STELLATE. 143 



Xanthium. L. 19. 5. 



From the Greek for ^/e/Zoio, as the plant was anciently said to color 

 the hair yellow ; a genus mostly European, of only 4 species, one 

 of which has strayed to this country. 



X sirumarium. L. Sea Burdock. Clott Burr. Stem 

 erect, 3-6 feet high, purple, spotted, bristly, rough ; leaves large, 

 cordate, serrate, hard and rough, 3-nerved ; fruit in an oval burr, 

 armed with stiff spines or hooked thorns ; flowers axillary, in- 

 significant ; grows on beaches near salt water, and widely over 

 the country in light soils ; flowers in August. Another species, 

 //. spinosum, has been found by Dr. Porter at Plainfield. 



ORDER 189. STELLAT^E. The Madder Tribe. 



Calyx divided into 4, 5, or 6 lobes, superior ; contains the 

 1-petalled corolla, rotate or tubular, with divisions the same in num- 

 ber as the calyx, and having as many stamens as the divisions of 

 the corolla ; ovary inferior, 2-celled ; fruit a dry pericarp ; leaves 

 in a whorl, of a stellate appearance, giving name to the order, 

 without stipules ; stems square, roots giving a red dye, and flowers 

 minute. The genus Rubia belongs to this order, and formerly 

 gave name to a much larger family under the name of Rubiaceae. 



Rubia. L. 4. 1. 



R. tinctoria. L. Madder. From the Latin for red, on ac- 

 count of the coloring matter of the roots ; a native of Southern 

 Europe, and cultivated to great extent as a dyestuff ; little culti- 

 vated in this country. When eaten by animals, it tinges even the 

 bones red, and the hardest part first. It has a trailing or climbing 

 stem. Loudon. Cultivated in a few cases. 



Galium. L. 4. 1. Bedstraw. Cleavers. 



From the Greek for milk, as one species was used to curdle 

 it. Near 80 species have been described, which are widely spread 

 over the world, though most are indigenous to Europe ; 11 spe- 

 cies belong to this State. They are mostly inconspicuous plants, 



