VALERJANACEa:. 178 PORTLANDIA. 



inches liigh, numerous, G-angled, with smooth, opposite obtusish, narrow 

 leaves, corolla tubular, the limb divided into 4 acute segments, of a pale pur- 

 ple, with deeper colored striae in the throat. Dry hills, &c. Jn. Per. 



Long-leaved Dwarf-pink. 



4. CEPHALA'NTHUS. 



Calyx limb 4-toothed ; corolla tubular, slender, 4-clefl; ; sta- 

 mens 4; st}le much exscrted. 



Gr. x-iiXiccKri, head, uvSoi^ flower; because the flowers grow in dense 

 heads. Shrubs with opposite leaves and short stipules. 



C. occidenta'lis. 



Leaves opposite and in threes, oval, acuminate. A handsome shrub fre- 

 quenting tiie margins of ponds, rivers and brooks. It is readily distinguished 

 by its spherical heads of flowers, which are near the size of a musket ball, re- 

 sembling the globular inflorescence of the sycamore (Platanus accidentalis). 

 Hight about six feet. Leaves spreading, entire, pointed. The flowers are 

 tubular, with long projecting styles, and are inserted on all sides of the round 

 receptacle. Flowers in July. 



5. PORTLA'NDIA. 

 Calyx 5-parted ; corolla clavate, infuiulibuliform, the bor- 

 der 5-clert, reflexed; stamens 5; capsule S-cornered, retuse, 

 crowned, 2-celled, 2-valved ; valves double, 2-cleft, many- 

 seeded. 



In honor of the Duchess of Portland, a patroness of botany. Spendid 

 exotics, native of Jamaica. 



P. grandiflo'ra. 



Leaves elliptic-lanceolate. A splendid flowering shrub of easy culture. 

 Stem slender, several feet in length, smooth. Leaves opposite, entire, of a 

 fine dark, shining green, very smooth, a span long. Flowers white lOinches 

 in length, trumpet-shaped, the border expanding '.i inches. The tube is angu- 

 lar, at first buff"-colored. Calyx leaves ovate, tinged with red. Peduncles 

 Bhort, axillary, solitary. Flowers highly fragrant. Jn. — Aug. 



Large-floioered Portlandia. 



ORDER LXXIV. VALERIANACEZE. 



Cat- — Adherent, the limb either meml)ranous or resembling pappus. 



Cot. — Tulmlar or funnel-form, 4 — S-lobed, sometimes spurred at base. [lobes 



Sta. — Distinct, inserted into the corolla lube, alternate with, and generally fewer than its 



Ova. — Interior, with one perfect cell and two abortive ones. 



Sds. — Solitary, pendulous, in a dry, indchiscent pericarp. 



A small family of herbs, widely diffused in temperate climates. Leaves opposite, with 

 no stipules. The true valerian of the shops, used in hy.steria, epilepsy, &c., is a product of 

 Valeriana officinalis. The roots of several other species possess a heavy odor and are 

 tonic, antispasmodic, febrifugal, &c. The spikeruird (.folni 12: 3, &c.) of old, valued as 

 a perlume and a stimulant, is from the root of Nardostachys Jatamansi. 



Genera. 

 Limb of the calyx at length a plumose pappus, deciduous. . . . Valeriana. 1 

 Limb of the calyx toothed and persistent; or obsolete Fedia, 'i 



