66 OXALIDACE^. 



Wet grounds. Can. to Geor. W. to Miss. Aug., Sept. (T).—Slem 2 — 4 feet, 

 high. Leaves on {Petioles an inch or more long. Flowers deep orange with red- 

 dish brown spoLs, smaller and less numerous than the former. 



Balsam Weed. Jewel Weed. 



Order XXX. TROP^OLACE^.— Indian Cresses. 



vSepals 3 — 5, upper one with a long distinct spur. Petals 1 — 5, 

 equal or unequal. Stamens 6 — 10, distinct. Ovary 1, 3 -cor- 

 nered ; style 1 ; stigmas 3 — 5, acute. Fruit indehiscent, the 

 pieces separable from a common axis, sometimes winged. Seeds 

 large, without albumen. — Herbaceous plants with an acrid taste. 

 Leaves alternate, without stipules. 



FLGERKIA. mZW.— False Mermeiid. 

 (In honor oi Floerke, a German botanist.) 

 Calyx of 3 sepals. Petals 3, shorter than the sepals. Sta- 

 mens 6. 



F. prose7-pinacoides Willd. F. uliginosa Muhl. Neciris pinnata Pwrsh. 

 Marshes. Ver. to Virg. W. to Miss. April, May. (^.—Stem 4 — 10 inches 

 long, at length decumbent, nearly simple. Leaves somewhat succulent, on slen- 

 der petioles, trifid and pmnatifid. Peduncles axillary, at first short, gradually 

 lengthenmg. Flowers about 3 lines in diameter, with white oblong petals. 



False Mermaid. 



Order XXXI. OXALIDACE^.— Wood Sorrels. 



Sepals 5, .persistent, equal. Petals 5, equal, unguiculate, 

 with a twisted aestivation. Stamens 10, usually more or less 

 monadelphous. Styles 5, filiform; stigmas capitate. Fruit 

 capsular, membranous, with 5 cells, and from 5 to 10 valves. 

 Seeds few, with a fleshy integument, which bursts elastically. 

 Albumen between cartilaginous and fleshy. — Herbaceous plants, 

 rarely shrubs or trees. Leaves mostly alternate and compound. 



OXALIS. i.m?^.— Wood Sorrel. 

 (From the Greek o^vj, sharp or acid; in allusion to the sour taste of the plant.) 

 Sepals 5, free or united at base. Petals 5. Stamens 10, 

 often monadelphous at base, 5 outer ones shorter. Styles 5. 

 Capsule pentangular, oblong or cylindric, 5-celled. 



* Steviless. 



1. O. Acetosella Linn.: root creeping, scaly; scape' 1-flowered, longer 

 than the leaves, with two small bracts above the middle ; leaves ternate ; 

 leafets obcordate^ hairy ; petals oval, obtuse ; styles as long as the inner 

 stamens. 



