Cuscuta. CONVOLVULACE^. 223 



184, t. 4, fig. 1, & DC. 1. c. ; Engelm. disc. 510. C. paradoxa, Raf. I.e. ? LepiJanche com- 

 positarum, Engelm. in Am. Jour. Sci. xliii. 344, fig. 30-35. Wet prairies, Ohio to Wisconsin, 

 Kansas and Texas, mostly on Helianthus, Vernonia, and other tall Composite, The rope-like 

 twists, half to three-fourths inch thick, of white flowers with golden yellow anthers im- 

 bedded in a mass of curly bracts, have a singular appearance and justify Rafinesque's 

 name, which probably belongs here. 



* * (EuoKAMMiCA, Engelm. Citsc. 476 ) Capsule more or less regularly circumscissile, usually 

 capped by the remains of the corolla: styles capillary and mostly much longer than the depressed 

 ovary. 



-i Lobes of the corolla acute. 



C. odontolepis, Engelm. Stems slender: flowers conspicuous (24- to 3 lines long), on 

 short pedicels in large clusters : lobes of the campanulate calyx and of the tubular corolla 

 ovate, acute, rather shorter than the cylindrical tube: scales hardly reaching to the base 

 of the anthers, incisely dentate toward their rounded apex. Cusc. 480. Arizona, 

 Wr'ujht, on Amaranihus. A large-flowered species, distinguished from the large-flowered 

 Mexican forms of C. corymbosa by its acute lobes of calyx and corolla. 



C. leptantha, Engelm. 1. c. Stems low and capillary : flowers (2 to '2$ lines long), 

 4-merous, on slender fascicled pedicels : papillose calyx and lanceolate lobes of the 

 corolla much shorter than the slender tube : scales incisely dentate and much shorter than 

 the tube. Mountains of W. Texas, on a prostrate Euphorbia (albo-marginata), Wriyht. 

 The only N. American species (as far as known) with uniformly 4-merous flowers. 

 C. umbellata, HBK. Stems low and capillary : flowers ( U to 2 lines long) few together 

 in umbel-like clusters, usually shorter than their pedicels : acute calyx-lobes and lance- 

 olate-subulate lobes of the corolla longer than its shallow tube : scales deeply fringed and 

 exceeding the tube : styles mostly little longer than the ovary. - - Nov. Gen. & Spec. iii. 121 ; 

 Engelm. Cusc. 487. Dry places, on low herbs (Portulaca, &c.), from S. E. Colorado to 

 Texas and Arizona. (Mex., &c.) 



-l -1 Lobes of the corolla broad and obtuse. 



C. applanata, Engelm. Stems low and slender: flowers (a line or rather more in 

 length) clustered on short pedicels: rounded lobes of calyx and corolla thin in texture, as 

 long as the wide and shallow tube : scales deeply fringed, often exceeding the tube : styles 

 scarcely longer than the ovary : marcescent corolla enveloping the depressed capsule. 

 Cusc. 479. On weeds, such as Ambrosia, Mirabilis, &c., S. Arizona, Writjht. Glomerules 

 3 or 4 lines thick, often strung together like beads. Capsule much broader than high. 

 C. AMERICANA, L. (Sloane, Jam. 85, & Hist. i. 201, t. 128, fig. 4, and the plant in herb. L.) 

 Coarse stems climbing high : flowers (a line or two long) very abundant, on short pedicels in 

 globose clusters : calyx globular-cupulate, almost enclosing the corolla ; the lobes of which 

 are much shorter than the slender tube: anthers globular and almost sessile : scales short, 

 more or less dentate : seed usually solitary. This S. American and West Indian species, 

 easily known by its proportionally large calyx and small corolla, is here characterized be- 

 cause it may be looked for in South Florida. 



2. MONOGYNKLLA, Engelm. 1. c. Styles united into one : stigmas capitate : 

 capsule circumscissile. Monogynella, Desmoulins. (Consists of few species, of 

 the largest size, mostly Asiatic, extending to Europe, S. Africa and N. America.) 



C. exaltata, Engelm. Stems thick, climbing high : lobes of the fleshy calyx and corolla 

 orbicular, the former covering and the latter half the length of the corolla-tube : anthers 

 sessile: scales small, bifid or reduced to a few lateral teeth: styles two-thirds united. 

 Cusc. 513. S. W. Texas, from the Colorado to the Rio Grande, on trees, such as Diospyros 

 Texana, Ulmus crassifoUa, Live Oak, &c. Stems a line or two thick, climbing 10 to 20 feet 

 high. Flower 2 lines long. Capsule 3 to 5 lines long. 



3. EUCUSCUTA, Engelm. 1. c. Styles distinct, equal, bearing elongated 

 stigmas : capsule circumscissile. (Old-World species.) 



C. BpfLiNUM, Weihe. Stems slender, low: globular flowers (half line long) sessile in dense 

 heads : corolla short-cylindrical, scarcely exceeding the broadly ovate acute calyx-lobes, 

 surrounding the capsule : scales short and broad, denticulate : stigmas longer than the 



