﻿BORAGINE^ (Wright). S 



with scales or folds in the throat ; lobes imbricate, rarely plicate 

 or contorted. Stamens as many as the corolla-lobes, fixed in the 

 throat or tube of the corolla, equal or slightly unequal ; filaments 

 filiform or dilated at the base, sometimes with a scale at the base ; 

 anthers ovate, oblong or linear, obtuse or with produced connective, 

 dorsifixed, more or less 2-lobed at the base ; cells parallel, longi- 

 tudinally and introrsely or laterally dehiscent. Disk annular, entire 

 or 5-lobed, sometimes inconspicuous or obsolete. Ovary superior, 

 confluent at the base with the disk, bicarpellate, entire or more or 

 less completely 2-4-lobed, 4-celled ; style terminal on the entire, 

 gynobasic in the lobed ovary, filiform or columnar, entire or once or 

 twice divided ; stigma terminal or annular below the apex of the 

 style, entire or 2-lobed ; ovule solitary, erect or fixed to the inner 

 angle of the cell. Fruit fleshy and enclosing 4 pyrenes, or dry and 

 divided into 2 2-cel]ed pyrenes or into 4 (or by abortion fewer) 

 1-celled nutlets, flat or concave at the base, usually more or less 

 oblique, spiny, rugose or smooth. Seeds erect, oblique or almost 

 horizontal, straight or curved ; testa membranous ; albumen fleshy, 

 copious, sparing or none; embryo straight or curved ; cotyledons flat, 

 plano-convex or thick and fleshy, entire, rarely 2-fid or plicate ; 

 radicle usually much shorter than the cotyledons. 



Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or trees, very rarely climbing, scabrid- 

 pubescent, hispid, bristly, sofcly tomentose, woolly or glabrous; stipules none; 

 leaves alternate, very rarely opposite or whorled, entire, dentate or very rarely 

 lobed ; inflorescence normally a dichotomous cyme with helicoid branches, some- 

 times a simple unilateral raceme or spike or an irregularly tricliotomous panicle, 

 more rarely of 1-2 flowers iu the axils of the leaves ; bracts leafy, small or none ; 

 flowers blue, violet, white, yellow, very rarely red. 



DiSTBiB, Genera about 70, species about 1200, cosmopolitan. 



Mertensia niberica, Don, a common North American and Siberian plant, haa 

 been collected by Gilfillan (in Herb. Galpin, 6235 partly) near Johannesbnrfr, 

 where it was no doubt an introduction. A second species of Mertensia was 

 collected at the same time and place, but the material is insufficient for specific 

 determination. 



* Ovary entire or sliyhtly i-lohed ; style terminal. 

 I Style once or twice forked. 



I. Corilia. — Cotyledons plicate ; albuvien none. 



II. Hhxetia..— Cotyledons flat or plano-convex ; albumen scanty. 



tt Style entire or very shortly 2-lobed. 



III. Tournefortia.— Friw't fleshy, rarely corky, enclosing two 2-c.dltHl or four 

 1-celli'd pyrenes. 



IV. Heiiotropium.— Ti^f icit at length dividing into four separate nutlets, or lbs 

 nutlets united into 2 pairs. 



** Oi-ary deeply i-lohed ; xtyle fjynohnsic. 

 t Connective much produced at the apex. 



V. Trichodesma. — Only South African genus. 



tt Connective not or very slightly produced at the apex. 

 X Nutlets much laterally compressed, creuate or winged on the margioa. 



VI. Tysonia. — Only South African genus. 



+ + Nutlets not laterally compressed, spiny. 



VII. Cynoglossam. — Nutlet." depressed. 



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