SY£TE:MATIC eotant. 



you readily decide that the sepals are two, and 

 that there are five petals and live stamens. The 

 seed pods show that thei'e is but one pistil, and 

 that the calyx does not adhere to the ovary ; that 

 is, the ovary is superior. Armed with this in- 

 formation, you turn -to the key v/here you search 

 under "B. Stamens 10 or less." Evidently the 

 correct subheads are: "1. Ovary, or ovaries, supe- 

 rior," etc.; "* * Pkt'd only one/' "fi Herbs/' 

 "J Leaves viostJy radical/'' ' ' Stamens 5, opposite the 

 petals; sepals 2; style 3-cleft — Portulacaceee, 29." 

 Turning to p. 29 you find that GUujtonia is the 

 only genus having 5 stamens, and that this plant 

 must bfe Claytonia perfoUata. 



The little plant figured above («) evidently an- 

 swers to the description of the Var. exhjua, which 

 is now considered by the best authority to be a 

 distinct species. The stem leaves are sometim.es 

 broad and united at the base. The radical leaves 

 are nearly terete, as shown in the figure. This 

 species is most obviously distinguished from the 

 two varieties of the Cup-leaved Claytonia, by .its 

 glaucous leaved. The plants are often smaller 

 than hfere represented, and rarely much larger. 



Kellogg's Lavatera, or Tree IMallows, an e-\er- 

 blooming shrub, common m cultivation, is a con- 

 stant source of material with which to illustrate 

 the MalloAvs Family. The figure at the bottom ci 

 the page represents one of the flowers cut through 

 the center, so as to show the structiire. The fruit 

 of a very common weed of the same family is also 

 shown. The most common native plant is Sidalcrcc 

 humilis, described on page 32. Hollyhock, cotton, 

 okra and Abutilon are foreign plants of this order, 

 common in cultivation. The latter is a shrub with 

 drooping flowers; the petals incurved, and the 

 stamens sticking out (exserted). 



Upper Fig.— a. Claytouia exigua (entire plaut) . h. Clay- 

 tonia perfoliata. 



Lower Tig.— a. Fruit of Malva rotundifolia. h. Same, 

 showing the bracts of the persistent calyx, c. Kellogg's 

 Lavatera. * (L. assurgentiflora.) 



