POPULAR FLORA. 



135 



1. Common Flax. Kootfinnual; leaves lance-shaped; flower blue. Cultivated. Z. vsifatlssimum. 



2. ViKGixiA Flax. Root perennial; leaves oblong or lance-shaped ; flowers very small, yellow. Dry 



woods. L. Virrjinianum. 



22. WOOD-SOBREL FAMILY. Order OXALIDACEyE. 



Small herbs witli sour juice, compound leaves of three leaflets, and flowers nearly as in 



the Flax family, but with 10 stamens, a 5-celled ];)od, and two or more seeds in each cell. 



One genus, viz. 



"Wood-Sorrel. Oxalis. 



Sepals, petals, and styles 5. Stamens 10; filaments united (monadelphous) at the base. Pod thin, 

 5-lobed. Leaflets obcordate. Flowering in summer. 



1. Common W. One-flowered scape and leaves rising from a scaly rootstock, hairy; petals large, 



white with reddish veins. N. in cold and moist woods. 0. Aceiosella. 



2. Violet W. Several-flowered scape and leaves, from a scaly bulb ; petals violet. 0. violacea. 



3. Yellow "W. Stems ascending, leafy; flowers 2 to 6 on one peduncle, small, yellow. 0. siricta. 



23. GERAlSriUM FAMILY. Order GERANIACEiE. 



Herbs or small shrubs, with scented leaves, having stipules, the lower ones opposite. 



Hoots astringent. Sepals 

 5, overlapping. Petals 

 5. Stamens 10, but part 

 of them in some cases 

 without anthers : fila- 

 ments commonly united 

 at the bottom. Pistils 

 5 grown into one, that 

 is, all united to a lono; 

 beak of the receptacle 

 (except the 5 stigmas) ; 

 and when the fruit is 

 ripe the styles split away 

 from the beak and curl 

 up or twist, carrying 

 with them the five lit- 

 tle one-seeded pods, as 

 shown in Fig. 334. — There are three genera, viz. Geranium or Cranesbill ; Erodium, 

 which differs in havinn; only 5 stamens with anthers, and the fruit-bearinji stvles bearded 

 inside ; and Pelargonium, which has the corolla more or less irregular, generally 7 stamens 

 with anthers, &c. The latter are the House Geraniums, from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 of several species and many varieties. We describe only the wild species of true 



?31. Leaf, anil 332. Flowers of Wild Geranium. £33. Stamens and pistil. 334. Fruit bursting. 

 335. Seed. b36 bame, cut across. 



