030 Order 112.— EUPHORBIACE^E. 



jparted ; stamens 8 to 12, filaments very short, united at base, with 

 halved anthers ; $ calyx 3-parted ; styles 3, elongated, 2 or 3-cleft or 

 fringed ; fruit separating into 3 bivalve, 1-seeded nutlets, rarely simple. 

 — (£) Herbs (or tropical shrubs) resembling nettles. Lvs. alternate, 

 petiolatc. Fls. axillary, the fertile in short clusters at the base of the 

 little stamiuate spikes, surrounded by a large cut-toothed bract. 



1 A. Virgfnica L. Hairy or downy, branched ; lvs. oblong -lanceolate, obscurely ser~ 

 rate; involucrate bracts broadly ovate, deeply cut-toothed, veiny; sterile spikes 

 Blender, peduncled, usually exceeding the involucre ; seeds oval, ash-colored, 

 smoothish. — Dry fields, Can. and U. S. A rough weed, 10 to 20' high, often de- 

 cumbateat base. Lvs. 12 to 30" long, varying from ovate to lanceolate or lance- 

 linear, obtusely pointed, the petioles about as long. The little green spikes 4 to 

 10" ; fertile clusters in tho same axils, sometimes alone. Jn. — Aug. (Also A. 

 gracilens dr.) 



ft. jioxococca (Engclm.) Very slender, with lance-linear, subentirc lvs. and 

 a simple, 1 -celled, 1-seeded fruit. — AV. 111. 



2 A. Caroliaiana "Walt. Minutely downy, branched; lvs. ovate, cordate, closely 

 and strongly serrate, acute; sterile spikes short, fertile fls., also spicate, terminal; 

 invol. bracts deeply palmate with linear segments; sds. roundish ovoid, liuht ash- 

 colored, roughened with hard, black points. — Ind. to N. J., Ga. and La. Plant 

 slender, 1 to 2f high, nearly smooth. Lvs. 1 to 2' by 9 to 1*3", on slender petioles. 

 Seeds larger (l") than in No. 1. 



5. ClilDOS'COLUS, Pohl. Spurge Nettle. (Gr. i<vUh h a nettle, 

 cuijXog, a prickle.) Flowers 8, showy; calyx colored, convolute, 

 coralline; corolla ; hypogynous glands 5, $, stamens 10, united at 

 base, alternately short; $ calyx 5-parted ; styles 3, each 2 or more- 

 cleft ; capsule 3-carpeled, 3-sceded. — Herbs often beset with stings. 



C. stimulosa Gray. Ilispid, with bristly stings; lvs. palmately 3 to 5-lobed, 

 cordate at base, ciliate, lobes acute or acuminate, with few mucronate teeth, late- 

 ral lobes 2-parted; lis. terminal at length opposite the leaves, cyrnous; Bep. white, 

 oval, spreading; styles many-cleft at top ; caps, hispid. — If Alow herb, in sandy 

 soils, throughout the South, painfully common. It varies much in the width of 

 its leaf-segments. Stings white, often half an inch long. Mar. — Jl. (Jatropha 

 stimulosa Mx.) 



6. RIC'IRUS, Tourn. Castor Oil Plant. (Lat. ricinus, a bug; 

 from tho resemblance of the seeds.) Flowers 6? , apetalous ; calyx 3 to 

 5-parted, valvatc in the bud ; & stamens co, with irregularly united 

 filaments; $ style short, stigmas 3, 2-parted, pi unions, colored; cap- 

 sule echinatc, 3-lobed, 3-cclled, 3-seeded. — Herbs or shrubs. 



R. communis L. St. frosted or glaucous, white, herbaceous ; lvs. peltate, palmate, 

 lobes lanceolate, serrate; caps, prickly. — Native of the E. Indies, where it becomes 

 a tree, although an herbaceous annual in the N. States. In Ga. La. and Fla, it is 

 a stout shrub ! St. tall, smooth, of a light bluish green color. Lvs. 4 to 12" 

 diani., on long petioles. From its seeds is expressed the well known castor oil 

 of the shops. For this purpose it is extensively cultivated in the S. and W. 

 States. — The purgative property resides ia the embryo, not in the albumen. 



7. CR0 TON, L. (Xame in Greek of the same import as Mtcimis.) 

 Flowers 8 ; $ calyx 4 or 5-parted, cylindric-valvatc in bud ; corolla of 

 4 or 5 petals, often small ; stamens 5 to 20 ; ? calyx 5, rarely 8-cleft ; 

 corolla often minute or none ; styles 3, once or repeatedly forked ; cap- 

 sule 3-lobed, 3-celled, 3-carpclcd, carpels 1-seeded. — Plants clothed with 

 scurf, down or wool, usually glandular and aromatic. Hairs stellate. 

 Lvs. alternate. 



