a 
et 
( 3533) 
VESICARIA GRACILIS. SLENDER-STEMMED 
VESICARIA. 
Class and Order. 
TETRADYNAMIA SILICULOSA. 
( Nat. Ord.—Crucirer2, ) 
Generic Character. 
Silicula globosa, inflata, valvis hemisphericis. Semmina 
plurima (ultra 8) sepius marginata. Petala integra. DC. 
Specific Character. 
Vesicarta gracilis ; annua multicaulis, caulibus filiformibus 
rigidis scabriusculis, foliis lanceolatis integris vel sub- 
angulatis inferioribus subspathulatis petiolatis omnibus 
nudiusculis, racemis elongatis, petalis patentibus ob- 
cordatis subsessilibus, siliculis globosis membranaceis 
glaberrimis tetraspermis stylum equantibus. 
A native of the same country with our V. grandiflora 
(Tas. 3464), namely, Texas, and discovered at the same 
time by Mr. Drummonp. It is less showy than the latter, 
but a lively and graceful plant, and well adapted for orna- 
menting rocks. It continues long in flower, during almost 
the whole summer ; and the blossoms are succeeded by the 
numerous, small, and exactly-globose seed vessels. Ano- 
ther and very similar Vestcaria is in my Herbarium, from 
Texas, gathered by M. Bertanpier, in which the leaves 
and stems are rather thickly clothed with short, dense stel- 
lated pubescence. 
Descr. Root annual, sending from its upper extremity 
several stems, which are slender, filiform, wiry, branch- 
ed, minutely scabrous, more or less procumbent, from eight 
to ten inches long. Leaves remote, and chiefly at the base 
of the racemes: lanceolate, almost entirely glabrous, their 
margin 
