278 LXV. SAXIFRAGACEiE. Saxifraga. 



suffruticose pla?it, native of tJie E. Indies. Lvs. opposite^ umqually 

 pinnate^ part of them sometimes simple. Fls. greenish-purple. 



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

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

 high. Leaves 3— 5-foliate, 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. nevTC, 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-ceUed and 5-beaked ; seeds 00, minute. — 

 % Erect {iiot succulent) herbs. Lvs. alternate. Fls. yellawish, cymose. 

 F. sEDoiDES. Virginia Stone-crop. 



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

 each end, unequally serrate ; Jis. 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, lecurved at first, at length 

 spreading, with the flowers arranged on their upper side, constituting a cor}Tn- 

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



Sta. 5—10. Antfiers 3-celled, openin? longitudinallj'. 



Ova. inferior, usually of 2-carpels, cohering at base, distinct and divergent above. 



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



Genera 38, 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. 



S Capsule 2-celled Sasifraga. 1 



( Stamens 10. I Capsule l-cel!ed Tiarella. 5 



< (, Capsule 2-celied Sullivantia. 2 



< entire. ( Stamens 5. X Capsule 1-celled Heuchera. 3 



t Petals .5, I pectinately pinnatifid. Mitella. 4 



Herbs I Petals 0. Leaves opposite. Aquatic, depressed Chrysosplemum. 6 



J Petals valvate in aestivation Hijdrangea. 8 



< Leaves opposite, i Petals convolute in aestivation Philadelphtis. 9 



Shrubs. ( Leaves alternate I^^^- "^ 



Suborder 1. SAXIFRAGES. 



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

 tinct, forming a beaked capsule. Herbs. 



1. saxifrAga. 



Lat. saxum, & rock, frangere, 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, entire, 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 00.— '^ 



1. S. ViRGiNiENSis. Michx. (S. Virginica. Bw.) Earhj Sa.vifrage. 



Lvs. mostly radical, spatulate-obovate, crenately toothed, pubescent, short- 

 er than the broad petiole ; scape nearly leafless, paniculately branched above: 

 fls. many, cymose ; cat. adherent to the ba.se 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. 



