OROSERACF.iG. 56 DIONiEA. 



2. DRO'SERA. 



Caljx of 5 sepals united at base, persistent; petals 5 ; an- 

 thers adnate ; st} les 6, capsules superior, 1-celled, 3 — 5-valved, 

 manj-seeded. 



Gr. dQoa-oi, dew ; on acco-unt of the dew-like drops of viscous matter on 

 the glandular hairs of the leaves. Hence also its English name. Small aquat- 

 ic herbs. 



1. D. rotundifo'lia. 



Zicaz)e5 radical, nearly round, depressed; petioles hairy; scape erect, bearing 

 a simple raceme. This little curious plant is not uncommon in bogs and mud- 

 dy shores of ponds and rivers. It is at once distinguished by the reddish, 

 glandular hairs with which the leaves are beset, and which are usually tipped 

 with a small drop of a clammy fluid, appearing like dew glistening in the sun. 

 Leaves small, lying flat on the ground, narrowed into the elongated petiole. 

 Scape about 5 inches high, at first coiled inward. Flowers arranged on one 

 side, very small, white. Aug. Per. Sun-dew. 



2. D. longifo'lia. 



Leaves radical, spathulate and obovate, tapering at base into a long, smooth 

 petiole; scape bearing a simple raceme. A more slenderand delicate species, 

 in similar situations with the last. Leaves slender, ascending, cuneiate-oblong, 

 crenate, numerous, beset with dewy hairs. Scape ascending at base, bearing 

 a cluster of small, yellowish white flowers, and arising from 3 — 8 inches. Jn. 

 — Aug. Per. Long-lcared Sun-deic. 



3. D. filifo'rmis. 



Leaves filiform, berry long; scape neajly simple, longer than the leaves, 

 many-flowered ; petals obovate, erosely denticulate, longer than the glandular 

 calyx ; stTjlcs 2-parted to the base. Grows in wet, sandy places. Much larger 

 than the preceding species. The leaves seem destitute of a lamina, are sub- 

 erect, nearly as long as the scape, beset with glandular hairs, except near the 

 base. Scape about a foot high, with largish purple flowers. Aug. Sept. 

 Per. Linear Sun-dew, 



3. DION^'A. 

 Stamens 10 — 15; style 1; stigmas 5; connivent, many- 

 cleft; capsules indehiscent, opening irregularly, 1-celled; 

 seeds numerous. 



Dioncea is one of the names of Venus. Sep. ovate, oblong, sproadino-. Pet. 

 obovate, with pellucid ribs in their lower part. 



D. MUSCI'PULA. 



The leaves of this plant chiefly distinguish it, and are of a very singular 

 structure; the petiole is winged; the proper leaf is 2-lobed. A gla'nd within 

 the lobes secretes a sweet li(juor, which is attractive to flies. The edges of 

 the leaf are furnished with long spines, and there are three others within the 

 cavity, upon each lobe, and such is the remarkable irritability of the plant, 

 that if a (!y or othe*r insect aligiits upon the leaves, or if they be touched with 

 a pin, they instantly close and retain the irritating object. Hence the specific 

 name, musripula, a fly-trap. Native of wet grounds in the Southern States. 

 Cultivated in a pot of bog earth, placed in a pan of water. Venus' Fly-lrap. 



