MEADOW BEAUTY FAMILY 153 



in stalked clusters from the leaf-axils, and dark blue 

 aromatic fruit, one-fourth to one-half an inch long. The 

 anthers are peculiar in opening by little hinged valves 

 that lift upward, but close during a shower and keep the 

 pollen dry. 



Per sea Borhonia, a large tree, has smooth, elliptical or 

 oblong, pointed leaves, two to six inches long. P. pubescens, 

 a smaller tree, has leaves whose under surface is minutely 

 downy, as are also the flower-stalks. Both are found in 

 swamps and hammocks, and bloom in spring. P. littoralis, 

 with leaves only one to two inches long, grows in sand 

 near the coast. 



The sassafras, also of this family, is found in northern 

 Florida. 



MEADOW BEAUTY FAMILY (Melastomaceae) 



Perennial plants. Flowers chiefly magenta or pink. Petals 4. 

 Leaves opposite. Fruit a capsule, 



Meaixjw Beauty. Deer-Grass (Genus Rhexia) 



The beautiful flowers of this genus are common from 

 spring to autumn, nor is it rare to find belated blossoms 

 in winter. 



Pink, pale purple, and rose-purple, or magenta, are 

 the colors of the common species, whose flowers are decked 

 with golden anthers of large size. The four somewhat 

 nnsymmetrical petals, eight stamens, and the urn-shaped 

 capsule enclosed in the calyx-tube are characteristics by 

 which it is easy to identify these plants. Their usual loca- 

 tion is in damp or marshy places, and here, after the petals 

 have fallen, the seedpods, like miniature models for grace- 

 ful pottery, are found in autumn and winter. 



A handsome shrub of this family, Tetrazygia hicolor, 

 with many white flowers, blooms in summer in extreme 

 southern Florida, and has berry-like fruit. 



