236 MALVACEAE. Hibiscus. 



§ 1. Cells of the capsule 1-seeded. — Pentaspermum, DC. 



1. //. Virs^iyiicus (Linn.): scabrous-lomentose ; leaves cordate-ovate, acu- 

 minate, unequally serrate-toothed ; upper ones undivided, lower ones 3-lobed ; 

 pedicels longer than the petioles ; Howers in paniculate racemes, nodding ; 

 column declined.— " /acf/. ic. rar. 1. t. 142;" Michx.! fl. 2. p. 46; Ell. sk. 

 2. p. 168; DC.prodr. \.p. Ul. H. clypeatus, Walt. Cur. p. 177. 



Borders of marshes, particularly near salt water, Long Island ! to Florida ! 

 and west to New Orleans! — 11 Stem 2-4 feet high. Leaves 2-2i inches 

 long, li inch wide, those about the middle of the stem more or less 3-lobed. 

 Flowers more than 2 inches in diameter: peduncles 1-2 inches long. Invo- 

 lucel of 8-9 subulate leaves. Petals rose-color, obovate-cuneate, hirsute ex- 

 ternally on one side. Column very slender, shorter than the corolla, anthe- 

 riferous above the middle. Capsule hispid, the angles very acute. Seeds 

 glabrous : radicle inferior. 



§ 2. Cells of the capsule many-seeded : seeds glabrous : involucel 4-6- 

 leaved : caly.v sj}athaceous, 5-toothed, split on one side. — Manihot, DC- 



2. H. Manihot (hinn.): stem and petioles not prickly: leaves palmately 

 divided ; lobes 5-7, linear, acuminate, coarsely toothed ; peduncles hispid ; 

 declined ; leaves of the involucel ovate or lanceolate, persistent, entire ; cap- 

 sule very hirsute, acuminate. — Mich.v. ! fl. 2. p. 45 ; Piirsh, ff. 2. p. 457 ; 

 DC. prodr. 1. p. 448. 



Banks of the Mississippi, Michau.v ! Drummond ! Introduced? — If 

 Leaves parted nearly to the base ; the lobes often a foot in length, toothed 

 toward the summit. Flowers 6 inches or more in diameter, sulphur-yellow, 



f)urple in the centre. Petals roundish, abruptly narrowed at the base. Invo- 

 ucel somewhat hispid. Calyx split on one side the whole length, with 5 

 short teeth at the summit. Column about one-third the length of the corolla, 

 antheriferous nearly the whole length. 



§ 3, Cells of the capsule many-seeded : seeds glabrous : leaves of the in- 

 volucel distinct, divaricately forked, or with a large tooth or other ap- 

 pendage : calyx not inflated. — Furcaria, DC. 



3. H. aculeatus (Walt.): very scabrous ; lower leaves palmately 3-5-lobed ; 

 the lobes obovate, repand-toothed ; flowers axillary at the upper part of the 

 branches ; peduncles short; calyx very hispid; leaves of the involucel linear, 

 bidentate, with a leafy appendage on the back above the middle. — Walt. Car. 

 p. 177. H. scaber, Mich.v. ! fl. 2. p. 45 ; Pursh,fl. 2. p. 457 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 

 169 ; DC. prodr. 1. p. 449. 



Damp soils, usually near salt water, South Carolina, Georgia! Florida! 

 and Alabama! June-Sept. — li Stem 4-7 feet high, and, as well as the 

 petioles and peduncles, rough with minute stellate recurved prickles. Low- 

 est leaves (according to Walter) cordate and angular ; upper ones deep- 

 ly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes 2-cleft, rough with stellate rigid hairs, inter- 

 spersed with minute prickles : petioles mostly longer than the lamina. Pe- 

 duncles 2-3 lines long. Flowers as large as in Althaea rosea, sulphur-yellow, 

 with a deep purple centre, often drying greenish. Leaves of the involucel 

 10-12, incurved ; minutely 2- (sometimes 3-) dentate at the summit ; appen- 

 dage oblong, spreading. Sepals acutely triangular, the strong middle and 

 marginal ribs armed with almost prickly hairs. Capsule ovate, hairy. — The 

 name of Walter, although perhaps not so strikingly appropriate as that of 

 Michaux, is necessarily restored. 



