Order 50.-— MELASTOMACE.E. 347 



tion, protected northward by glass. In this way doublo flowers of great beauty 

 may bo produced. \ 



2 P. nana L. Shrubby; lvs. linear-lanceolate, acute. — Native of the ~W. 

 Indies, where it is used as a hedge plant Shrub 4 to 6f high, with smaller 

 purple fls., often double, f 



Order L. MELASTOMACE^. Melastomes. 



Trees, shrubs or herbs with square branches, and usually exstipulate. Lvs. op- 

 posite, entire and undivided, without dots and with several veins. Cal. persistent, 

 the tube urceolate, cohering with only the angles of the ovary. Petals as many as 

 the segments of the calyx (4 to 6), twisted in {estivation. Stamens twice as many 

 as petals, sometimes the same number, inflexed in aestivation. Anthers before 

 flowering contained in the cavity between the calyx and the sides of ovary. Fruit 

 capsular or baccate. 



Genera 118, species 1200. The order is represented in the IT. S. by a single genus, the re- 

 mainder being natives chiefly of India and tropical America. No plantof this order is poisonous. 

 Ail are slightly astringent. 



RHEX'IA, L. Deer-grass. (Gr. petjig, a rupture ; some of the 

 species are good vulneraries.) Calyx 4-cleft, swelling at the base ; 

 petals 4 ; stamens S, 1-cellecl ; style declined ; capsule 4-celled, nearly 

 free from the investing calyx tube ; placenta) prominent ; seeds nu- 

 merous. — ~>4 Lvs. opposite, exstipulate, 3-veined. 



§ Anthers curved, saccate at base, with a bristly appendage at the insertion 



of the filament. — Stem square, winged Nos. 1, 1 



— Stem terete or teretish Nos. 8 — 5 



§ Anthers straight, terminal. — Stems simple, with purple flowers Nos. 6, T 



— Stems braehiate, with yellow flowers No. 8 



1 R. Virginica L. Meadow Beadtt. St. square, the angles narrowly winged; 

 lvs. sessile, oval-lanceolate, ciliate-serrulate, and with the stem clothed with scattered 

 hairs ; cal. hispid. — Grows in wet grounds, Mass. to 111. and La. St. If or more 

 high, often 3-forked above. Lvs. with 3 (rarely 5 or 7) prominent veins, 1 to 3' 

 long, about \ as wid^e, acute. Fls. large, in corymbous cymes. Petals bright 

 purple, obovate, hispid beneath, caducous. Anth. long and prominent, crooked, 

 golden yellow above, with a purple line beneath. Sty. somewhat longer than the 

 stamens, a little declined. Jl., Aug. 



2 R. stricta Ph. St. tall, with 4 strongly winged angles, glabrous ; lvs. ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, setaceously serrate, glabrous, or slightly hispid above; 

 cal. glabrous, the tube very short. — Bogs around pine barrens, S. Car. to Ala. and 

 Fla. St. 3 to 4f high, slightly bearded at the joints. Lvs. 2 to 3' long. Pis. 

 purple, large and fine. Jn., Jl. 



3 R. Mariana L. St. nearly terete, covered with bristly hairs ; lvs. lanceolate, 

 acute, attenuate at base into a very short petiole, and, with the calyx clothed with 

 scattered hairs. — In sandy bogs, N. J. to Flor. The whole plant is hispid, even 

 the petals externally. St. 1 to 2f high, slender, and generally with few branches. 

 Lvs. often narrowly oblong, 4 to 6 times longer than wide, serrate-ciliato. Petals 

 large, obovate, purple. Jn. — Sept. 



4 R. lanceolata Walt. St. much branched, hirsute, teretish; lvs. linear and 

 lance-linear, attenuate to a short petiole, slightly hispid and ciliate ; fls. very pale, 



• in fastigiato cymes ; cal. glabrous. — Damp soils, N. Car. to Fla. and La. Sts. 1 

 to 2f high, very leafy, growing in dense patches, with numerous white or pale 

 purple fls. Lvs. 7 or 8 times longer than wide. Jn. — Aug. 



5 R. glabella Ph. Glabrous and somewhat glaucous; st. simple, teretish; lvs. 

 lanceolate ; calyx glandular-hispid. — Damp woods, N. Car. to Fla. and La. St. 

 2 to 3f high, dividing at top into a few peduncles. Lvs. mostly longer than tho 

 internodes (1 to 2'), obscurely serrulate, acute, sessile. Cal. rather funnel form 

 above the ovary. Petals pale purple, large, expanding near 2'. Jn. — Aug. 



