278 LXV. SAXIFRAGACE^. Saxifraga. 



suffruticose plant, native of the E. Indies. Lvs. opposite, unequally 

 pinnate, part of them sometimes simple. Fls. greenish-purple. 



B. CALYCiNCM. Salisb. — Not uncommon in house cultivation, requiring but 

 little water, in a well-drained pot of rich loam. Stem thick, green, about 3f 

 high. Leaves 3 — 5-toliate, with thick, oval, crenate leaflets. Flowers in a 

 loose, terminal panicle, pendulous, remarkable for the large, inflated calyx, and 

 the long, tubular, exserted corollas. — This plant is distinguished in vegetable 

 physiology. — See Fig. 10, 1, and ^ 88, a, 



5. PENTHORUM. 



Gr. nevTB, five; on account of the 5-parted, angular capsule. 



Calyx of 5 sepals united at base ; petals 5 or ; capsules of 5 

 united carpels, 5-angled. 5-ceUed and 5-beaked ; seeds 00, minute. — 

 % Erect {not succulent) herbs. Lvs. alternate. Fls. yellowish, cymose. 



F. SEDciiDEs. Virgtnm Stone-crop. 



St. branched and angular above ; lvs. nearly sessile, lanceolate, acute at 

 each end, unequall)' serrate ; Jls. in unilateral, cymose racemes. — A hardy 

 plant of little beauty, in moist situations, Can. and U. S. Stem 10 — 16' high, 

 with a few, short branches. Leaves 2 — 3' by ^ — 1', membranaceous, smooth, 

 sharply and unequally serrate. Racemes several, ifccurved at first, at length 

 spreading, with the flowers arranged on their upper side, constituting a corjon- 

 bose, scentless, pale yellowish-green cyme. Pet. generally wanting. Jl — Sept. 



Order LXV. SAXIFRAGACE^.— Saxifrages. 



Herbs or shrubs. Lvs. alternate or opposite, sometimes stipulate. 



Cat.— Sepals 4 or 5, cohering more or less, persistent. 



C<w.— Petals as many as the sepals, inserted between the lobes of the calyx. 



Sia. 5 — 10. Antliers 3-celled, opening longitudinally. 



Ova. inferior, usually of 2-carpels, cohering at base, distinct and divergent above. 



Fr. generally capsular, l — ^celled, many-seeded. 



Genera 33, species 440, native of temperate and frigid climes in both continents. As a tribe their roota 

 are astringent. Several species are among our most ornamental, cultivated plants. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



\ Capsule 2-celled Saxifraga. 1 



( Stamens 10. ( Capsule 1-celled TiareUa. 6 



< ^Capsule 2-celled Sullivantia. 2 



< entire. ( Stamens 5. ( Capsule 1-celled Heucliera. 3 



4 Petals 5, \ pectinately pinnatifid Mitella. 4 



Herbs. \ Petals 0. Leaves opposite. Aquatic, depressed Chry^osplenmrn. 6 



i Petals valvate in aestivation Hydrangea. 8 



^ Leaves opposite. I Petals convolute in aestivation Philadelphus. 9 



Shrubs. \ Leaves eilternate Itea. 7 



Suborder 1. SAXIFRAGES. 



Petals imbricate in aestivation : carpels united, the summits dis- 

 tinct, forming a beaked capsule. Herbs. 



1. saxifrAga. 



Lat. saxum, a.Tock,frangere, to break ; often growing in the clefts of rocks. 



Sepals 5, more or less united, often adnate to the base of the ova- 

 ry ; petals 5. entire, inserted on the tube of the calyx : stamens 10 ; 

 anthers •2-celled, with longitudinal dehiscence ; capsule of "2 connate 

 carpels, opening between the 2 diverging, acuminate beaks (styles) ; 

 seeds 00.—^ 



1. S. ViRGiNiEXSis. Michx. (S. Virginica. Bw.) Early Saxifrage. 

 Lvs. mostly radical, spatulate-obovate, crenately toothed, pubescent, short- 

 er than the broad petiole ; srnpc nearly leafless, paniculately branched above; 

 Jls. many, cymose ; caL adherent to the base of the ovary ; pet. oblong, much 

 exceeding the calyx. — An early and interesting plant, on rocks and dry hills, 

 Can. and U. S. Scape 4 — 12'"high, pubescent, annual. Leaves rather fleshy, 

 9 — 13' by 6 — 12'''. Flowers in rather dense clusters, white or tinged wilh pur- 

 ple, in early spring. 



