• CHARACE.B. 



467 



ORDER CLXVI. CHARACE^E. The Chara Tribe. 



Organs nf reproduction consislinjr of round, sncci\\eM globules, coutaiuing filaments and a 

 fluid ; and axillary iiuculns formed of a few short tubes twisted spirally around a centre, 

 endowed with the power of gcrminalion. 



Plant aquatic, submersed ; axis consisting of parallel, tubular cells, either transpareiit or 

 encrusted with carbonate of lime, furnished with leaves or branches consisting ot venicil- 

 late tubes. 



These are remarkable for the distinct current, readily observable with a microscope, iii 

 the fluid of each lube of which the plant is composed. The currents instantly cease when 

 the plant is injured. 



CHARA. 

 Globules minute, round, reddish, dehiscent, tilled with a mass 

 of elastic (ilaments ; nucules (thecse ?) sessile, oval, solitary, 

 membranaceous, spirally striated, the summit indistinctly clelt 

 into 5 valves, the interior tilled with minute spores. 



1. C. vulga'uis. Featlier-heds. 



Stciiig and branches naked at base ; branches terete, leafy at the joints ; leaves 

 (or branchlets 7) oblong-subulate ; bracts shorter than the fruit. A slender 

 flexile plant of a dull green color, found in ponds and ditches generally stag- 

 nant. It appears in dense tufts, like a soft bed, undulating witJi the motion 

 of the water. When taken out, it has an offensive odor. Steins slender, a 

 foot or more long, with a verticil of about 8 tiliform branchlets at each joint. Jn. 



2. C. FI.F.'XILIS. 



Slcm translucent, naked ; branches ^omUf^as, leafless, compressed ; nvcules 

 lateral, naked. Found in ponds. Stockbridge, Ms., in company with Najas. 

 llesembles the last, but the stems are shorter and more erect, nearly destitute 

 of the verticils of branchlets. It is annual, as are also all the other species. 

 Aug. 



In Natural Order Composit-E, Tribe 5, Cyiiarea, page 210, insert 

 CA'RTHAMUS. 

 Heads discoid ; involucre imbricated, outer bracts foliace- 

 ous; flowers all tubular and perfect; tilaments smooth ; pappus 

 0; receptacle with setaceous paleae; achenia 4-angled. 



Arabic, qorthom, to paint ; from its coloring property. Oriental herbs, 



C. TINCTO'RIUS. — S/e77i smooth; /carfs ovate-lanceolate, sessile, spinose- 

 denticulate. Native of Egypt, but long cultivated in other lands on account 

 of i<ji orange-colored flowers. Stem branching, striate, 1—2 feet high. Leaves 

 subamplexicaul, smooth and shining. Heads large, terminal, with numerous 

 long and slender flowerL:. The latter are useful in coloring, and as a nursery 

 medicine. July. Ana. Common S;iff ran. 



