MELASTOMACE^. (mELASTOMA FAMILY.) 155 



teolate peduncles ; petals oblong, spreading, as long as the stamens and slen- 

 der stylo; berry large. — No 'Name Key, South Florida {Curtiss). — A shrub 

 or small tree. 



* * * Flowers minute, in very short cluster-like racemes. 



5. E. raonticola, DC. Smooth ; leaves coriaceous, ov.ate-obloug, some- 

 what tapering towards the apex, but obtuse or emargiuate, contracted at the 

 base into a distinct petiole ; racemes clustered, several-iiowered, shorter than 

 the petiole ; stamens numerous ; berry globose. — South Florida. — Shrub 

 4° -6° high. Branches compressed. Leaves 2' long. Flowers white. Ber- 

 ries abundant; as large as a grain of pepper, black. 



6. E. buxifolia, Willd. ? Leaves smooth, coriaceous, obovate-oblong, 

 rounded at the apex, short- petioled; racemes single or clustered, few-flowered 

 about as long as the petiole; flowers minute; stamens few (9-12) or numer- 

 ous ; berry 1 - 3-seeded. — South Florida. — Varies much in the size of the 

 leaves and berries, length of the petiole, and number of stamens. 



2. CALYPTRANTHES, Swartz. 



Calyx tube obovate ; the limb entire, opening across like a lid, deciduous. 

 Petals none. Stamens numerous. Ovary 2 - 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each 

 cell. Berry 1-celled, 1 -4seeded. Seeds roundish; testa smooth. Embryo 

 curved ; the long and slender radicle coiled around the distinct unequal 

 folded and contorted cotyledons. — Shrubs or trees. Peduncles axillary, 

 many-flowered. 



1. C. Chytraculia, Swartz. Leaves ovate and ovate-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate but obtuse, pubescent, becoming smooth above ; peduncles longer than 

 the leaves, cymose-pauicled, tomentose ; flowers minute , berry dry, globose, 

 1 - 2-seeded. — South Florida. — A small tree. 



Order 57. MELASTOMACE.^. (Melastoma Family.) 



Herbs, shi-iilis, or trees, with opposite 3 - 9-ribbed leaves without 

 dots or stiptiles. and showy flowers. — Caljrx urn-shaped, 4-6-lobed, 

 persistent, cohering with the ovary below, or with its angles. Petals 

 4-6, twisted in the bud, inserted with the 4-12 stamens on the 

 throat of the calyx. Anthers adnate, often appendaged, usually 

 opening by terminal pores. Ovary 3-6-celled. Ovules numerous, 

 attached to the central placentae. Style solitary. Fruit baccate and 

 indehiscent, or capsular and loculicidally dehiscent. Seeds anatro- 

 pous, without albumen. 



1. RHEXIA, L. Deer-Grass. 



Calyx tube prolonged and narrowed above the ovary, 4-cleft. Petals 4, 

 roundish, deciduous. Stamens 8. Anthers 1-celled. opening by a terminal 

 pore. Capsule 4-celled. many-seeded. — Perennial herbs. Leaves 3 - S-ribbed. 

 Flowers cvmose, terminal. 



