CONVOLVULACEJE. 294 CONVOLVULUS. 



Aiith. — 2-celled, transversely valved. 



Ova. — .3-cclled, free. ,S?7//fi united into 1. S/i'groa 3-lobed. 



Fr. — Capsule 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds many, small, albuminous. 



Prostrate, suffrulico.se plants, with crowded, evergreen leaves and terminal, solitary 

 flowers. Natives of the north of Europe and the northern parts of N. America. 



D I A P E' N S I A . 

 Caljx 5parted, caljculate with 3 bracts at base; corolla 

 hypocrateriform, limb S-cleft, flat; stamens 5, from the sum- 

 mit of the tube ; stigmas 3 ; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved, many- 

 seeded. 



A Greek name formerly applied to the Sanicle as a vulnerary. Low, 

 evergreen undershrubs. 



D. Lappo'nica. 



Caespitose ; leaves dense, spathulate, fleshy, evergreen, obtuse and entire ; 

 flowers pedunculated. A little, leafy plant, 2 — 3 inches high, growing on the 

 summits of the White Mis. in N. Hampshire, forming dense tufts among the 

 rocks. Leaves crowded, pale beneath, fleshy, 5 — 8 lines long, 1 line wide, 

 with a revolute margin, claspinor base, and broadly obtuse point. Flowers on 

 short, terminal, solitary peduncles which are an inch long in fruit. Calyx of 

 5, obtuse leaves, longer than the leafy bracts at its base. Corolla white, with 

 5, flat segments. JiHy. Per. jXorthern Diapensia. 



Another species, D. cuncifolia, very abundant in the pine barrens of Newr 

 Jersey, is said by Dr. Peck, to be also an inhabitant of the White Mts., but 

 I have not observed it there, after diligent search. 



ORDER C. CONVOLVULACE.E. The Morning-glory Tribe. 



Cal. — Sepals 5, much imbricated, usually united at base, persistent. 



Cnr. — RcETular, limbS-lobed or entire, plaited and twisted in a;stivation. 



Sta. — 5. iiiserted into tlie base of the corolla and alternate with its lobes. 



Ova. — 2 — 4-celled, free. Sti/les united into 1. 



Pr. — Capsule '2— 4-eelled, valves with scptifragal dehiscence. 



Sds. — Few, large, with thin mucilaginous albumen. Cotyledons foliaceous. 



An important order of twining or trailing herbs orshrubs. Leaves alternate. Flowers 

 showy. Juice usually milky. They are vcr>' abundant in tropical climates, rare in cold. 



Propnties. The roots abound in an acrid, milky juice which is strongly purgative. 

 Ja/a;?of the .shops is the product of the rootof C.Ialapa of Mexico; Scammony of C. Scam- 

 monia, native of I<evant. The drastic qualities ot' both depend upon the presence of a 

 peculiar resin. The sweet potato, a valuable article of Ibod is the product of C. Batatas, 

 native at the South. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 

 I naked or nearly so Com^ohi/hts. 1 



1 leafy. Calyx ) enclosed in 2, large, leafy bracts. . . . Calyslei^a. 2 

 ieafless, parasitic, orange-colored. Cu^cuta. 'i 



]. CONVO'LVULUS. 

 Calyx 5-parted, naked or with 2 small bracts near the base ; 

 corolla campaiiulate or funnel-form, 5-plaited ; stamens short- 

 er than the limb; ovary 2 — 3-celled, cells 2-ovuled ; style 

 simple; stigma simple or 2-lobed ; capsule valvate, 2 — 4- 

 celled. 



I,at. convoJvere, to entwine ; from the habit. A large genus of twining or 

 prostrate herbs (rarely shrubby). 



