ASCLEPIADACE^E. (MILKWEED FAMILY.) 343 



globose, surrounded by a cup-shaped membrane. Follicles slender. Seeds 

 iu a single row, terete, truncated at each end, naked. — Erect branching 



! perennial herbs, with alternate leaves, and small pale blue flowers in a ter- 



I minal panicle. 



1. A. Tabernsemontana, Walt. Stem smooth, branching above; 

 leaves ovate, ovate lanceolate, or lanceolate, glaucous beneath, short-petioled ; 

 tube of the corolla slender, smooth, or woolly above ; follicles spreading. — 

 Swamps and wet banks. May -June. — Stem 2^ high. Leaves 1'- 4' long, 

 often slightly pubescent beneath. Panicle open or contracted. Follicles 

 4' -6' long. 



2. A. ciliata, Walt. Stem liairy, at lengtli much branched al)Ovc ; leaves 

 very numerous, linear or linear-lanceolate, fringed on the margins ; corolla 

 smooth. — Dry sandy soil, Florida to Nortli Carolina. April- May. — Stem 

 at length 2° -3° high. Leaves r-2' long. Corolla pale blue or white. 



4. VINCA, L. Periwinkle. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla salver-form, 5-lobed, thickened or angular at the 

 throat, the narrow tube hairy within. Anthers oblong, longer than the fila- 

 ments. Glands 2, alternating with the ovaries. Style slender : stigma thick, 

 with an inverted cup-shaped membrane at the base. Follicles 2, linear, erect. 

 Seeds oblong, rough, naked. — Herbs or shrubby plants, with opposite short- 

 petioled leaves, and axillary mostly solitary showy flowers. 



1. V. rosea, L. Shrubby, pubescent; stem erect, brandling; leaves 

 oblong ; flowers solitary or in pairs ; corolla white or pale rose-color. — 

 Waste ground. Introduced. 



5. VALLESIA, Ruiz & Pavon. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla salver-shaped, 5-lobed. Stamens inserted on the 

 throat of the corolla : anthers cordate-ovate, longer than the slender filaments. 

 Nectary none. Ovaries 4-ovuled. Stigma club-shaped. Drupe mostly soli- 

 tary, obovoid, 1 - 2-seeded. Seeds naked, club-sliaped, furrowed. Radicle 

 thick, inferior. — Shrubs. Leaves alternate. Cymes long-peduucled, oppo- 

 site, the leaves. 



1. V. glabra, Cdv. Smooth; leaves lanceolate-oblong, acute at each end, 

 short-petioled ; cymes as long as the leaves, many-flowered ; lobes of the 

 corolla linear, shorter than the tube, hairy within ; style slender ; stigma 2- 

 lobed, globose below the apex. — South Florida. — Leaves H'-2' long. 

 Corolla 3" long. Drupe 4" long, 1 -seeded. 



Order 96. ASCLEPIADACE^. (Milkweed Family.) 



Erect or twining herbs or shrubs, with milky juice, entire commonly 

 opposite leaves without stipules, and umbellate or cymose flowers. — 

 Calyx 5-parted, persistent. Corolla 5-parted, mostly valvate in the 

 bud, hypogynous, deciduous. Stamens 5, inserted on the base of the 



