polygonacej:. 3'22 mirabilis. 



3. CELO'SIA. 

 Sepals 3 — 5, colored ; slarnens united at base by a plicate 

 disk (nectar}) ; stvie 2 — S-cieft; utricle circumscissile. 



Gr. xi)X£os, burnt; because some of the species appear as if they were 

 singed. A genus of ornamental foreign herbs. Leaves mostly alternate. 



C. CRISTA'TA. — Leaves ovdAjs, acuminate; stipules falcate; common 



Jeduncle striated ; sjiike. oblong, compressed. This curious annual is said to 

 ave come from Japan where the flowers, or crests, are a foot in diameter, 

 and of an intense, purplish red. Hight 2 feet. Jn. — Sept. Cock's-comb. 



ORDER CXI. NYCTAGYNACEiE. The Fo^lt-o' dock Tribe. 



Oi/.— Colored, tubular, the upper part resemblinj? a corolla with a plaited limb, falling off 



from the lower part which becomes indurated in fruit. 

 Sta. — Hypog^'nous, definite. Aiith. '2-celled. 

 Ova. — Free, with a single, erect ovule. Style 1. Stigma \. 

 Ft. — A thin utricle, enclosed within the enlarged and persistent calyx. 

 Seed with its testa coherent with the utricle. Cotyledons leafy. 



Herbs or shrubs. Leaves opposite. Natives of warm latitudes. Nearly all, except the 

 following beautiful genus, are obscure weeds. Roots purgative. 



MIRA'BILIS. 

 Characters essentially the same as those of the order. 



Latin, signifying wonderful or admirable ; on account of the fragrance and 

 beauty of some of the species. 



1. .^1. JaL.\'pa. — Leaves smooih; flowers in clusters, stalked. This 

 well known and much admired plant is from the West Indies. Root large, 

 tuberous, and is one of the substances which furnish the Jalap of the shops. 

 Stem 2 feet high. Leaves opposite, cord.ite, acuminate Flowers large, very 

 fragrant, in axillary and terminal clusters ; border wide-spreading, opening at 

 about 4 o'clock, P. M. Calyx bright purple. By cultivation it sports into 

 many pleasing varieties with yellow and white, red and white, red and yellow 

 flowers. June — Sept. Per. Four-o'clock. Marvel of Peru. 



2. M. DICHo'toMA. — F/o?rer5 sessile, erect, axillary, solitary. From 

 Mexico. SteiT) 2 feet high, dichotomous, with yellow flowers, opening at 4 

 o'clock like the former. July, Aug. Mexican Four-o'clock. 



3. M. LONGIFLO'RA. — Leaves pubescent; flowers crowded; tube of 

 the calyx very long. Native of JVIexico. Stem 2 feet high. Tube of the 

 calyx slender, hairy, twice as long as the leaves. Flowers white. June — 

 Sept. Long-flowered Four-o'clock. 



ORDER CXII. POLYGONACE^. The Buck-wheat Tribe. 



Cal. — Sepals united at base, imbricate in EEstivation. 



Sta. — Definite, inserted on the calyx near the base. 



Ova. — FreCj with a single erect ovule. Styles or stigjnas several. 



Fr. — Achenium usually triangular. 



Sds. — Embryo generally on one side of farinaceous albumen. 



Herbs with alternate '. 

 sheaths around the stem aoove me oases oi me leaves. Tlie spe 

 throughout the world. 



leaves. Stipules of that remarkable kind, called ochreF, forming 

 n above the bases of the leaves. The species are widely diiluseq 



