Blepharis
(from blepharis, the eyelash; in reference to the fringed bracts of the calyx). ORD. Acanthaceae. Dwarf shrubs or herbs, often spiny and woody, allied to Acanthus. Flowers in bracteate spikes; calyx cruciately four-parted, bracteate; upper segment entire, three-nerved; lower, two-nerved; corolla-tube very short; lip five-lobed, three lobes often much larger than the others; stamens four, sub-didynamous. For culture, &c., see Acanthus. B. boerhaaviaefolia (Boerhaavia-leaved). fl. blue. July. l. usually four in a whorl, elliptic, toothed. h. 1ft. India, 1829. Stove annual. B. capensis (Cape Colony).* fl. blue. July. l. narrow, lanceolate, spinose. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1816. Greenhouse biennial.
B. furcata (forked-spined). fl. blue. July. l. lanceolate, entire or spiny; bracts large, strongly spinose. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1846. Greenhouse evergreen shrub.
B. linearifolia (narrow-leaved). fl. blue. July. l. long, entire, linear, glabrous or hairy, not spiny. h. 2ft. Guinea, 1823. Stove annual. B. procumbens (trailing).* fl. blue. July. l. linear lanceolate, spiny. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1825. Greenhouse evergreen trailer.