402 HORTUS J A'M AI C EX S I S.- d;a. 



plant it camcs noar. The stems are covered with lonsr hairy prickles, which arclrouhle- 

 some, like tliosc of cow itch. At about two indies distiince come out tlie flowers and 

 leaves; th'e latter on three-fourths of" ai> inch long petioles,. :md -are di\iilcd into five ' 

 sections from the centre: the section opposite the petiole is ul>oiit-an inch long ; the 

 rest are shorter, in proportion to their being near the l;asc; they are all smooth, aid 

 of a pale green colour. The flowers are axillary, on two-inch IcHig footstalks ; thev are 

 sm'aK, of a pale yellow colour, having a green calyx. The capsules are round, fonr- 

 celiec!', haviiig one brown hairy seed in each, triangnlar, round on one side, and flat , 

 on the others. It gn;\vs in savannas and river sides jjlentifully. Sleane. 



8. PARVIFLORA. SMALL-FLOWERED.- 



C-onvohuhiS' pentaphylios minor, fiore purpi/reo.. Sloane, v.- 1, p. 

 153, t. 97, f. 1. 



Leaves cordate, fivc-lobwl, palmate ; Umbels airiUar^', peduncled ; calyxes anJ 

 capsules h.airy. 



This has a small stringy root, which 'ends -up a round purple stalk, winding about ' 

 unv thing near it, and rising two feet high. The leaves are purplish-green, five-lobcd, 

 almost to the petioles, looking like papaw leaves. The flowers are axil'ary, and oi -^ 

 'pleasant purple colour j the capsules are round, brovvn, membranaceous. Slojne. 



INDIAN CRESS.. TROPA;OLU.\r.- 



Cl. 8, OR 1. Octandriatnonogynia. Nat. or. Tripelat^p. 



Gen. char. Calyx a one-leafed, five-cleft, perianth, from upright spreading, acute, 

 coloured, deciduous; tiie two lower segments narrower : horned at the back v\)tti 

 an awl-sliaped, straight,, longer nectary; the corolla has five petals, roundish, 

 inserted mto the divi.'iions of tlie calyx ; two upper sessile, the others lower, with 

 oblong-ciiiate claws; stamens eight awl-shapea filajneivts, short, declining, un- 

 txjual ; anthers erect, oblong, rising ; the pistil has a roundish germ-, three-iobed, 

 striated ; a simple erect style, the length of the stamens, and a trifid acute stigma^ 

 the pericarp is chree nuts or berries* somevvhat solid, on one side convex, grooved, 

 and striateii, on the otiier angular ; seeds three, gibbous on one side, angular on 

 tije otlier, roundish^ grooved, and striated. Two species have been introduced, 



1. MAJus. large. 

 ' Faliis sub-quinquelohis pe/fafis, petalis ohtush. Browne, p. 207.' 

 Leaves peltate, repLind ; petals obtuse. 



The root is small, oblong, and divaricated ; the stem slender and weak, trailing on 

 the ground, . unlass supported. The leaves stand siugiy at the joints, on long pedicels, 

 which are reddish, slender, and tortile, and inserted into the middle of the leaf, in a 

 ]ieliate manner. The form of the leaf inclines to round, but slightly sinuated into five 

 lubes. 7'he fl)wer |)edicels are axillary, long, slender, contorted ; the flower is large,, 

 of a very beautiful yellow colour, intermixed with red streaks. There is a variety of 

 both sj>ecies, with yellow flowers. The fruit consists of three berries or nuts, becom- 

 ing jmcelcas wiieu ripe,, fungous, deeply grooved, and v.riuUed, gibbous on one sidcj- 



angulas 



