Bougainvillea NYCTAGINACEAE-AIZOACEAE Mollugo 



53. NYCTAGINACEAE Four-O'Clock Family $^M® (Tzu Mo Li K'o) 



Herbs, shrubs, trees or woody vines with simple entire lvs.: fls. often withinvol.; 

 perianth often petaloid: fr. an achene, enclosed in the hardened base of the perianth. 

 19 genera with 175 species, most abundant in tropical America; 4 genera and 5 or 

 more species, some of them cultivated for ornament, in China. 



Key to the Genera 



Climbing vines: fls. enclosed by colored bracts: lvs. alternate 1. Bougainvillea 



Perennial herbs : fls. not enclosed by colored bracts : lvs. opposite : plant 



dries black 2. Mirabilis 



1. Bougainvillea Comm. AHUM (Chiu Ch'ung Ko Shu) 



Climbing spiny vines with alternate lvs.: infl. showy: fls. borne in 3's, inserted 



on large red or purple bracts; perianth tubular: ovary stipitate. 7 species, from 



South America; one grown for ornament in China. (In honor of A. de Bougainville, 

 French navigator, 1729-1811.) 



1. Bougainvillea glabra Choisy AfiS (Chiu Ch'ung Ko; Nine-layered Pueraria) 

 (B.M.358). Woody vine; fls. VII; bracts conspicuous, magenta, purple, pink, 

 orange or white. Introduced from Brazil; locally in Ku. Occasionally grown for 

 ornament. 



Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. is a closely related species distinguished by having copious 

 pubescence on almost all parts of the plant. Fig. 87. A number of horticultural varieties have 

 been described from these species in cultivation on the basis of variations in color and form 

 of bracts and leaves. The robust crimson-fld. B. buttiana (also known as Crimson Lake) is 

 believed to be of garden origin and is closely related to B. glabra. 



2. Mirabilis Linn. ^MU (Tzii Mo Li Shu) 



Perennial herbs with opposite lvs.: involucres sometimes 1— fid. ; bracts often 

 herbaceous, resembling a calyx: perianth tubular, corolline, variously colored: fr. an 

 ovoid coriaceous utricle. About 25 species, from tropical America; one grown as an 

 ornament in China. (Latin for "wonderful".) 



1. Mirabilis jalapa Linn. Four-O'Clock ^^^i] (Tzu Mo Li; Purple Jasmine) 

 (G.M.606). Spreading herb, to lm.; fls. red, pink or white, VIII-IX; involucre 

 calyx-like. Introduced from tropical America; locally in An., Ki., Ku. Cultivated, 

 ornamental. Fig. 88. 



54. AIZOACEAE Carpetweed Family #^f4 (Fan Hsing K'o; 



Foreign Apricot Family) 



Herbs with entire opposite (ours) lvs.'. fls. small, regular and perfect; calyx 

 persistent; petals none; ovary of 2-5 united carpels; styles as many as the carpels: 

 fr. a capsule. 7 genera with over 50 species, mostly in Africa; 2 genera and 3 or 

 4 species in China. 



1. Mollugo Linn. Indian Chick weed ^^i,!'!^ (Su Mi Ts'ao Shu) 



Spreading herbs with small axillary fls.; stamens and styles 3-5 : capsule enclosed 

 by the sepals, membranous. About 12 species, mostly in the Old World tropics; 2 or 

 3 in China. (The Latin name of a soft plant.) 



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