168 PEIMROSE FAMILY 



This innocent appearing plant is known in parts of the 

 West Indies as herhe du diable, on account of the blister- 

 ing effects of the leaves and roots, whose action is similar 

 to that of a European species said to be used by beggars 

 to produce ulcers. 



Marsh rosemary, or sea-lavender, Limonium, which 

 covers salt marshes with a purple mist, is related to the 

 plumbago, though very different in general appearance, 

 as the leaves are chiefly basal, and the flowering-stems, one 

 to two feet tall, are widely branched and bear innumerable 

 tiny blue, purple, or white flowers. 



Plumbago scandens. Flowers white or bluish, tubular be- 

 low, expanded above, 1 in. or more long, in terminal spikes. 

 Calyx 4-5-lobed, glandular-viscid. Corolla 4-5-lobed, stamens 

 4 or 5. Capsule slender. Shrubby, erect or reclining, stems 

 2-4 ft. long. Leaves alternate, 1-4 in. long, narrowed into 

 clasping base. Sandy soil. Blooming in spring and summer. 

 Fla. peninsula. 



PRIMROSE FAMILY (Primulaceae) 



Low herbs of marshy places. Flowers small, 5-lobed. Fruit 

 a roundish capsule. Leaves chiefly basal. 



Samolus ebracteatus. Flowers white or pinkish, small, 

 short-tubular below, expanded and 5-lobed above, in terminal 

 racemes. Stems 4-18 in. tall. Leaves alternate, chiefly basal, 

 somewhat fleshy, 1-5 in. long, broadened upward. Marshes, 

 chiefly near the coast. Blooming nearly all the year. Fla. 

 to Texas. 



Samolus floribundus. Water pimpernel. Brook weed. 

 Flowers white, tiny, in many racemes. Stems 6-20 in. tall. 

 Leaves 1-4 in. long, light green, chiefly basal. Common in 

 damp ground, especially toward the coast. Fla. to Cal. and 

 northward. 



