Order Tl.— LOBELIACE.E. 475 



tumid at base ; receptacle naked ; pappus of simple, copious, white- 

 silky hairs, in many series : aehenia compressed, not rostrate. — Lvs. 

 mostly spinulous. lids, with mauy yellow fls. 



§ Flowers bright yellow, in showy heads. Aehenia angular. Perennial No. 1 



| Flowers pale yellow, iu large heads. Aehenia flat. Annual Nos. 2, i 



1 S. arvensis L. Root creeping; stem glabrous, erect; lvs. runcinate-pin- 

 nLUilid, spiaulous-dentate, cordate, clasping at base, •with short and obtuse auri- 

 cles; panicles umbellate-corymbous; ped. and invol. hispid; ach. somewhat 

 4-augled, ribs transversely rugulous. — Waste grounds, naturalized, E. Mass, and 

 S. N. York, rare. St angular, about 2f high. lids, large, with deep yellow 

 fls. § Eur. 



2 S. asper Vill. Lvs. cordate-amplexicaul, oblong-lanceolate, undulate, spinulous- 

 dentate; ped. subumhellate; ach. oval-obovaie, 'i-ribbed on each side. — Found in. 

 similar situations with the former, but less common, TJ. S. St. 1 to 2f high, 

 smooth except at the summit of the branches where it is often hispid-glandular. 

 Lvs. with numerous, short, spiny teeth, wavy or slightly runcinate, the upper 

 ones clasping so as to appear perfoliate. Scales with few scattered hairs. Aug., 

 Sept. (S. spinulosus Bw. S. Carolinianus Walt.) 



3 S. oleraceus L. Lvs. sagittate-ampilexicaid, runcinate-pinnatifid, subspinulous, 

 dentate ; ped. downy; invol. at leugth smooth ; ach. many-striate. — A sordid look- 

 ing plant, in waste ground, among rubbish, &c. Plant of a glaucous hue. St. 

 angular, hollow, fragile, 2 to 3f in height. Lvs. apparently clasping, with largo, 

 retreating lobes at base, wavy and serrated in a runcinate manner, the teeth end- 

 ing in weak spines. Invol. dilated at base, with yellow corollas. Sept. § Eur. 



Suboeder III. LABIATIFLOE^. 



115. CHAPTA'LIA, Vent. (Dedicated hy Ventenat to the celebrated 

 French chemist M. Chaptal.) Heads radiate ; involucre campanulate ; 

 scales in few series, linear, acute ; receptacle naked ; ray flowers $ , 

 ligulate, disk-flowers £ , but sterile, bilabiate, lips equal, outer 3-, inner 

 2-parted ; aehenia glabrous ; pappus capillary. — If. Acaulescent herbs. 

 Lvs. all radical, lid. solitary, cyanic. 



C. tomentosa Vent. Lvs. oblong-ovato or lance-oval, on a short petiole, re- 

 trorsely denticulate, clothed with a dense, white tomentum beneath ; scapo 

 loosely tomentous ; hd. nodding until in flower, thence erect on the slender, sim- 

 ple scape. — Moist pine barrens, N. Car. to Fla. and La. An interesting plant, 

 alone representing the suborder Labiatseflorae. Lvs 2 to 4' long, 6 to 15" wide, 

 often subsessile, the upper surface at first arachnoid, at length smooth. Scapo 

 6 to 12' high. Rays about 20, rose-red or white. Disk florets palo yellow. 

 Mar., Apr. 



Order LXXI. LOBELIACE^E. Lobeliads. 



Herbs or shrubs with a milky juice, alternate, exstipulate lvs. and scattered fls. 

 Calyx 5-lobed or entire. Cor. monopetalous, irregular, split down to the base on 

 one side. Stamens 5, free from the cor., united into a tube at least by their anthers. 

 Ovary adherent to the calyx tube. Style 1. Stigma surrounded by a fringe. Fruit 

 a capsule 2 — 3-(rarely 1-) celled. Seeds numerous, albuminous. 



Genera '29, specie* 875, most abundant in countries near the tropics, as W. Indies, Brazilt 

 Sandwich Islands, but common also throughout the temperate zones. 



Properties. Tho species of Lobelia are more or less poisonous. The milky juice is acrid nod 

 narcotic, producing effects similar to those of Tobacco. L. in (lata has long been considered a 

 remedy for spasmodic asthma, but more recently is adopted in tho regular practice of the "Bot- 

 anic 8cho»>l" of Medicine as an emetie, expectorant and sudorific, applicable in numerous dj»- 

 «*»es. Lika Aconite and other medicinal poisons, it is, of course, to be used with caution. 



