OXALIDACE.^. 76 FL(ERREA. 



2. TROPiE'OLUM. 



Characters essentially the same as of the suborder. 



Lat. trojxriim^ a trophy; because tlie leaf resembles a shield, and the flower 

 a helmet stained with blood, both ancient weapons of war, of wliich trophies 

 were formed. Well known annual, trailinjr plants, both ornamental and cul- 

 inary. Their properties are antiscorbutic, t&c. 



T. MAJUS. 



Leaves peltate, repand ; petals obtuse, some of them fringed. Native of 

 Peru. Tlie flowers are large and showy, orange colored, with spots of deep- 

 er shade, the calyx unequally 5-cleft, protracted into a long spur or nectary 

 behind. Leaves a fine example of the form called peltate, the petiole being 

 inserted near the middle. The flowers are eaten for salad, and esteemed very 

 grateful. The fruit is pickled as a substitue for capers. In the evening, the 

 flowers emit, at certain intervals, faint flashes of electrical light, a curious 

 fact first observed by the daughter of Linnajus. Aa^lurtion. Jiidiin Cress. 



ORDER XXX. LIMNANTITACEiE. 



CaJ.. — Sepals 3—5, united at base, persistent, valvate in sestivation. 



Cor. — Petals 3 — 5, marescent, inserted upon an hypogynous disk. 



Sta. — Tw-ice as many as petals and inserted with them. Filavients opposite the sepals, with 



Ova. — Ot:2 — .5 distinct carpels. Sly.xyniXeA iSi/g-. simple, [a small process outside the base. 



Fr. — An achenium, rather fleshy. Seeds solitary. 



A very small order of small hercaceous plants, mostly natives of the temperate parts of 

 North America. They have no very remarkable properties. Flccrkea is the only northern 

 genus. 



F L GE' R K E A . 



Sepals 3, lonj^er tlian the 3 petals; stamens G; ovaries 3, 

 tuberculate; stjie S-cleft. 



Named in honor of Flcerke, a German botanist. Small, aquatic plants, 

 with leaves pinnatel}' divided. 



F. PROSERPINACOi'deS. Lind. F. uliginosa. Mh. 



Lravcx alternate, those above the water pinnate, those submerged ternate, 

 all on slender stalks. Stem decumbeitt, less than a foot in length, weak and 

 slender. Petals small, white. Achenia large, two or solitary. Grows in 

 marshes, and on the shores of rivers and lakes. Apr. May. False Mermaid.. 



ORDER XXXI. OXALIDACE.^. 



Cal. — Sepals .5, persistent, equal, sometimes slightly roliering at the liase. 



Cor. — Petals 5, hypogynous, equal, iniguiculate, deciduous, twisted in a;stivation. 



Stn. — 10, hypogynous, more or less monodelphous, those opposite the petals longest. 



Ova. — Carpels .5, united, opposite the petals. 



Ft. — Cap.sular, usually mendiranous, 5-lobed and 5-celled. 



A small order of hcrlinccous plants, inhabiting hot and temperate regions. The stem 

 and leaves generally contain free oxalic acid. This order is represented in the Northern 

 Slates by the following genus only. 



