PENTANDRIA. 



127 



Common Milkweed, (Asclepias Syriaca,} is a well known 

 vegetable, which springs up early in damp places, and is 

 often cut down when young, and eaten like Asparagus. When, 

 ripe, the folliqles of this plant contain large quantities of 

 down, with which people sometimes fill their beds or pillows. 

 The Pleurisy-root, (Asclepias decumbens,) has orange colored 

 umbels, and grows in dry sandy places. The root has some 

 medicinal virtues. 



GENUS Stapelia. This genus was so called by Linnaeus, 

 in honor of Dr. Stapel of Amsterdam. The plants are chiefly 

 natives of the deserts of Africa, but many of them have been 

 transplanted into the botanic gardens of London as great vege- 

 table curiosities. The species vary from three inches to a 

 foot in height, and are all of them entirely without leaves. 

 Some of them bear flowers which are very large when com- 

 pared with the size of the plant. These are yellow, purple, 

 green, &c. The plants in general appearance resemble the 

 Cactus, or Prickly Pear genus, the stems being large, fleshy, 

 often covered with teeth or tubercles, and terminated abruptly. 

 The flowers are supported by short peduncles which come 

 out of the sides of the branches. 



Fig. 159. 



The figure, 159, represents the 

 wart flowered Stapelia, (Stapelia 

 verrucosa.) 



GENUS Gentiana. Gentian. Name from Gentius, king of 

 Illyria, who, according to Pliny, first discovered the tonic vir- 

 tues of this genus. This is a handsome genus, the species 

 of which vary in height from four inches to three feet. The 

 flowers of some are campanulate, of others wheel-bnaped, 

 and of others funnel-shaped. The colors are blue, yellow, 

 or purple. The species most employed in medicine, is the 

 yellow Gentian, (Gentiana lutea,) the root of which is in 

 common use as a tonic bitter in most parts of the world. 



GENUS Apium. \Parsley. Apium, is from the Celtic apon, 

 water, because the wild parsley loves wet places. Common 



