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ALTHiEA. XXXVII. MALVACE^. 207 



% Native of England. A popular garden flower of the easiest culture, often 

 springing up spontaneously in fields and roadsides, Mid. and W. States ! 

 Height 3f. Flowers reddish purple, with veins of a darker hue. The whole 

 plant, especially the root, abounds in mucilage. Jn. — Oct. ^ f 



3. M. HoCGHTONii. Torr. & Gray. Houghiun's Malta. 



St. erect, hirsute ; Ivs. strigose, ovate, truncate at the base, lower ones 

 cordate, all undivided, coarsely crenate ; panicle tei-minal, diff'use, many-flow- 

 ered; pet. purple; carpels 10 — 15. — Prairies and bottoms. 111. Mead! &c. A 

 handsome but rather rough species, 2 — 3f high. Root fusiform. Leaves 2 — 3' 

 by 1 — 2', on long, hairy petioles, thick. Flowers nearly as large (IJ' diam.) 

 as those of M. .sylvestris. Jl. Aug. 



4. M. Mauritiana. Ivy-leaved Mallow. — St. erect ; Ivs. 5-lobed, obtuse ; peti- 

 oles and pedicels smoothish, or downy on the upper side. — From S. Europe. 

 A tall species, 4 — 6f high. Stem smooth. Flowers purple, with deeper colored 

 veins, f 



5. M. MoscHATA. Musk Mall-ow. — St. erect; radical Ivs. reniform, incised, 

 cauline ernes many-parted, the segments linear ; pcd. and cal. hairy. — Native ol 

 Britain. Stems 2f high, branched. Flowers large and handsome, rose-colored. 

 The whole herb gives out a musk-like odor in favorable weather. Jl. 



G. M. CRISPA. Curled or Crisped-leaved Mallow. — St. erect ; Ivs. angular-lobed, 

 dentate, crisped, smooth ; Jl.s. axillary, sessile. — (J) A tall, straight, simple, erect 

 plant from Syria. Gardens, almost naturalized. Stem 5 — 6f high. Leaves 

 large, roundish, margins abtmdantly crisped and curled. Flowers white, not 

 conspicuous. Jn. — Aug. -f 



2. GOSSYPIUM. 



A word said to be from the Arabic, goz, a silky substance. 



Calyx obtusely 5-toothed, surrounded by an involucel of 3 cordate 

 leaves, deeply and incisely toothed ; capsule 3 — 5-celled ; seeds in- 

 volved in cotton. — Fls. yellow. 



1. G. HERBACEUM. Common Cotton Plant.— .L/vs. 5-lobed, with a single gland 

 below, lobes mucronate ; cotton white. — (I) This is the species commonly culti- 

 vated in the Southern States. It is an herbaceous plant, about 5f high. The 

 flowers like those of all the other .species are yellow. Leaves cut half way 

 down into 3 large and 2 small, lateral, rounded, pointed lobes. Gland on the 

 midvein at its back, half an inch from the base. Jl. -f 



2. G. Barbadense. Sea Island Cotton Plant.— Lrs. 5-lobed with 3 glands 

 beneath, upper ones 3-lobed; seeds black; cotton whiie.—^ Native and culti- 

 vated in the W. Indies. A larger plant than the foregoing. Sown in Sept. 

 md Oct. An acre yields an average product of 270 pounds of this cotton.— 

 These plants are ornamental in cultivation, f 



3. LAVATERA. 



. Named in honor of the two Lavaters, physicians of Zurich. 



Calyx surrounded at base with a 3-cleft involucel; carpels 00, 1 

 celled, 1 -seeded, indehiscent, arranged circularly. 



1. L. areorea. Tree Mallow. —Lvs. 7-angled, downy, plicate; pedicels axil- 

 lary 1-flowered, clustered, much shorter than the petiole.— (D A splendid plant 

 for borders or shrubberies, from Europe. Height about 61. Flowers purple. 

 Sept. Oct. t 



2 L Thurin-giIca. fffl;/.1/««o('.'.— it's, somewhat do\TOy; lower ones angu- 

 lar, upper ones 3-lobed, the" middle lobe largest.— ^I- From Germany. Height 

 4f. Flowers light blue. Sept. 



4. ALTH^A. 

 Gr. aX$rti, to cure ; (he mucilaginous root is highly esteemed in medicine. 



Calyx surrounded at base by a 6— 9-clefc involucel ;_ carpels 00, I- 

 seeded, indehiscent. arranged circularly around the axis. 



18* 



