58 DIDYNAMIA. ANGIOSPERMIA. 



of afRnity it cannot be compared with any other genuS;, 

 notwithstanding its niarked distinctlua. 



4»47. MELAMPYRUM. X. (Cow-wlieat.) 



Calix 4-cleft. Upper lip of tijc corolla com- 

 pressed, margin folded bark; lower lip grooved^ 

 tiifid, subeq'ual. Capsule 2-celled, oblique, 

 opening on one side; ceils 2-secdcd. Seeds car- 

 tilaginous, cyiindric-obiong. 



Herbaceous; leaves opposite, with entire margins; flow- 

 ers opposite, often secnnd, terminally racemose; bractes 

 more or less pinnatifid.— (Stamina, in Jf. Uneare, scarcely 

 unequal; anthers Cv)hering- longitudinally. I'erisperm in 

 the form of the seed, cartilaginous, almost resembling a 

 grain of wheat, embryon minute, immersed near the sum- 

 mit, erect; cotyledone's and radical nearly equal.) 



Species. \.M. Uneare. Common- Flowers pale yel- 

 low with a tinge of purple. 2. latifolium. Muhl. Calal. 

 Hab. In Delaware. — A small genus, and except the pre- 

 sent species, exclusively indigenous to Europe. 



448. OROBANCHE. i. (Broomrape.) 



Calix 4 or 5-cleft, segments often unequal. 

 Corolki ringent. Capsule ovate, acute, 1-celled, 

 2-valved; seeds numerous. A gland beneath 

 the base of the germ. 



Herbaceous and subcarnose plants destitute of verdure, 

 mostly brownish, or approaching to white, parasitic upon 

 the roots of plants; roots sliort and somewhat tuberous, 

 imbricated with scales; stem alterna'.ely squamulose, ofien 

 simple; flowers bracteate, terminally spiked, rarely soli- 

 tary. 



Species. 1. O. americana. Often growing in vast 

 clusters at tl^e roots of trees in tiie most shady forests, 

 (ne.ir Philadelphia rare. \V. Bertram.) 2. * huloviciana. 

 Pidverulently pubescent; stem very low aiul simple; 

 flowers and ovate acute scales subimbricated; calix une- 

 quall}' and deeply S-cleft, bibracteate; corolla recurved, 

 5-cleft; stamina included, smooth. Has. In sandy allu- 

 vial soils, around Fort Mandan, abundant, and not appa- 

 rently parasitic. Ors. 3 or 4 inches high; flowers very 

 nutiierous and crowded, much longer than the bractes. 



