278 LXV. SAXIFRAGACEjE. Saxifhaga. 



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

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



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

 little water, in a well-drained pot ot rich loam. Stem thick, green, about 2f 

 high. Leaves 3 — 5-tbliate, 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. TTCVTC, 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-celled and 5-beaked ; seeds 00, minute. — 

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

 P. SEDoiDEs. Virginia Slone-crop. 



St. branched and angular above ; lis. nearly sessile, lanceolate, acute al 

 each end, unequally 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 i — 1', membranaceous, smooth, 

 sharply and unequally serrate. Racemes several, i*ecurved at first, at length 

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

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



Order LXV. SAXIFRAGACE^.— Saxifrages. 



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



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



Cor.— Petiils as many as the sepals, inserted between the lobes of the calyx. 



S/a. 5— 10. vl??.;/i«rs3-cellerl, oiienins; longitudinally. 



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



Fr. generally capsular, l— 2celled, many-seeded. 



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

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

 Conspectus of the Genera. 



\ Capsule 2-celled Saxffrag-a. 1 



( Stamens 10. { Capsule 1-celled Tiarella. 5 



< i Capsule 2-celled. . . . . . SulHvantia. 2 



J entire. ( Stamens 5. ( Capsule 1-celled Heuchera. 3 



i Petals 5, Jpectinately pinnatifid Mite.lla. i 



Herbs. J Petals 0. Leaves opposite. Aquatic, depressed Chrysosplentwn. S 



\ Petals valvale in festivation Hydrangea. 8 



i Leaves opposite. < Petals convolute in aestivation Philadetphus. 9 



Shrubs. ( Leaves alternate Ilea. 7 



Suborder 1. SAXIFRAGEtE. 



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

 tinct, forming a beaked capsule. Herbs. 



1. saxifrAga. 



Lat. saxum, a.xocV,fra7igerR, 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, eixtire, 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 CO.— '^ 



1. S. ViRGiNiENSis. Michx. (S. Virginica. Bw.) Earlij Saxifrage. 



L/vs. mostly radical, spatulate-obovate, crenately toothed, pubescent, short- 

 er than the broad petiole; sc(7;(?e nearly leafless, paniculately branched above; 

 fls. many, cymose ; ca.l. 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 with pur- 

 ple, in early spring. 



