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Serpicula, MONOECIA TETRANDRIA, 579 
It grows in clear, standing, sweet water, and produces its. 
flowers during the cold season, It cousists of siniple, fili- 
form roots, and a number of fine, filiform, jointed shoots, or 
stems, some creeping, some floating below the surface of the 
water, . 
Branches solitary, axillary. Leaves sessile, verticelled, 
(from three to six-fold) oblong-lanceolate, or linear-lanceo- 
late ; from one-eighth to halt'an inch long. MALE FLoweRs 
axillary, sessile, from one to four in the verticel, much small- 
erthan thefemale, Calyx ; spathe one-flowered, sub-globa- 
lar, murexed, bursting irregularly. Perianth three-leaved, 
Leaflets obovate, retlexed.  Corol three-petalled ;_ petals 
-wedge-formed, reflexed.  Fi/aments three, short, ascending. 
_Anthers very large, two-lobed, opening with an elastic jerk ; 
pollen white, very large grained. FEMALE FLOWERS ina 
distinct plant, axillary, generally solitary, though sometimes 
there are two from the same verticel. Spathe, perianth, and 
corol as in the genus. - No nectary. Germsessile, subulate, 
ending in the long, sub-erect receptacle of the flower, which 
elevates it above the water whileexpanded, Stiymas three, 
lanceolate. The capsule has the appearance of a siliqua, su- 
bulate, sometimes murexed, one-celled. Seeds from three to 
five, oblong, pointed at each end, lodged as in the legemineiis 
plants, their attachments I could not discover, 
Note, When the male flowers are ready to expand, the 
murexed spathe bursts, the flowers are then quickly detach- 
ed, and swim remote from the parent plaut, on the surface of 
the water, in search of the fe:nale flowers ; resting on the ex- 
tremities of the reflexed leatlets of the perianth and petals of 
the corol. What a wonderful economy ! 
The Berhampore sugar refiners use this part while moist, to 
cover the surface of this sugars, as clay is used in the West 
India Islands, and in two or three days, the operation is 
finished exceedingly well. cee 
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