180 XIX. CISTACEiE. Lechea. 



2. DIONiEA. Ellis. 



Dionaea is one of the namea of Venus. 



Sepals 5, ovate, oblong, spreading ; petals 5, obovate, with pellucid 

 veins; stamens 10 — 15; style 1 ; stigmas 5, connivent, many-cleft: 

 capsules indebiscent, breaking irregularly, 1 -celled, many-seeded. — 

 % glabrous. X,vs. radical, sensitive, closing convulsively when touched. 

 Scape umbellate. 



D. MusciPULA. Ell. Vmus' Fly-trap. — Native of the Southern States. Some- 

 times cultivated in a pot of bog earth placed in a pan of water. Leaves rosu- 

 late, lamina roundish, spinulose on the margins and upper siu-face, instantly 

 closing upon insects and other objects which light upon it. (See Part 1. ^ 248.) 

 Scape 6 — 12' high, with an umbel of 8 — 10 white flowers. Apr. May. f 



3. PARNASSIA. Toiun. 



Named for Mount Parnassus, the abode of the Muses, Graces, &:c. 



Sepals 5, united at base, persistent; petals 5, persistent, nearly 

 perigynous ; stamens perigynous, in 2 series, the outer indefinite in 

 number, united in .5 groups, sterile, tbe inner 5 perfect ; capsule 1- 

 celled, 4-valved ; seeds very numerous, with a winged testa. — % herbs 

 with radical Ivs. and l-flowered scapes. 



1. P. Caroliniana. Grass of Parnassus. 



Sterile filaments in 5 clusters, 3 in each, distinct to near the base, sur- 

 mounted with little spherical heads ; pet. much exceeding the calyx, marked 

 with green veins ; Ixs. radical or ses.sile on the scape, broad-oval, with no sinus 

 at the base, — An exceedingly elegant and interesting plant, growing in wet 

 meadows and borders of streams, U. S. to Can. Root fibrous. Leaves about 

 7-veined, broad-oval or ovate, smooth, leathery, radical ones long-stalked, cau- 

 line ones sessile, clasping, a few inches above the root. Scapes about If high, 

 with a handsome regular flower about 1' diam, Jl, Aug, 



2. P. PALUSTRIS. 



Lvs. all cordate, the cauline one (if any) sessile ; scales (bundles of sterile 

 stamens) smooth, with numerous slender, pellucid setae. — Bogs and lake shores, 

 Mich, to Lab. and W. to the Rocky Mts. Scapes about 6' high, naked or with 

 a single clasping leaf near the base. Flowers white. Sepals oblong-lanceo- 

 late. Petals marked with 3 — 5 green or purple veins. Each scale is distin- 

 guished by 10 — 15 whitish hair-like bristles. 



Order XIX. CISTACE^.— Rock Roses. 



Plants herbaceous or shrubby. Branches often viscid. 

 Lvs. entire, opposite or alternate, usually feather- veined. 

 Fls. white, yellow, or red, very fugacious, in onesided racemes. 

 CoZ.— Sepals 5, unequal, the 3 inner with a twisted eestivation. 

 Cor.— Petals 5, hypogynous, crumpled in estivation. 

 Sta. indefinite, hypoeynou.s, distinct. Anth. innate. 



Ova. distinct, or many-celled. Sti/. single. Stig. simple. [ceedine from the middle of the valves. 



Fr. capsular, either 1-celled with parietal placenta, or imperfectly 3— 5-celled, with dissepiments pro- 

 Genera 7, species 185, found most abundant in the north of Africa or south of Europe. They possesa 

 no interest on account of their properties. 



Conspectus of the Geyiera. 



\ large and showy, or wanting Helianthemwn. 9. 



Petals 5, I minute. Delicate shrubs Hudsonia. 3 



Petals 3, linear-lanceolate Lechea. i 



1. LECHEA. 



In memory of John Leche, a Swedish botanist 



Sepals 5, the 2 outer minute ; petals 3, lanceolate, small ; stamens 

 3 — 12; stigmas 3, scarcely distinct; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved ; pla- 

 centae nearly as broad as the valves, roundish, each 1 — 2-seeded — % 

 Svffruticose. branching jjJants. Stipules 0. 



