EUPHOKBIACEAE 705 



6. Stillingia sylvatica L. Herbaceous. Stems commonly several together, 4-12 dm. 

 tall, stout, usually topped by a simple or compound umbel : leaf-blades obovate, oval or 

 oblong, 3-11 cm. long, obtuse, crenulate : spikes 5-12 cm. long : capsules 12-15 cm. wide : 

 seeds 7-9 mm. long. 



In sandy soil and open woods, Virginia to Missouri, Florida and Texas. 



7. Stillingia aquatica Chapm. Shrubby. Stems erect, 6-20 dm. tall, often standing 

 in shallow water, conspicuous on account of the umbel-like top : leaf -blades linear or linear- 

 oblong, sometimes broader above or below the middle, acute, finely serrate, narrowed into 

 short slender petioles, the upper ones yellowish : spikes as long as the leaves or shorter : 

 bracts 1-1.5 mm. high: calyx 1 mm. long, rather delicate: capsules about 1 cm. broad, 

 smooth : seeds subglobose, 3-3.5 mm. in diameter, rugose, pitted at the end. 



In swamps and wet pine lands, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama. 



17. HIFPOMANE L. 



Trees, with glabrous foliage and an acrid poisonous milky sap. Leaves alternate : 

 blades leathery, entire or serrate, somewhat persistent, on rather long petioles. Flowers 

 monoecious, in terminal ament-like spikes with a stout rachis, the staminate above the 

 pistillate in clusters of 8-15 subtended by broad bracts which are furnished with 2 glands. 

 Calyx membranous, 2-3-lobed. Stamens 2-3, exserted : filaments more or less united ; 

 anthers erect, extrorse. Pistillate flowers few and solitary in the axils below the stami- 

 nate. Calyx ovoid, 3-parted, closely surrounding the ovary, furnished with several glands. 

 Ovary 6-8-celled, sessile. Styles 6-8, recurved, stigmatic on the inner faces. Ovules 

 solitary in each cavity, pendulous, anatropous. Drupe spheroidal, slightly 6-8-lobed, 

 variegated, with a milky pulp and a bony 6-8-celled endocarp. Seeds elongated, flattened, 

 with a double membranous testa, the outer coat darker than the inner. MANCHINEEL. 



1. Hippomane Mancine~lla L. An evergreen tree 4-18 m. tall, resembling a pear 

 tree, the foliage glabrous. Leaf -blades thickish, ovate, oblong or oval, 4-10 cm. long, acute 

 or short-acuminate, undulate or shallowly serrate, lustrous above, rounded or subcordate 

 at the base ; petioles slender, as long as the blades or shorter : spikes 4-8 cm. long, curved : 

 bracts broader than long, crenulate : calyx of the staminate flowers with 3 unequal acute 

 sepals, that of the pistillate flowers with broadly ovate or orbicular-ovate sepals, about as 

 long as the ovary : drupe spheroidal, 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, yellowish green or light yellow 

 with a scarlet cheek : nut depressed with many short thorn-like projections. 



On sandy beaches, peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in the Bahamas, West Indies and trop- 

 ical America. Spring. 



18. RICINUS L. 



Tall stout monoecious herbs, with glabrous and glaucous foliage. Leaves alternate : 

 blades large, peltate, palmately lobed, petioled. Flowers numerous, small, apetalous, 

 greenish, in terminal racemes, the pistillate above the staminate. Staminate flowers with 

 a calyx of 3-5 valvate sepals, and numerous crowded stamens : filaments repeatedly branched. 

 Pistillate flowers with a caducous calyx. Ovary 3-celled, 3-ovuled : styles 3, red, united 

 at the base, 2-cleft. Capsule subglobose, or oval, smooth or spiny, separating into 3 2-valved 

 carpels. Seeds ovoid or oblong, usually mottled. CASTOR OIL PLANT. CASTOR-BEAN. 



1. Ricinus communis L. Stem erect, 1-5 m. tall, more or less branched, becoming 

 tree-like in warm regions. Leaves conspicuous ; blades nearly orbicular in outline, 10- 

 40 cm. broad, palmately 6-11 -lobed and peltate, the lobes toothed, acute or acuminate : 

 capsule 12-16 mm. in diameter, usually spiny, sometimes smooth: seeds shining, smooth, 

 black variegated with white, or mottled with gray and brown markings. 



In waste places, escaped from cultivation, New Jersey to Florida and Texas. Widely naturalized 

 in warm and tropical regions. PALMA CHRISTI. 



19. MOzfNNA Ortega. 



Monoecious, rather succulent shrubs. Leaves alternate, clustered on lateral spurs : 

 blades broadened upward, entire or lobed. Flowers inconspicuous, sessile or short-pedi- 

 celled on the spurs with the leaves. Sepals 5, distinct or nearly so. Corolla urn-shaped, 

 surpassing the calyx : lobes shorter than the tube. Stamens 8-13 : filaments monadelphous : 

 anthers introrse. Ovary often 2-celled. Styles 2, distinct. Stigmas more or less deeply 

 notched. Ovules solitary in each cavity. Capsule often 2-lobed, sometimes of a single 

 carpel. Seed solitary in each cavity. 

 45 



