104 CALYCIFLOR^ 



petals are shorter than the others ; ovaries as many as the petals, 

 i-celled, tapering into stigmas, often with a gland at the base of 

 each ; fruit consisting of several erect seed-vessels, which open 

 lengthwise ; seeds in a double row. Herbs or shrubs, remarkable 

 for their thick, fleshy leaves and star-like flowers, inhabiting most 

 parts of the world, especially the south of Africa, and growing in 

 the driest situations, where not a blade of grass nor a particle of 

 moss can live ; on naked rocks, old walls, on sandy, hot plains, alter- 

 nately exposed to the heaviest dews of night and the fiercest rays 

 of the noonday sun, having the power of laying in during the rainy 

 season a large store of moisture, which they obstinately retain, and 

 requiring no further nourishment, save what they derive from the 

 atmosphere. A common British species, Sedum telephium 

 (Orpine, Live-long), will grow for months, if suspended by a string 

 from the ceiling of a room, without once being supplied with water. 

 An African species, Bryophyllum calycinum, will not only grow if 

 similarly treated, but if its leaves be gathered and laid on the ground 

 they will send out from the notches on their margin young shoots, 

 in all respects resembling the parent plant. The properties of the 

 tribe are in general acrid ; some few contain malic or tartaric acid, 

 and one or two are sometimes used in medicine for their astringent 

 properties. 



i. Till.ea. Sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels 3-5 each, the 

 latter 2-seeded. (Named after Michael Angelo Tilli, an Italian 

 botanist.) 



2. Cotyledon (Pennywort). Sepals 5 ; corolla tubular, 5-cleft ; 

 carpels 5, with a scale at the base of each. (Name from the Greek, 

 cotyle, a dish, from the shape of the leaves.) 



3. Sempervivum (House-leek). Sepals, petals, and carpels 6-20 ; 

 stamens 12-40. (Name from the Latin, semper, always, and vivo, 

 to live.) 



4. Sedum (Stonecrop). Sepals, petals, and carpels 4-6 ; stamens 

 8-12. (Name from the Latin, sedeo, to sit, from the humble growth 

 of the plants.) 



1. Tiluea 



I. T. muscosa (Mossy Tillaea). A minute plant, with small, oppo- 

 site, blunt leaves and greenish white flowers tipped with red. It has 

 somewhat of the habit of a Sagina, from which, however, it is very 

 distinct. In sandy, waste places in the south and east of England. 

 Fl. June, July. Annual. 



2. Cotyledon (Pennywort) 



1. C. umbilicus (Wall Pennywort). A remarkably succulent 

 plant, with circular, notched leaves, which are depressed above and 



