeds 1-2 in each locule. compressed, shiny.
A cosmopolitan family of 12 genera and about 290 species; represented in W. Pakistan by only 2 genera and 5 species.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the United States Department of Agriculture for financing this research under P. L. 480. Thanks are also due to Messrs B. L. Burtt, I. Hedge and Miss. J. Lamond of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, for their helpful suggestions.
