*oo 



Order 97.— ABCLEPIADACE^E. 



setaceous, elongated. — Shrub with numerous, slender, straggling branches, Very 

 leafy, forming light masses of evergreen foliage, nourishing best beneath the shad© 

 of other plants. Leaves 2 to 3' in length, shining, rounded or somewhat cordate 

 at base. Flowers blue, appearing in May and June, f Eur. 



5. NE'RIUM, L. Oleander. (Gr. npbg, damp; referring to the 

 locality of the plants.) Calyx with 5 teeth at the base outside of tho 

 corolla; corolla hypocrateriform, segments contorted, orifice with a 

 corona consisting of 5, laciniate leaflets ; filaments inserted into the 

 middle of the tube ; anthers sagittate, adhering to the stigma by the 

 middle. — Oriental shrubs. Lvs. evergreen, opposite or ternatc. 



M". Oleander L. Lvs. lanceolate, aeuto at each end ; corona segm. of 3 to 

 4 lance-acuminate teeth. — In tho greenhouse and shrubberies. St. regularly 

 branched. Lvs. commonly 3 together, on short stalks, smooth, very entire, cori- 

 aceous, with prominent, transverse veins beneath. Fls. terminal, corymbeus, 

 large and beautiful rose-colored. One variety has white flowers, another varie- 

 gated, and a third double. This splendid shrub is common in Palestine (Rev. S. 

 Hebard), growing by rivulets, &c. It is supposed to be tho plant to which tho 

 Psalmist alludes, Ps. i. 3, and xxxvii. 35. 



Order XCVII. ASCLEPIADACE.-E. Asclepiads. 



Plants (chiefly herb, 



United States) with a milky juice, often twining. 

 Leaves opposite (rarely whorled or scattered), 

 without stipules, entire. Flowers generally 

 umbellate, 5-parted, regular, tho sepals and 

 §|j also the petals united at base, both valvato 

 in aestivation. Stamens united, adherent 

 to and covering the fleshy mass of tho two 

 united stigmas. Pollen cohering in masses. 

 Ovaries 2, forming follicles in fruit. 



Genera 14T, Aperies $10, chiefly natives of tropi- 

 cal regions, and especially abundant in S. Africa, 



5. India and Now Holland, but arc nut uncommon 

 in temperate regions. 



Properties. — Similar to those of tho Apoeyna- 

 cere but far less active. The juice, is acrid and 

 generally to be, at least, suspected. A few of the 

 species aro medicinal, but none of much conse- 

 quence. 



FIG. C70. — 1. Asclepiuscormiti. 2. A flower, the 

 petals and sepals reflexed, and the corona erect 

 8. One of the segments of the corona with the 

 horn bent inwardly. 4. A pair of pollen i^asse* 

 suspended from the glands, o. A mature fulliclo. 



6. Vertical section of P. phytolacoides showing 

 the 2 ovaries. 7. Lobe and horn of the corona. 



TRIBES AND GENERA. 



I. PERII'LOCE^E. Filaments distinct. Pollinia single (not in pairs), granular. (*) 



* Anthers bearded on the back. Pollinia 5. Stem twining Pr.nn-LoCA. 1 



II. ASCLEPIADE^E. Filaments connate. Pollinia 10, in pairs, pendulous, vertical, (a) 



a Hoods each sheathing a little horn. Petals reflexed Asclf.pias, 9 



a Hoods of the crown destitute of a horn, (b) 



b Petals reflexed. Hoods erect, adnatc to tho anthers Acf.kates. J 



b Petals expanding. Hoods ascending, free from anthers Axantiierix. 4 



b Fetals erect. — Plant erect. Anther head pedicellate Podosticma. 5 



— Plants twining. Crown fleshy rettise Skstf.ra. C 



—Plant twining. Crown thin, 2-awnod Exsle.nia. T 



