Pelargonium LEGUMINOSAE-TROPAEOLACEAE Tropaeolum 



Lvs. shallowly lobed: fls. up to 2 cm. long 2. P. hortorum 



Lvs. peltate: plants glabrous or nearly so: stems weak and trailing 3. P. peltatum 



1. Pelargonium graveolens L'Her. §^! (Hsiang Ts'ao; Fragrant Herb) (B.M. 599). 

 Bushy plant, to lm.; fls. rose or pink. Introduced from South Africa; locally 

 in Ku. Planted, ornamental. 



2. Pelargonium hortorum Bailey Fish Geranium ^^f§ (T'ien Chu K'uei; Indian 

 Sunflower) (B.M. 597). Stout succulent plant; fls. red, pink, salmon, white. Cul- 

 tigen; locally in Ku. Planted, ornamental. Fig. 194. 



3. Pelargonium peltatum Ait. Ivy Geranium M^-^-^M (T'eng Pen T'ien Chu 

 K'uei) (B.M. 597). Weak, often trailing plant; fls. rose-carmine. Introduced from 

 South Africa; locally in Ku. Planted, ornamental. 



83. OXALIDACEAE Wood Sorrel Family %^^p[ (Tso Chiang Ts'ao K'o) 

 Herbs or trees with sour juice and compound stipulate lvs. : fls. regular; sepals 



and petals 5; stamens 10; ovary 5-celled, the carpels remaining united at maturity; 



styles free: fr. a capsule or berry. About 8 genera with 300 species, in temperate and 



tropical regions; 3 genera and 10 species in China. 



1. Oxalis Linn. Wood Sorrel ffeW^M (Tso Chiang Ts'ao Shu) 

 Low herbs (ours) with sour taste and alternate 3-foliolate lvs.: fls. yellow or pink: 

 fr. an oblong 5-angled loculicidal capsule. About 250 species, mostly of South America 

 and South Africa; 6 in China. (Greek: oxus, sour.) 



Key to the Species 



Fls. yellow: plant with creeping stems 1. O. corniculata 



Fls. pink: plant acaulescent, with many small bulbs 2. O. corymbosa 



1. Oxalis corniculata Linn. (O. repens Thunb.) Creeping Lady's Sorrel gtg^: 

 (Tso Chiang Ts'ao; Brewing-sauce Plant) (G.M. 944). Decumbent herb to 20cm; 

 fls. yellow, IV-X; fr. V-X. Widely distributed; locally in An., Che., Hon., Ki., 

 Ku. Roadside weed. Fig. 195. 



2. Oxalis corymbosa DC. (O. martiana Zucc.*) %ffl&^. (Tzu Tso Chiang Ts'ao; 

 Purple-flowered Oxalis) (B.C. 2418). Tufted herb; fls. purple, V. Introduced 

 from Brazil; locally in Ki., Ku. Planted, ornamental. 



*E. D. Merrill states that this problem has been " critically worked out by C. A. Backer 

 on the basis of exact dates of issue of the publications by de Candolle versus Zuccarini, and 

 de Candolle waseailier. Backer was very careful in such matters." Accordingly, O. corymbosa 

 DC. appears in place of O. martiana Zucc. 



84. TROPAEOLACEAE Tropaeolum Family feWftM (Chin Lien Hua K'o) 

 Succulent herbs, often climbing by coiled petioles: roots sometimes tuberous: lvs. 

 alternate, simple, peltate: fls. solitary on axillary peduncles, very irregular, showy; 

 sepals 5, one forming a long nectar-bearing spur; petals 5, clawed; stamens 8: fr. of 

 3 one-seeded carpels which separate at maturity. Only the following genus. 



1. Tropaeolum Linn. &MVcM (Chin Lien Hua Shu) 

 Characters of the family. 50 species, from Mexico to Chile; 2 grown for orna- 

 ment in China. (Greek: trophy, on account of the peltate or shield-like leaves.) 



200 



