CRASSULACE^. 



147 



ORDER LXV. CRASSULACE^. The, CrassuU Tdhe. 



C„;._Sepals 3—20, more or less united at base, persistent. 



Cor.— Petals as many as the sepals, clistinet, rarely colierin.a:, 



Sta.—As many as the petals and alternate with them, or twice as many. [lengthwise. 



Oc«.— As many as the petals and opposite them. Fil. distinct. Anth. 2-oelled, bursting 



i.>._Follicles as many as the ovaries, each opening by the ventral suture, many-seeded. 



A family of herbs and shrubs, all (except Penthorum) remarkable for their succulent 

 stems and' leaves, chiefly natives of the warmer rejrions of the globe, particularly the Cape 

 of Good Hope. About 20 are found in North America. They grow in the thinnest and 

 dcyesx soil, on naked rocks, sandy deserts, &c. They have no remarkable properties except 

 a slight acridity. Many are highly ornamental. 



Conspectus of the Genera, 

 i Stamens 4, TWact. 1 



fin 4s ; ( Stamens 8, IjiyophyUum. o 

 I Carpels distinct, . . Srdmn. 2 



( in .5s ; stamens 10 ; ( Carpels united, . . Penthorum. 4 

 Floral organs arranged ( in 12s, Senipervivum.3 



Tribe 1, CRASSULE^. Carpels distinct, follicular. 



1. TlLhJE'A. 



Calyx of 3 — 4 sepals united at base; petals 3 — 4, equal; 

 stamens 3 — 4 ; capsules 3 — 4, follicular, opening by the inner 

 suture, 2 or many-seeded. 



In memory of Mich. Ang. Tilli, an Italian botanist; died 1740. — Very mi- 

 jfiute, annual, aquatic herbs. Leaves opposite. 



T. SIMPLEX. JViitt. T. ascendens. Eaton. 



Stem ascending or erect, rooting at the lower joints ; leaves connate at the 

 base, linear-subulate, fleshy ; flowers axillary, solitary, sessile. A very small 

 plant, on the muddy banks of streams. Stem 1 — 3 inches high. Flowers 

 white or greenish ; petals oval, flat, acute, twice as long as the oval minute 

 calyx, and longer than the stamens and fruit. Pigmy-weed. 



2. SEDUM. 



Calyx of 4 — 5 sepals united at base ; petals 4 — 5, distinct ; 

 stamens 8 — 10; a nectariferous scale at the base of each of 

 the 4 — 5 carpels. 



Lat. sedcre, to sit ; the plants growing on bare rocks look as if sitting there. 

 — Mostly herbaceous. Inflorescence cymose. 



1. S. TERNA'TUM. 



Leapcs ternately verticillate, flat,obovate, entire, smooth, the upper ones scat- 

 tered, sessile, lanceolate ; r?/»ree in about 3 divisions ; _/fotfe7-5secund. A small, 

 creeping plant, with a 3-forked spike of white flowers. Stems 6 inches long, 

 branched and decumbent at the base. Flowers with 8 stamens, the other parts 

 in 4s. July. Aug. Per, Stone-crop. 



2/S, telephoi'des. 



Leaves broadly-lanceolate, alternate at base, subdentate, smooth; cymes 

 dense, corymbose; stamens \0, the sepals, petals and carpels in 5s. Found 

 on the shores of Seneca Lake, &c. Stem a toot high, with numerous, purple 

 Sowers in a terminal, branching cyme. Jl. Per. 



