450 



C. GENTIANACE^. 



Sabbatu, 



Order C. GENTIANACEiE. 



Plants herbaceous, rarely shrubby, generally smooth, sometimes twining. Juice colorless. 



Lvs. opjiosife, entire and smooth. Slip. 0. 



FIs. conspicuous;, terminal or a.villarj-, regular or sometimes irregular. 



Ca/.— Sepals 4—5—10, united at base, peisistent. 



Cor. usually regular, limb divided into as many lobes as there are sepals, mostly twisted in aestivation. 



Sta. issuing from the tube of the corolla, as 

 many as its lobes and alternate with 

 them. 

 Ova. J-celled, sometimes rendered appar- 

 ently 2-celled by the introfle.xed pla- 

 centae. 

 Sty. united into 1, or wanting. Stig. 1—2. 

 Fr. Capsule many-seeded. Seeds small. 

 Embryo straight, with Heshy albu- 

 men 



Genera 60, species 450, found in every 

 part of the world. 



Properties.— A.n intensely bitter princi- 

 ple, called g-entianine, per\ades the whole 

 order without exception, residing in every 

 part, rei^ernig them tonic and febrifugal. 

 The gentian of the shops is most com- 

 monly the product of Gentiana lutea, but 

 almost any of our species may be substitut- 

 ed for it. (Dr. Gray.) In the other genera 

 of the order, the buck-i)ean (IVIenyanthes 

 trifoliata), Limnanthemum nymphoides, 

 Sabbatia angularis, Frasera Carolinensis, 

 &c., are valued in medicine for the same 

 properties. Alany are cultivated for orna- 

 ment. 



FIG. 53.— 1. Gentiana Saponaria. -2. The 

 calyx and capsule. 3. The corolla laid 

 open, showing the folds (3-lobed) between 

 the proper petals, and the stamens attached 

 at base. 4. Capsule cut across. 5. Seed 

 magnitied, with its large, loose testa. 



Conspccius (if the Genera. 



i Petals 5, or 4 and fringed. 

 ( Anthers < Pet. 4, ^ Sep. 4, subulate. 

 < .straight. ( entire. I Sep. 2, leaf-like. 

 ( tubular. ' Anthers spirally twisted. . 

 ^ Petals with no gland. 



Gentiana. 

 Cicendia. 

 Obolaria. 



,— , . . Erythrcca. 



Corolla with--' ^ Petals with no gland. . . . Sabbatia. 



< out horns, . . ( rotate. I Petals with a glandular pit. . . Srvertia. 



fopposite. ( Corolla without 4 horns at base Halenia. 



1 vcrticillate in whorls of 4.«, 5s and 6s Frasera. 



< none, or reduced to small oi)posite scales Centaurella 



I \ simple, floating in water Limnanthemum. 10 



Leaves ^.dtemate and radical, (trifoliate Menyanthes. 11 



Tribe 1. Corolla imbricate from right to left in agstivation. Testa of the seed 



membranaceous. Terrestrial herbs with opposite leaves. 



1. SABBATIA. Adans. 



In honor of rfabbati, a distinguished Italian botanical author. 



Calyx 5 — 1 '2 -parted; corolla rotate, limb 5 — 12-parted ; stamens 

 5( — 12) ; anthers erect, at length recurved, 2-celled, cells distinct; 

 stigma 2-parted, with spiral divisions; capsule 1 -celled, the valves 

 a little introflcxed. — (g Sleudc?- herbs, icith pedicellate, mostly ^oseatejis. 

 Native of the temperate regions of North America. 



1. S. GRACILIS. Salisb. (S. campanulata. Torr. Chironia. Linn.) 



St. slightly angular, internodcs twice longer than the leaves ; branches 

 alternate, spreading; lis. linear and lance-linear, the lowest lance-ovate; pani- 

 cle few-flowered; cal. segments linear-setaceous, about equaling the corolla; 

 cor. 5-parted, lobes elliptic-oblong, obtuse. — Wet meadows, Penn. to Flor., W. 

 to Ky. Stem a foot high, with long, diverging branches. Flowers terminal, 

 subsolitary, purple, on Jong peduncles. July, Aug. 



2. S. coRYMBOsA. Baldwin. (S. paniculate, a. Ph. Chironia. WaJkr. 

 Swertia. Linn.) — St. slightly 4-angled, internodes twice longer than the 



leaves; branches opposite; lvs. ovatc-lanccolate, 3-veined, acuti.sh, upper ones 



