106 CALYCANTHACE.E. 



solitary. Albumen none. Herbaceous plants or under-shrubs. 

 Leaves alternate, simple, lobed or compound. Flowers some- 

 times polygamous or dioecious. 



1. ALCHEMILLA. Linn. Ladies' Mantle. 



{From the Arabic alkamdych, alchemy ; from its pretended alchemical virtues.; 

 Calyx tubular ; tube somewhat contracted at the top ; limb 

 8 -parted, the alternate lobes smaller. Petals none. Stamens 

 1 4. Carpels 1 2, with a filiform capitate style on the side, 

 at length dry and 1 -seeded. 



A. alpina Linn. : leaves digitate ; leafets 5 7, lanceolate-cuneate, ob- 

 tuse, serrate at the apex, white and silky beneath. 



High mountains. N. H. and Ver, Pursh. June, July. Ij.. Flowers white, 

 in corymbs. Alpine Ladies' Mantle. 



2. SANGUISORBA. Linn. Great Burnet. 



(From the Latin sanguis, blood, and sorbeo, to take up or absorb ; from the 

 supposed vulnerary properties of the plant.) 



Flowers perfect or rarely polygamous. Calyx 4-cleft, with 

 2 3 scales at base externally. Petals none. Stamens 4, op- 

 posite the calyx segments ; filaments often dilated upwards. 

 Achenium dry, included in the hardened 4-winged calyx-tube. 



1. S. Canadensis Linn. : leaves pinnate ; leafets ovate-oblong subcor- 

 date, coarsely serrate ; spikes cylindric, long ; stamens longer than the 

 corolla. S. Canadensis a Torr. fy Gr. 



Wet meadows. Can. to Geor. Aug., Sept. %. Stem 2 4 feet high. 

 Flowers white, in crowded spikes, which are from 25 inches long, and termi- 

 nate the naked branches. White Great Burnet. 



2. & media Linn. : leaves pinnate and with the bracts smooth ; leafets 

 ovate, subcordate, toothed ; spikes ovate-cylindric ; stamens scarcely longer, 

 than the corolla. & Canadensis, ft Torr. fy Gr. 



Wet meadows, principally on the mountains. Can. to Geor. W. to Oregon 

 and N. W. Coast. Aug., Sept. r l\-. The spikes shorter than in the former, and 

 tinged with red. Pursh. Short-spiked Great Burnet. 



ORDER XLII. CALYCANTHACEJE. CALYCANTHS. 



Sepals and petals confounded, indefinite, imbricated, com- 

 bined in a fleshy tube. Stamens indefinite, inserted into a 

 fleshy rim at the mouth of the tube. Ovaries several, simple. 

 Nuts enclosed in the fleshy tube of the calyx, 1 -seeded. Albu- 

 men none. Shrubs with square stems. Leaves opposite, sim- 

 ple. Flowers axillary, solitary. 



