Native of the West Indies ; by road-sides and cultivated 

 lands. 



Introduced in 1690 by Lord Portland. 

 A hothouse plant. 



Stem 2-3-feet high, herbaceous, branched, smooth. 

 Branches subdivided, round, surrounded at their base by 

 small bristles with glandular tips. Leaves digitate, 5-parted ; 

 lobes ovate, pointed, serrate, toothedly ciliate : hairs glan- 

 dular. Common peduncle terminal : partial ones cymose, 

 dichotomous. Male flowers more abundant : female placed 

 singly in the fork of the common peduncles. Male flow- 

 ers. Calyx 5-Ieaved. Leaflets ovate, pointed, ciliate. Co- 

 rolla deeply 5-parted, dark pui-ple ; segments ovate. Necta- 

 riferous glands roundish, placed at the feet of the stamens. 

 Filaments 10-12, united from the base to the middle, the 

 length of the corolla. Anthers deep yellow, 2-cIeft, ovate. 

 Female flowers. Calyx and corolla the same as in the 

 male flower. Nectary 0. Germen nearly round. Style 

 3-clefk from the base. Stigmas widened, 2-fid. Capsule 

 ovate, 3-cornei*ed, retuse, 3-coccous, 3-celled, Seeds so- 

 litary. 



According toSwartz this genus is of very difficult defini- 

 tion, including widely varying anomalous species; but still 

 so natural that it cannot be conveniently divided. Comes 

 next to RiciNus, differing by little else in technical cha- 

 racter, than the number of the stamens. 



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