270 LIX. CUCURBITACEiE. Echinocystis. 



Ova. (pist. fls.) winged, 3-ceIled, with 3 large placentae meeting in the axis. Stig. 3, 2-lobed, somewhat 

 Fr. capsular, winged, 3-celled, many-seeded. Sds. minute, without albumen. [spiral. 



Genera 3, species 159, common in the West Indies, S. America and East Indies— none N. American. 

 The roots are astringent and slightly bitter. 



DIPLOCLINIUM. Lindl. 



G)'. JtTrXoof, double, kXivt], couch; alluding to the double placenta). 



Fls. (? •— c^ Sepals orbicular, colored like the petals, but larger ; 

 pet. oblong, acute ; sta. combined in a column ; anth. in a globose 

 head. 9 Sepals 3, lanceolate, larger than the 2 petals ; stig. lobes 

 distinct, spiral, erect ; caps, wings unequal ; placentae double, or two 

 in each cell. — Evergreen, succulent undershruhs. 



D. EvANsiANUM. Lindl. (Begonia discolor. Willd. and \st edit.) — Glabrous ; 

 St. branched, tumid and colored at the joints, succulent; Ivs. large, slightly an- 

 gular, mucronate-serrate, cordate-ovate, very unequal at base, petiolate, with 

 weak, scattered prickles, and straight, red veins, the under surface deeply red- 

 dened ; fis. pink-colored in all their parts except the golden yellow anthers and 

 stigmas ; 9 larger than the J* and on peduncles twice as long. — From China, f 



Order LIX. CUCURBITACEiE.— Cucurbits. 



Herbs succulent, creeping or climbing by tendrils. 



Lvs. altemaie, palmately-veined, rough. Fls. monoecious or polygamous, never blue. 



Cal. 5-toothed. [reticulated veins. 



Cor.— Petals 5, united with each other and cohering to the calyx, very cellular, strongly marked with 



Sta. 5, distinct, more generally cohering in 3 sets. Anth. ver>' long and wavy or twisted. 



Ova. inferior, 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentae often filling the cells. 



Fr. a pepo or membranous. Seeds flat, with no albumen, often ariled. 



Genera 56, species 270, natives of tropical regions, only a few being found m the temperate zones of 

 Europe and America. A highly important order of plants, affording some of the most delicious and 

 nutritive of fruits. A bitter, laxative principle pervades the group, which is so concentrated in a few as 

 to render them actively medicinal. The officinal colocynth is prepared from the pulp of Cucumis Colo- 

 cynthis, a powerful drastic poison. • 



Conspectus of the Genera. ^ 



( l-seeded Sicyos. l 



(5 Fruit membranaceous, echinate, } 4-seeded Echinocystis. 2 



white. ? Fruit a pepo with a ligneous, smooth rind. Lagenaria. 6 



<, Seeds thin at edge Cticumis. 5 



^ indehiscent. ^ Seeds thick at edge Cucurbita. 7 



< Fruit a pepo, l dehiscing elastically on one side Momordica. 4 



yellow. I Fruit a small, oval, many-seeded berry Melothria. 3 



1. SICYOS. 



Gr. (TiKVOi, the ancient name of the cucumber. 



Flowers «?. J* Calyx 5-toothed ; corolla rotate, 5-petaled ; stamens 

 5, monadelphous or at length triadelphous ; anthers contorted. 9 

 Calyx 5-toothed, campanulate ; petals 5, united at base into a cam- 

 panulate corolla ; styles 3, united at base ; fruit ovate, membrana- 

 ceous, hispid or echinate, with 1 large, compressed seed. — ® Climb- 

 ing herbs, with compound tendrils. Sterile and fertile Jis. in the same axils. 



S. ANGULATUs. Single-Seed Cvxumber. 



St. branching, hairy ; lvs. roundish, cordate with an obtuse sinus, 5-angled 

 or 5-lobed, lobes acuminate, denticulate ; 9 much smaller than the ^. — Can. 

 and U.S. A weak, climbing vine, with long, spiral, branching tendrils. Leaves 

 3 — 4' broad, alternate, on long stalks. FloAvers whitish, marked with green 

 lines, the barren ones in long-pedunculate racemes. Fruit ^' long, ovate, spi- 

 nous, 8 — 10 together in a crowded cluster, each with one large seed. Jl. 



2. ECHINOCYSTIS. Torr. & Gray. 

 Gr, c^ivos, sea urchin, kvcttis, bladder; alluding to the spiny, inflated fruit. 



Flowers monoecious. Sterile Jl. — Calyx of 6 filiform-subulate seg- 

 ments, shorter than the corolla ; petals 6, united at base into a rotate- 

 campanulate corolla ; stamens 3, diadelphous. Fertile fl. — Cal. and 



