Nelumbium. VIH. NELUMBIACE^. 15S 



beneath. Scape as long as the petioles. Flowers large, regular, white. The 

 capsule opens only halt" round, and has therefore a persistent lid. Apr. — This 

 plant has in Ohio" the reputation of a stimulant and antispasmodic, and is there 

 significantly termed rheumatism root. 



4. LEONTICE. 



Gr. Xetoi', a lion ; the leaf is likened to u lion's foot-track. 



Calyx free from the ovary, of 3 — 6 green sepals ; corolla of 6 

 petals, each bearing a scale attached to the claw at base within ; sta- 

 mens 6 ; cells of the anther dehiscent at edge ; pericarp membrana- 

 ceous (cadticous), 2 — 4-seedcd ; seeds erect, globose. 



L. THALicTRdiDE.s. (Caulophyllum. Michx.) Poppoose Root. 



Smooth ; Irs. biternate and triternate ; //Is. oval, petiolate, unequally lobed, 

 the terminal one equally 3-lobed. — A smooth, handsome plant, in woods, Can. 

 to Ky. Plant glaucous, purple when young. Stem 1 — 2if high, round, 

 dividing above into 2 parts, one of which is a 3-ternate leaf-stalk, the other 

 bears a 2-ternate leaf and a racemose panicle of greenish flowers. Leaflets 

 paler beneath, 2 — 3' long, lobed like those of the Thalictrum or Aquilegia. 

 Seeds 2 (mostly 1 by abortion), naked after having burst the caducous, thin 

 pericarp, resembling berries on thick stipes. May. 



Order VII. CxVBOMBACE^.— Watershields. 



Herisatiuatic, with lloatin?, entire, centrally peltate leaves. 



Fts. axillary, solitary, small. Sep. 3—4, colored inside. 



Cor.— Petals 3—4, alternate with the sepals. 



Sta. hypogynoiis, either 6, or more than 17. Anth. adnate. 



Ova. 2 or more. Stig: simple. 



Fr. indehiscent, tipped with the hardened style. 



Sds globular, pendulous. Emoryo minute, 2-lobed, external to an abundant, fleshy albumen. 



Genera 2, species S. American water-plants, extending from Cayenne, S. America, to N. England. 



Proper/y— Slightly astringent. 



B R A S E N I A. Schreb. 

 Calyx of 3 — 4 sepals, colored within, persistent ; corolla of 3 — 4 

 petals; stamens 18 — 36; ovaries 6 — 18; carpels oblong, 2-(or by 

 abortion l-)seeded. — %- Aquatic. The stem, peduncles^ and under sur- 

 face of the leaves are covered tvith a viscid jelly. 



B. PF.LTAT.4. Pursh. (Hvdropcltis purpurea. Mr.) Water TUrgct. 



It inhabits muddv shores and pools, often in company with the water-lily, 

 Can. to Ga. and Ark. Leaves peltate, elliptical, entire, 2—3' by 1—1*', with 

 the long, flexible petioles inserted exactly in the centre, floating on the surface 

 of the water, smooth and shining above. Flowers arising to the surface, on 

 long, slender, axillary peduncles. Petals purple, about 3" long. July. 



Order VIII.— NELUMBIACE^.— Water-Beans. 



Herbs aquatic, with peltate, fleshy, radical Ivs. Rliizoma prostrate. 



F/s. large, solitary, on long, erect scapes. Sep. i—5. 



Cor— Petals 00, in many rows, arising from without the disk. 



S'a. 00, in several rows ; filaments petaloid ; onth. adnate, uitrorse. 



Ova. 00, separate, each with a simple style ;incl stigma. 



Fr.— Nuts generally 1-seeded, half sunk in hollows of the very large torus. 



Sds. destitute of albumen, and with a highly developed embryo. 



This order comprises hut a single genus with 3 species, two of which inhabit the still waters of tropical 

 regions, and the other, of the U. S. The nuts are eatable, and indeed all the other parts ot the plant. 



NELUMBIUM. Juss. 

 Characters of the genus the same as those of the order. 



N. LCTRCM. 



Lvs. peltate, orbicular, entire ; anth. with a linear appendage.— A magnifi- 

 cent flowering plant, peculiar to the .stagnant Avaters of the south and west! 



