84 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



ORDER XLVIII.— C ONVOLVULACEJE. 



Herbs often twining, more rarely under-shrubs or shrubs, with 

 alternate leaves, or parasitical on other plants and leafless. Stipules 

 none. Mowers perfect, regular, generally axillary, often showy. 

 Calyx free from the ovary, persistent, of 5 equal or often very 

 unequal sepals, rarely monosepalous and 5-toothed. Corolla hypo- 

 gynous, monopetalous, funelshaped-bellshaped or subrotate-funnel- 

 ehaped, more rarely bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, nearly entire 

 with 4 or 5 lobes, plaited and twisted in bud. Stamens 4 or 5, 

 inserted in the base of the corolla-tube ; anthers 2-celled. Ovary 2- 

 to 4-celled, rarely 1-celled, sometimes divided into 2 or 4 lobes, or 

 apocarpous with 2 separate carpels ; style simple, entire or 2-cleft, 

 more rarely 2. Ovules few, often solitary, in each cell. Fruit a cap- 

 sule splitting into valves, v^^hich break away from the dissepiments, 

 or bursting transversely, or sometimes baccate and indehiscent. 

 Seeds few, with a coriaceous or membranous testa ; embryo large, 

 curved, with corrugated folded foliaceous cotyledons, in scanty 

 mucilaginous albumen. 



Tribe I.~C0NV0LVULE^. 



Leafy and non-parasitical plants. Carpels united into a syn- 

 carpous ovary. Embryo with cotyledons. 



GENUS J.— CONVOLVULUS. Linn. 



Calyx 5-partite or of 5 sepals, often irregular, and sometimes 

 with 2 large bracteoles at the base. Corolla deciduous, funnelshaped- 

 bellshaped or rotate-funnelshaped, with 5 plaits, and 5 angles or 

 broad short teeth, without scales in the tube. Stamens inserted in 

 the tube of the corolla, generally included. Style single, filiform ; 

 stigmas 2. Capsule sub-globose, 1- or 2-celled, indehiscent, or split- 

 ting into 2 valves united above, each cell containing 1 or 2 large 

 seeds. 



Herbs or under-shrubs, often twining, with axillary showy 

 blue, purple, pink, white, or pale-yellow flowers, in shape often 

 resembling the bell of a trumpet. 



The derivation of the name of this genus of plants seems to be from volvo, I 

 wind about, in allusion to the habits of the species. 



