BOTANY. Ill 



the enlarged persistent tube of tlie perianth. Embryo peripherica! ; albumen 

 farinaceous : cotyledons foliaceous ; raihcle inferior. Herbs, shrubs, or trees, 

 with opposite, often unec^ual. sometimes alternate leaves, and involucrate flow- 

 ers. They are natives principally of warm regions. Lindley notices fourteen 

 genera, including one hundred species. Examples : Mirabilis (Nyctago), 

 Boerhaavia, Pisonia. 



The plants of this order have purgative qualities. Mirabilis jalapa was at 

 one time considered to be the true Jalap plant. Some species of this genus 

 are knoAvn as Four-o'clocks, from their blossoming at nearly that hour of the 

 afternoon. 



Mirabilis longifolia (Mexico) {pi. 60, C)l,ßg. 8) ; a, upper part of the plant ; 

 b, stamens and pistil at the bottom of the perianth ; e, ovary ; d, filament ; c, 

 upper part of the style with the stigma ; /, nut ; g, vertical section ; A, embryo. 



Sub-Class 2. Corollißorce. 



Calyx and corolla present ; petals united, bearing the stamens. This 

 sub-class includes the Monopetalaj of Jussieu, and the Gamopetalss of 

 Endlicher. 



Order 79. Plantaginace.e, the Plantain Family. Calyx four-parted, 

 persistent ; estivation imbricate. Corolla monopetalous, hypogynous, sca- 

 rious, persistent, with a four-parted limb. Stamens four, inserted into the 

 corolla, and alternate with its segments ; filaments long, filiform, folded in- 

 w^ards in the bud ; anthers dithccal, versatile. Disk inconspicuous. Ovary 

 free, two- to four-celled ; ovules solitary, or in pairs, or 00 : style simple, capil- 

 lary ; stigma hispid, simple, rarely bifid. Fruit an operculate capsule, 

 inclosed Avithin the persistent corolla. Seeds sessile, peltate, or erect ; sper- 

 moderm mucilaginous ; embryo in the axis of fleshy albumen, transverse ; 

 radicle inferior. Herbs, which are often stcmless, Avith radical ribbed leaves, 

 ond spiked hermaphrodite floAvers, or solitary unisexual ones. The species are 

 chiefly found in temperate and cool regions. There are three genera noticed 

 by Lindley, including 120 species. Examples : Plantago, Littorella. 



The genus Plantago or plantain, is represented by several species in the 

 United States, one of Avhich (P. major), like the hive bee, appears to accom- 

 pany man in all his migrations. 



Plantago major, common plantain, cosmopolite [pi. GO, 61, fig. 7) : a, the 

 entire plant : b. a floAver ; r, the corolla tube opened ; c/, the pistil ; e, the 

 pericarp ; /. the same opened ; g, a seed ; /i, transverse section of ditto. 



Order 80. Plumbaginace^, the LeadAA-ort Family. Calyx tubular, 

 persistent, sometimes colored ; {estivation plaited. Corolla monopetalous, 

 or pentapetalous, regular. Stamens five, hypogynous when the corolla is 

 gamopetalous, attached to the base of the petals Avhen they are separate. 

 Ovary free, one-celled ; ovule solitary, pendulous from a funiculus Avhich 

 arises from the bottom of the cell ; styles five, seldom three or four, each 

 bearing a subulate stigma. Fruit a utricle. Seed pendulous ; spermoderm 



111 



