-^ , 



NAT. ORDER. 



ConvolvulacecB. 



CONVOLVULUS JALAPA. JALAP BIND-WEED. 



Class V. Pentandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Sepals five. Corolla campanulate. Stamens included. 

 Capsules two-celled. Style one. Stigma two-lobed ; the lobes 

 capitate. Ovary two-celled ; cells two-seeded. 



Spe. Char. Stem twining. Leaves ovate, somewhat heart-shaped, 

 downy on the under side. Peduncles supporting one flower. 



The root is perennial, large, ponderous, abounding with a milky 

 juice, of an irregular, oval form and blackish color ; the stalks are 

 numerous, shrubby, slender, twisted, striated, rising from ten to tweh e 

 feet in height, and twmuig for support round the neighboring plants ; 

 the leaves are various, generally more or less heart-shaped, but ofteu 

 angular, or oblong and pointed, smooth, of a bright green color, and 

 stand alternately upon long footstalks ; the Jiowers stand upon two 

 short branches, sending off two peduncles, each of which supports a 

 single flower, which is large, beU-shaped, entire, plicated, externally of 

 a reddish color, but of a dark purple within ; the calyx consists of 

 five oval leaves ; these are concave, somewhat indented at their points, 

 and of a pale green color ; the filaments are five, slender, short, and 

 the anthers large and yellow ; the style is shorter than the stamen ; 

 the stigma is round, and the gcTmen oval. 



This species of jalap is a native of South America, and flowers in 

 August and September. It derived its name from the city of Xalapa, 

 in the s*ate of Vera Cruz, in the neighborhood of which it grows in 



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