472 CIX, NYCTAGINACEA. Minapitae, 
3. OPLOTHECA. Nutt. 
G7. odos, armor, Snxn, sheath; alluding to the armed cover of the fruit. 
Fils. $—Calyx scarious, tubular, 5-toothed, densely tomentose, 
subtended at base by 2 truncated bracts; sta. 5, filaments united 
into asheath below; stig. simple ; utricle 1-seeded, enclosed in the in- 
durated, muricate calyx.—® Lws. opposite, entire. Spikes opposite, sessile. 
O. Froripana. Nutt. 
St. simple, erect, arachnoid-pubescent; dvs. linear, tapering to the base, 
obtusish at apex; fls. imbricated, in short, dense, cottony spikes.—On sandy 
river banks, Ill. Mead! Plant1—2f high, with a terminal, virgate inflorescence 
6—10’ long. Leaves 1—2’ by 3—5”. Spikes remote, 4—1}/ long. Calyx 
white-scarious, persistent, contracted above, enclosing the utricle. 
4, GOMPHRENA. 
Bracts 5, colored, the 3 outer ones connivent, carinate ; sepals 5, vil- 
lous, disk (nectary) cylindric, 5-toothed ; utricle circumscissile, 1- 
seeded.— Herbs and shrubs with opposite leaves. INone of the species native. 
\1. G. ctoposa. Globe Amaranth.—St. erect, hairy ; lws. oblong, pubescent; 
hds. globose, solitary, 2-leaved ; keels of the bracts winged.—A tender annual from 
India, valued for its heads of flowers, which, if gathered before too far ad- 
vanced, will retain their beauty several years. Height 18’. Branches oppo- 
site, axillary. Flowers purple. 
, 2. G. perennis. Perennial Globe Amaranth.—Las. lanceolate ; hds. 2-leaved ; 
fis. distinguished by a peculiar calyx.—| Plant about 2f high, native of S. 
‘America. The heads 2-leaved and terminal, resemble heads of clover. The 
crowded, purple perianths are chiefly conspicuous. Gathered like the former 
species, its flowers are equally fadeless and durable. July—Oct. 
5. CELOSIA. 
Gr. xndeos, burnt; some of the species appear as if singed. 
Sepals 83—5, colored; stamens united at base by a plicate disk 
(nectary) ; style 2—3-cleft; utricle circumscissile—A genus of orna- 
mental foreign herbs. Lws. mostly alternate. 
C. cristata. Cock’s-comb.—Lvs. ovate, acuminate ; stip. falcate ; common ped. 
striated ; spike oblong, compressed.—This curious annual is said to have come 
from Japan, where the flowers or crests are a foot in diameter, and of an in- 
tense, purplish-red. Height 2f. June—Sept. 
<a Orper CIX. NYCTAGINACEA.—Nyctacos. 
Herbs or shrubs. Lvs. opposite, one of each pair smaller than the other. | - 
Cal. colored, tubular, the upper part resembling a corolla with a plaited limb, falling off from the lower 
part which becomes indurated in fruit. 
Sta. hypogynous, definite. Anzh. 2-celled. 
Ova. free, with a single, erect ovule. Style1. Stigma. 
Fr. a thin utricle, enclosed within the enlarged and persistent calyx. 
Seed with its testa coherent with the utricle. Cotyledons leafy. 
Genera 14, species 100, natives of warm latitudes. Nearly all, except the following beautiful genus, are 
obscure weeds. Roots purgative. 
MIRABILIS. , 
Calyx funnel-form, tube contracted, free from the ovary, limb plait- 
ed, entire, deciduous ; sta. 5; stig. globose. 
1. M. Javipa. Fowr-o’clock. Marvel-of-Peru.—Lws. smooth; fis. in clusters, 
stalked.—2. This well-known and much admired plant is from the W. Indies. 
Root large, tuberous, and is one of the substances which furnish the Jalap of 
the shops. Stem 2f high. Leaves opposite, cordate, acuminate. Flowers 
Jarge, very fragrant, in axillary and terminal clusters; border wide-spreading, 
opening at about 4 o’clock, P. M. Calyx bright purple. By cultivation it 
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