278 LXV. SAXIFIlAGACEiE. Saxifrage 



suffruticosc platit, nalive of tlie E. Indies. Lvs. opposite, wmqually 

 f innate., part of them sometimes simple. Fls. greenish-purple. 



B. cALYclNUM. Salisb. — Not uncommon in house cultivation, requiring but 

 little water, in a well-drained pot ot rich loam. Stem thick, green, about 2f 

 high. Leaves 3— 5-lbliate, with thick, oval, crenate leaflets. Flowers in a 

 loose, terminal panicle, pendulous, remarkable for the large, inflated calyx, and 

 the long, tubular, exserled corollas.— This plant is distinguished in vegetable 

 physiology.— See Fig. 10, 1, and % 88, a. 



5. PENTHORUM. 



Gr. TTEVTE, five; on account of the S-parted, angular capsule. 



Calyx of 5 sepals united at base ; petals 5 or ; capsules of 5 

 united carpels, 5-angled, 5-ceIled and 5-beaked ; seeds 00, minute. — 

 % Erect {not sucmkni) herbs. Lvs. atternaie. Fls. yellowish, cymose. 



P. SEDOiDES. Virginia Stone-crop. 



St. branched and angular above ; lis. nearly sessile, lanceolate, acute at 

 each end, unequally serrate ;/5. in unilateral", cyinose racemes. — A hardy 

 plant of little beauty, in moist situations, Can. and U. S. Stem 10—16' high, 

 with a few, short branches. Leaves 2 — 3' by * — 1', membranaceous, smooth, 

 sharply and unequally serrate. P^acemes several, lecurved at first, at length 

 spreading, with the flowers arranged on their upper side, constituting a cor)Tn- 

 bose, scentless, pale yellowish-green cyme. Pet. generally wanting. Jl— Sept, 



Orber LXV. SAXIFRAGACE.E.— Saxifrages. 



Herbs or shrubs. Lvs. alternate or opposite, sometimes stipulate. 



Ca;.— Sepals 4 or 5, cohering more or l.-ss, persistL-iit. 



Cor.— PeUU as many as the sepals, inserteil lit-l ween the lobes of the calyx. 



SVa. 5— 10. Jn/.'u;)»3-celleil, oiieninif loii^'itudinally. 



Ova. inferior, usually of -J-carpels, colieiiiig at Inise, distn>ct and divergent above. 



fc. genemlly capsular, 1—2 celled, many-seeded. t 



Genera 38, species 440, native of temperate and frigid climes in both continents. As a tribe their ror.tt 

 are astringent. Several species are among our raostornamermU, cultivated plants. 

 Conspectiis of Uie Genera. 



S Caiisule 2-celled Saxifraga. 1 



^ '■ ■ ■ " ' . . Tiarella. . S 



. Siii/ivantia. 2 



. Ucuchera. 3 



. Mitella. 4 



. Chrysnsplenium. 6 



. Ilijdrang'ca. 8 



. Philadct'plma. 9 



. Itea. 7 



( Stamens 10. {Capsule Icelled. 



} ^ Capsule 2celled. 



<f entire. ( Stamens 5. \ Capsule 1-cclled. 



^ Petals .5, Jpectinately piiinatilii! 



Herbs. \ Petals 0. Leaves opposite. Aquatic, depressed. . 

 i Petals valvate in seslivation. . 

 i Leaves opposite, l Petals convolute in aistivation. 



oppi 

 Shrubs. I Leaves alternate 



Suborder 1. SAXIFRAGEJ3. 

 Petals imbricate in sestivation ; carpels united, the summits dis- 

 tinct, forming a beaked capsule. Herbs. 



1. saxifrAga. 



Lat. saxum, a rocI(,/i«n^cr(!, to break ; often crowing in the clefts of rocks. 



Sepals 5, more or less united, often adnate to the base of the ova- 

 ry ; petals 5, entire, inserted on the tube of the calyx ; stamens 10 ; 

 anthers 2-celled. with longitudinal dehiscence ; capsule of 2 connate 

 carpels, opening between the 2 diverging, acuminate beaks (styles) ; 

 seeds m.~% 



1. S. ViRGiNiEN'sis. Michx. (S. Virginica. Bin.) Earhj S'txifrage. 



Dvs. mostly radical, .spatulate-obovate, crenately toothed, pubescent, short- 

 er than the broad petiole; .scfl^e nearly leafless, paniculately branched above; 

 jU. many, cymose ; cal. adherent to the base of the ovary ; pet. oblong, much 

 exceeding the calyx.— An early and interesting plant, on rocks and dry hilLs, 

 Can. and/U. S. Scape 4 — 12'"high, pubescent, annual. Leaves rather fleshy, 



9 13" by 6 13". Flowers in rather dense clusters, whi'e or tinged with pur- 



Die, in earlv spring. 



