ORDER 17. CISTACEJG. 245 



of England. It la well characterized by its long, trailing, leafy runners. The Ivs. 

 are truly heart-shaped. Stip. lanceolate, toothed. Fed. longer than the leaves, 

 bracted. Fls. small, fragrant. Several garden varieties are known, and distin- 

 guished by the form and color of the flowers; viz: the purple, white and blue- 

 flowered, the double white, double purple and double blue-flowered, and the 

 Neapolitan with pale blue flowers. Apr., May.f 



2. SOLEA, Gingins. GREEI* YIOLET. (Dedicated to W. Sole, an 

 English writer on plants.) Sepals nearly equal, not auriculate ; petals 

 unequal, the lowest 2-lobed and gibbous at base, the rest emarginate ; 

 stamens cohering, the lowest 2 bearing a gland above the middle ; 

 capsule surrounded at base by the concave torus; seeds 6 8, very 

 large. U An erect, leafy plant, with inconspicuous axillary flowers. 

 S. concolor Gingins. GBEEN VIOLET. Woods, Western N. Y. to Mo., and S. to 



Car. Stem 1 2f high, simple, and. with the leaves, somewhat hairy. Lvs. 



4 6' by 1J 2\', lanceolate, acuminate, subentire, tapering to short petioles. 



Fed. very short, 1 5-flowered, axillary. Fls. small, greenish, white. Cal. about 



as long as the corolla Lower petal twice larger than the others. Capsule near 



1' in length. Apr., May. 



ORDER XVII. CISTACE^E. ROCK ROSES. 



Herbs or low shrubs with simple, entire, opposite (at least the lower) leaves, with 

 fls. perfect, regular, hypogynous, in one-sided racemes, very fugacious. Sep. 5, un- 

 equal, persistent Petals 5 (sometimes 3 or wanting) convolute in aestivation. Sta. 

 mostly oo. Caps. 1 -celled, 3 5-valved, with as many parietal placentae Seeds 

 albuminous. Embryo curved or spiral (Illust in Fig. 404.) 

 Genera 7, species 185, most abundant in S. Europe and N. Africa. 



GENERA, 



T Petals 3, linear-lanceolate, small LECUF.A. 1 



1 Petals 5, largo and showy, or wanting HELIAXTHEMPM. 2 



minute. Delicate shrubs. HPDSONIA. 3 



1. LECHEA, L. PINWEED. (In memory of John Leche, a Swedish 

 botanist) Sepals, 5, the 2 outer minute ; petals 3, lanceolate, small ; 

 stamens 3 to 12 ; stigmas 3, scarcely distinct ; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved ; 

 placentas nearly as broad as the valves, roundish, each 1 2-seeded. 

 H Often shrubby at base, with numerous very small brownish purple 

 flowers. 



1 L. major MX. Hairy; Ivs. elliptical, mixrontdate ; fls. minute, about a-s long 

 as the pedicels. In dry woods, U. S. and Can. St. 1 2f high, rigid, brittle 

 hairy, purple, somewhat coryinbously branched. Lvs. of the stem about 4" 

 long, alternate, opposite, or even verticillate on the prostrate branches, crowded. 

 Fls. brownish-purple, inconspicuous among the numerous bracts. Caps, round- 

 ish, about the size of a small pin-head. Variable. JL, Aug. 



2 L. minor Lam. Smoothish; Ivs. linear, very acute; fls. small, on pedicel which 

 are mostly twice longer. Grows in dry, sandy grounds, U. S. and Can. Sts. 

 8 16' higli, slender, red, paniculately branched, often decumbent at base. Stem 

 Ivs. 6 10 ' by 1", alternate, revolute at the margin, those of the divergent, fili- 

 form branches gradually minute. Fls. twice as large as in L. major. Petals 

 brownish-purple, cohering at apex. Caps, the size of a large pin-head. Jn. Sept. 



3 L. thymifolia Ph. Shrubby, hoary with oppressed hairs ; Ivs. linear and linear- 

 oblanceolate, rather acute, often verticillate ; fls. small, on pedicels still shorter. 

 Seacoasts, Mass to N". J. Sts. about If high, many from the same caudex, rigid 



and very bushy. Lvs. G 10'' long, erect, crowded. Fls. in terminal, dense 

 . t cymules, on very short pedicels. Petals brown. Caps, globons. Jl. Sept. 



