4 . " 
RvELLIA. XC. ACANTHACEZ. . 395: 
2, SESAMUM. 
Calyx 5-parted ; corolla campanulate, 3-cleft, the lower lobe the 
longest ; stigma lanceolate; capsule 2-celled, the cells divided by the 
inflexed edges of the valves —® of India. 
S. Inpicum. DC. Oily-seed.—Lws. lanceolate-ovate, lower ones 3-lobed, up- 
per ones undivided, serrate-—Native of E. India. Stem erect, about 18’ high. 
Leaves alternate, entire. Flowers axillary, subsessile. Corolla pale purple. 
The seeds yield an excellent oil which will keep several years without injury. 
It is used in cookery for all the purposes of sweet oil. Five pounds of the so 
~ield about one pound of oil, The leaves are emollient. ; 
Orper XC. ACANTHACE A. Acanruaps, 
Herbs or shrubs with opposite, simple, undivided, exstipulate leaves. 
Fis. opposite or alternate, spicate, 3-bracteate, showy. Pas 
Cal. of 5 sepals united more or less, persistent. Cor. 5-lobed, subequal or bilabiate. 
Sta. 4, didynamous, or more usually only 2 fertile with 2 rudimentary. : 
Ova. 2-celled, with the placente parietal, adhering in the axis. Styles united. 
Fr.—Capsule 2-celled, cells 2 or many-seeded. : 
Sds. roundish, supported by hooked, ascending processes of the placente, without albumen. 
Genera 105, species 750, chiefly tropical, only a few species ever extending into the United States. They 
are mostly mere weeds, but many are highly ornamental. Properties mucilaginous and slightly bitter, but 
of little importance to man. 
Genera. 
Stamens 2. Flowers.in pedunculate, axillary clusters. . 5 : : 3 3 g . Dicliptera. 1 
Stamens 4, didynamous. Flowers sessile, axillary. - pao. i8 . Ruellia. 2 
ee Ss DICLIPTERA. Juss. 
Gr. dts, double, xahurnp, a cover; alluding to the 2 remarkable valves. 
Calyx 5-parted, often 2—=3-bracteolate ; cor. bilabiate, upper lip 
emarginate, lower 3-cleft; fil. 2, each with a double anther; stig. 1 ; 
caps. attenuated below, half 2-celled, with 2 elastic valves; dissepi- 
ment growing from the centre of each valve; seeds 4, lenticular— 
Flerbaceous or shrubby. 
D. Americana. Wood. Gsricia pedunculosa. Michz. Dianthera Ame- 
ricana. Linn.)—St. simple; lvs. linear-lanceolate, acute at each end; 
spikes capitate, dense, on long, opposite or alternate, axillary peduncles.—2 On 
sluggish streams, Can. to Ga., W.to Ohio! Ia. Plummer! Ill. Mead. Stem 
1—3f high, grooved. Leaves opposite, 2—5! by 41’, wavy, glabrous, contract- 
ed to a short petiole. Peduncles about as long as the leaves. Flowers pale 
pare small. Valves of the capsule recurved elastically when mature, lower 
alf attenuate and abortive; processes of the placentze ascending, supporting 
the lens-shaped seeds in their grooves. Jl. Aug. 
2% RUELLIA. 
In honor of John Ruelle, physician to Francis I., and botanic author. 
Calyx 5-parted, generally bibracteate at base; cor. subcampanu- 
late with a slender tube and a 5-lobed limb; sta. 4, didynamous, ap- 
proximating by pairs ; caps. attenuated to each end, bursting by elas- 
tic, tooth-like valves ; seeds few.—% ork. Fs. axillury and terminal. 
1. R. strepens. (R. hirsuta. Ell.. R. ciliosa. Willd.? R.hybrida. Ph. ? 
R. oblongifolia. Mz.?)—Hirsute. erect, branched; Ivs. ovate, oval or ob- 
_ long, acutish, margin entire, undulate, lower ones briefly petiolate, upper ses- 
~ sile; fis. subsessile, axillary, 2—3 together; cal. segments linear-subulate, his- 
pid, half as long as the slender tube of the corolla.—In dry barrens and prairies, 
Ohio! Ind.! Ill. ! to Penn. and Southern States. Stem 8—24’ high, often sim- 
ple, clothed with white, bristly hairs, Leaves 11—22/ long, 1—1as wide. Calyx 
segments 8—10” long. Corolla caducons, limb light bluish-purple, 1—13/ broad, 
funnel-shaped, ee long and slender tube. July.—Varies to subglabrous. 
