PENTANDRIA. DIGTNIA. 191 



vicinity of New Orleans, from whence it was acciden- 

 tally imported to Philadelphia, in a box of earth, with 

 other plants, by Mr. R. E. Griffiths who favoured me with 

 living- specimens. 



Descript. Root slender, fusiform, annual. Stem nearly 

 simple, or dividing into 2 or 3 branches towards the base 

 or the middle, smooth, even and slender, about a foot 

 high, and nearly floriferous from the base. Leaves rather 

 distant, petiolate, having small membranaceous abrupt 

 sheaths, larger leaves subtriternately divided, ultimate 

 segments bifid and trifid, very smooth, linear and acute. 

 Unnbell entirely sessile, arising from the sheath of the 

 leaf on the opposite side of the stem, bifid or trifid without 

 any vestige of a proper general or partial involucrum. 

 Umbellet 10, 12 to 15-flowered, more or less; pedicells 

 short. Cahx none. Petals subovate, acute, erect, equal 

 and entire, with the points a little incurved, externally 

 rosaceous, within whitish. Styles not visible, stigmas 

 in all stages like so many subcapitate sessile points. Sta- 

 mina shorter than the corolla, anthers purplish. Fruit 

 roundish-ovate, corticate, and laterally subcompressed; 

 commissure flat and stria^te, oblong-elliptic. Seed green- 

 ish-grey, scarcely larger than that of Mignionette, gib- 

 bously convex, scored with 5 converging, angular and 

 turgid ridges; intervals acute-angular, and striate. Sen- 

 sible properties and structure of the seed not very dissi- 

 milar to that of Cicuta macnlata, the primary ridges are, 

 however, less obtuse anil interlaid with strise not with tu- 

 bei'cular granulations. 



276. CICUTA. L. (Water-Hemlock, Water- 

 Cowbane.) 



Fruit corticate, roundish, and laterally com- 

 pressed; commissure obiong-elliptic, fiat. Seed 

 gibbously convex, scored with 5 converging ob- 

 tuse ridges, and 4 intermediate tuberculate 

 grooves. 



General involucrum wanting, or at most of 1 or 2 leaves; 

 partial involucrum 5 or 6-leaved. Flowers regular. Calix 

 obsolete, 5-toothed. Petals cord ately-inflec ted. Styles 

 persistent, spreading; stigmas subcapitate. Leaves biter- 

 nate, serrated. Poisonous plants. 



Species. 1. C. maeulata. Obs. Lower leaves ternate, 

 with the partitions unequally 5-leaved; upper ones simply 

 biternate, floral leaves ternate, leaflets lanceolate, almost 



