tJRTICACE^. (NETTLE FAMILY.) 731 



long, 3-celled, apiculate. Pistillate flowers iu ameuts, twd at base of 

 each leaf -like bract; sepal 1, surrounding the 1-ovuled ovary; stigmas 

 3, subulate, elongated, pubescent; strobile ovate, with enlarged, leafy 

 bracts ; nutlet nearly globular, erect, pericarp hard, brittle ; embryo 

 spiral — Perennial, climbing herbs, witli opposite leaves. 



H. I^upulu§, L. If Stems sarmentose, climbing. Leaves petio- 



loner 



ft» 



or undivided. Staminate panicles peduncled, opposite ; bracts short- 

 lanceolate, sepals oblong; pistillate aments opposite, peduncled, 

 developing into ovate strobiles, .015 to .02 long; bracts much enlarged, 

 scarious, beset at outer aspect of base with fragrant, yellow glands — 

 August — Galilee; Antilebauon; Damascus. 



The strobiles used to impart their bitter taste and aroma to beer. 



6. CANNABIS, Tourn. Hemp. QinnoK 



Flowers dioscious. StaminatG floicers racemed ; sepals 5 ; stamens 

 5, inserted at base of sepals, filaments nodding, anthers pendulous, 

 2-celled. Pistillate floicers spiked-clustered; the place of a perigonium 

 taken by a small, folded, persistent bract, inflated at base, enclosing 

 the globular, 1-ovuled ovary; stigmas 3, elongated, filiform, pubescent, 

 connate at base ; nutlet ovate, erect, pericarp hard, brittle, apparently 

 2-valved but nearly indehiscent; embryo falcate-folded — Annual 

 herbs, with glutinous-inflorescence. 



C. saliva, L. © 1 to 3, scabrous. Leaves digitate, with 5-7, 

 linear - lanceolate, acuminate, coarse-serrate divisions. Staminate 

 racemes panicled; pistillate clusters subsessile, forming a terminal, 

 leafy spike — Summer — Cultivated everywhere for the fibres of the 

 bark, out of which cordage is made. 



The dried flowering tops of the pistillate plants, from which the 

 resinous exudation has not been removed are the officinal Cannalis 

 Indica, or Indian HemiJ, called in India Gujijah. Bhang is the dried, 

 coarsely broken, larger leaves, mixed with a few of the fruits. Chnrrv» 

 is the resin. 



7, URTICA, L. Kettle. Qurreis. 



Flowers monoicious or dioscious, in whorled racemes or spikes, or 

 close clusters. Staminate floicers : sepals 4, spreading; stamens 4, 

 opposite sepals, inserted at their base; anthers oblong-reniform; 

 rudimentary ovary cup-shaped. Pistillate floicers : sepals 4, the outer 

 pair much smaller, the inner flat; stigma sessile, brush-like; akene 

 oblong, compressed, enclosed in the enlarged, persistent sepals — Herbs, 

 with opposite leaves and stinging hairs. 



1. IJ. ureiis, L. Ilurreiq. ZagUil. .3 to .5, moncecious; 

 stem branching from base, erect. Leaves ovate to oblong, acutely 

 incised-dentate, limb a Utile longer than petiole ; stipules two, between 

 petioles. Staminate racemes axillary, simple, generally shorter than 

 petiole, less numerous than pistillate — Spring — Fields and waste 

 places ; common everywhere. 



