W74 



ALFILERIA 



Ero'dium cicuta'rium 



Flowers stalked, in few-flowered, um- 

 brella-shaped clusters (umbels) which 

 arise from leaf axils; each umbel with 

 usually 4 bracts (involucre) at its 

 base 



Petals 5, pink with darker veins of 

 rose or purple, often much reduced in 

 size in the later flowers, early falling off 



Outer flower parts (sepals) 5, green- 

 ish, hairy, slightly shorter than the 

 petals, narrow, pointed, with 1 or 2 

 bristlelike hairs (awns) at tips 



Stamens 10 in all, 5 with pollen sacs, 

 (anthers) alternating with 5 scalelike 

 stalks (staminodia); anther stalks (fila- 

 ments) dilated, purplish 



Stems 3 to 12 in. long, leafy 



Leaves at first in a basal rosette only, 

 later also opposite on the stems, di- 

 vided, hairy, with scalelike bracts 

 (stipules) at the bases 



Leaflets short-etalked, with margins 

 deeply cut, the lobes acute, often 

 toothed 



Taproot rather slender 



Seed pod (capsule) of 5 parts (carpels) 

 which are united and joined to central 

 column when young but separate at 

 maturity; threadlike stalks (styles) 

 hairy or bearded on inner surfaces, 

 separating and spirally coiling at ma- 

 turity 



"Seeds" (carpels) narrow, spindle- 

 shaped, each tipped by an elongated 

 tail (persistent style) 1 to 2 in. long, 

 sharp-pointed and somewhat hairy at 

 base 



