The stems trailing and rooting at the nodes, glabrous. Leaves often secund, ovate, obovate, elliptic, orbicular or transverse-elliptic to reniform, 3-10 cm long, basally tru ncate, attenuate or cordate, apically deeply emarginate, mucronulate, fleshy, glabrous. Flowers usually solitary, occasionally cymose. Sepals subequal or the outer shorter, the outer ovate to broadly elliptic, the inner mostly suborbicular, 5-11 mm long, obtuse, subcoriaceous. Corolla limb pink to lavender-purple, 5-6 cm long. Fruit capsular, ovoid to depressed-globose, 12-17 mm long. Seeds black, densely short brownish-tomentose.

Fl. Per.: More or less throughout the year.

Type: India, LINN 218.59 (lecto- : Verdcourt, Fl. Trop. E. Afr. 121.1963).

G-4 Sind: Karachi, Schmid 2484 (RAW), id., Ram Lal s.n. (RAW), Karachi. 4.2.1968, Khush Gul s.n. (KUH), Karachi, Hawa Bundar, 27.8.53, A. Rahman s.n. (RAW), Manora, Salim 39 (RAW), Karachi, M. Nath 15275 (RAW), id., Pran Nath 35 (RAW), Karachi, Clifton, M.A. Siddiqi 2579 (RAW).

Distribution: Pantropical.

Unless carried inland as ephemeral populations, this is a coastal beach species. Van Ooststroom (1953) has recognized two subspecies. Only sub species pes-caprae has been found in Pakistan. The other subsp. brasiliensis, recognized by St. John, (Bot. Jahrb. 89:568.1970) as an independent species, differs in h aving larger leaves with emarginate apices, tru ncate, rounded or slightly cordate bases and shorter corolla. The plant is used in medicine and the leaves are applied externally in rheumatism and colic.