602 Oeder 101.— NYCTAGINACEJB. 



equal ; anthers G, subsessilc upon the style ; stigma 6-lobed ; capsule 6- 

 culled, septicidal, many-seeded. — St. erect or twining. 



5 Stem erect. Calyx tube sigmoid (i. e., twice bent like the letter S) Nos. 1, 2 



ij Stem climbing. Calyx tube recurved, once bent upwards Nos. 3,4 



1 A. serpentaria L. Virginia Snake-root. St. erect, flexuous ; lvs. petiolate, 

 oblong or ovale, thin, cordate, acuminate ; ped. radical, many bracted ; cal. lube 

 smoothish, contracted in the midst, limb obscurely 2-lipped. — A curious vegetable 

 in hedges and thickets. Penn. to 111. and La. St 8 to 13' high, subsimple, jointed, 

 herbaceous. Lvs. variable in width, 2 to 4' by 9" to 2' rarely larger. Fls. few. 

 Cal. dull purple, of a leathery texture, tubular, 7 to 9" long, twice bent almost 

 double, enlarged at each end, the limb with 3 short, obtuse lobes. Caps, obovate, 

 6-augled, 6 to 9" long. Jn., Jl. 



/?. ? iiastata. Lvs. lance-oblong, or oblong linear, auriculato at base, on pe- 

 tioles as short as the auricles. — S. Car. to La. St. very slender and usu- 

 ally simple. Fls. not seen. Lvs. 2 to 3' by 3 to 5". (A. hastata Nutt.) 



2 A. reticulata Nutt. St. erect, very flexuous, hirsute, simple ; lvs. oval, sessile, 

 cordate-clasping with decussating lobes, apex obtuse or bluntly acute ; veinlets and 

 veinulets finely reticulated, all prominent and hairy beneath ; ped. below the lvs., 

 simple or branched, hirsute, bracted; cal. small, densely woolly. — La. (Hale.) About 

 If high. Lis. 6" long, about half the size of No. 1. Lvs. rather thick, 3 to 4' by 

 2 to 3'. 



3 A. Sipho L'Her. Dutchman's Pipe. St. twining, shrubby ; lvs. glabrous, am- 

 p>le, roundish, cordate, entire, petiolate ; ped. 1-fiowered, furnished with a single, 

 ovate clasping bract; cal. tube bent, ascending, limb 3-cleft, equal. — A vigorous 

 climber in mountainous woods, "Western Penn. to Ky. and S. States. St. woody, 

 twining, and ascending trees 30 to 40f. Leaves 6 — 12' diam., alternate, sprinkled 

 with soft hairs. Flowers solitary, the tub3 long (1G") bent at nearly a right 

 angle, in the form of a (siphon or) tobacco pipe, and of a dull brown color. May, 

 Jn. f Highly ornamental for arbors. 



4 A. tomontosa Sims. Twining, shrubby ; lvs. downy or hairy beneath, roundish, 

 cordate, entire, petiolate, very veiny ; ped. solitary, 1-flowered, bractkss; cal. 

 downy, bent upwards, greenish-yellow, limb dark-purple, nearly equal, rugous, re- 

 flexed, 3-cleft, throat oblong and oblique, nearly closed. — Woods along rivers, S. 

 111. to La. and Ga. St. climbing tall trees 30 to 40f. Lvs. 4 to 6' long, 3 to 4' 

 wide. Ped. as long as the petioles. Cal tube (20" long) contracted abovo th* 

 ovary and strongly recurved. Stig. 3-lobed. May. Jn. 



Order CI. NYCTAGINACEiE. Marvelworts. 



Herbs (shrubs or trees) with tumid joints, entiro and opposite leaves. Flowers 

 surrounded with an involucre (calyx-like when the flower is solitary). Calyx a deli- 

 cate, colored, funnel-form or tubular perianth, deciduous above the 1-celled, 1-seeded 

 ovary, leaving its persistent base to harden and envelop the fruit (achenium) as a 

 kind of pericap. Stamens 1 to several, definite, slender, hypogynous, exserted, vm- 

 equaL Embryo coiled around the copious whito albumen. Fig. 373, 4G0. 



Genera 16, specie* 110, chiefly tropic.il, south of the equator. 



Properties. — The roots are purgative, especially those of the beautiful cultivated genus — 

 Four-o'clock. 



GENERA. 



* Involucre calyx-like, involving but a single, large flower Mir.Ami.rs. 1 



* Involucre involving several (3 to 5) small flowers Oxvbaphub. 2 



* Involucre none, chc miauto flowers with deciduous bracts Bojkuaavia. $ 



i. MIRAB'ILIS, L. Marvel of Peru. Four-o'clock. (Lat mira- 

 bilis, wonderful, admirable; a name well applied.) Involucre calyx-like, 

 5-lobed, 1-flowered, lobes acuminate ; perianth (calyx) tubular-funnel- 



