Ll. LY'THRACES. 259 
P. Granitum. Pomegranate.—Arborescent; lys. lanceolate, with no margin- 
al vein.—A thorny bush when wild, from 8. FarOpe, where itis sometimes used 
for hedges like the hawthorn. Leaves lanceolate, entire, smooth, 2—3/ by 
5—10", obtuse. The flowers are scarlet, large, and make a fine appearance. 
The fruit is large, highly ornamental and of a fine flavor. Much care is 1equi- 
site for its cultivation. It requires a rich loam, a sunny situation, protected by 
glass. In this way double flowers of great beauty mayebe produced. + 
P. nana. Dwarf Pomegranate—Shrubby ; lvs. linear-lanceolate, acute.—Na- 
tive of the W. Indies, where it is used as a hedge plant. Shrub 4—6f high, with 
smaller purple flowers, often double. + 
Orver LI. MELASTOMACEA®.—Me astomes. 
Trees, shrubs or herbs with square branches, and usually exstipulate. _ 
Lvs. opposite, entire and undivided, without dots and with several veins. 
Cal.—Sepals 4—6, united, persistent, the tube urceolate, cohering with only the angles of the ovary. 
Cor.—Petals as many as the segments of the calyx, twisted in estivation. 
Sta. twice as many as the petals, sometimes of the same number, the filaments inflexed in estivation. 
Anth; before flowering contained in the cavity between the cal. and the sides of ova. 
Fr. capsular or baccate. 
Genera 118, speciés'1200. The order is represented in the United States by a single genus, the remain: 
der being natives chiefly of India and tropical America. No plant of this orderis poisonous. All are 
slightly astringent. 
RHEXIA. 
Gr. pegs, a rupture ; some of the species ate good vulneraries. 
Calyx 4-cleft, swelling at the base; petals 4; stamens 8, 1-celled ; 
style declined ; capsule 4-celled, nearly free from the investing calyx 
tube ; placentz prominent ; seeds numerous.—% Lvs. opposite, exstipu- 
late, 3-veined. 
1. R. Vireinica. Meadow Beauty. Deer Grass. 
St, with 4-winged angles; lvs. sessile, oval-lanceolate, ciliate-serrulate, 
and. with the stem clothed with scattered hairs; cal. hispid.—Grows in wet 
grounds, Mass. to Ill.! and La. Stem 1f or more high, often 3-forked above. 
Leaves with 3 (rarely 5 or 7) prominent veins, I—3’ long, about 4 as wide, 
acute. Flowers large,in corymbose cymes. Petals bright purple, obovate, his- 
pid beneath, caducous. Anthers long and prominent, crooked, golden yellow 
above with a purple line beneath. Style somewhat longer than the stamens, a 
little declined. Jl. Aug. 
2. R. Marina. Maryland Deer Grass. 
St. nearly terete, covered with bristly hairs; Jvs. lanceolate, acute, atten- 
uate at base into a very short petiole and, with the calyx, clothed with scattered 
hairs.—In sandy bogs, N. J. to Flor. The whole plant is hispid, even the pe- 
tals externally. Stem 1—2f high, slender, and generally without branches. 
Leaves often narrowly oblong, serrate-ciliate. Petals large, obovate, purple. 
Jn.—Sept. 
Orver LIT LYTHRACEA.—Loosesrrires. 
Herbs, rarely shrubs, frequently with 4-cornered branches. 
Lvs. opposite, rarely alternate, entire, with neither stipules nor glands. 
Cal. tubular, the limb 4—7 lobed, sometimes with as many intermediate teeth. 
Cor.—Petals inserted into the calyx between the lobes, very deciduous, or 0. 
Sta. equal in number to the petals, or 2—4 times as many, inserted into the calyx. 
Ova. superior, enclosed in the calyx-tube, 2—4-celled. Sty. united into one. 
Fr.—Capsule membranous, enveloped in the calyx, usually by abortion 1-celled. 
Sds. small, 00, attached to a central placenta. Albwmen 0. 
_Genera 35, species 300. Some of the species are found in temperate climes, but most of them are tro- 
pical. Lythrum salicaria, native of Europe, N. Holland and U. S., is used for tanning where it abounds. 
All the species are astringent. 
Conspectus of the Genera. 
4 Oilers Petals) SS kk Hypobrichia. 5 
sai 4 teeth and y short horns. Seth NP ey ee PEE ey Annmarantas 1 
campanulate, ? with 5 teeth and 5 long horns. alee VON TE ee phen ce 
cylindrical, with minute, intermediate horns. 7 C1 MICS Sa aoe 
Calyx ( ventricose, gibbous at base, intermediate horns0.. . : ; | | | Cuphea 4 
