G30 ORDER 112. EUPHORBIACE^!. 



parted: stamens 8 to 12, filaments very short, united at base, with 

 halved anthers ; ? calyx 3-parted ; styles 3, elongated, 2 or 3-cleft or 

 fringed ; fruit separating into 3 bivalve, 1-seeded nutlets, rarely simple. 

 (> Herbs (or tropical shrubs) resembling nettles. Lvs. alternate, 

 pctiolatc. Fls. axillary, the fertile in short clusters at the base of the 

 little stamituitu spikes, surrounded by a large cut-toothed bract. 



3. A. Virginica L. Hairy or downy, branched ; Ivs. oolony -lanceolate, obscurely ser- 

 rate ; involucrate bracts broadly ovate, deeply cut-toothed, veiny ; sterile spikes 

 slender, peduncled, usually exceeding the involucre; seeds oval, ash-colored, 

 temoothish. Dry fields, Can. and U. S. A rough weed, 10 to 20' high, often de- 

 cumbateat base. Lvs. 12 to 30" long, varying from ovate to lanceolate or lance- 

 linear, obtusely pointed, the petioles about as long. The little green spikes 4 to 

 10'' ; fertiic'clustorj in the same axils, sometimes alone. Jn. Aug. (Also A. 

 gracilens Gr.) 



ft. MOXOCOCCA (Engelm.) Very slender, with lance-linear, subentire Ivs. and 

 a simple, 1-celled, 1-seeded fruit. "W. HL 



2 A. Caroliniana Walt. Minutely downy, branched ; Ivs. ovate, cordate, closely 

 and strongly serrate, acute; sterile spikes short, fertile fls., also spicate, terminal; 

 Invol. bracts deeply palmate with linear segments; sds. roundish ovoid, light ash- 

 colored, roughened with hard, black points. Ind. to N. J., Ga. and La. Plant 

 rtender, 1 to 2f high, nearly smooth. Lvs. 1 to 2' by 9 to 1'j", on slender petioles. 

 Seeds larger (I") than in 'No. 1. 



5. CNIDOS'COLUS, Pohl. SPURGE NETTLE. (Gr. Kvi3r) y a nettle, 

 cnojAof, ft prickle.) Flowers 8, showy; calyx colored, convolute, 

 coralline; corolla ; hypogynous glands 5, $ stamens 10, united at 

 base, alternately short; $ calyx 5-partcd ; styles 3, each 2 or more- 

 deft; capsule 3-carpeled, 3-scedcd. Herbs often beset with stings. 



C. stimulosa Gray. Hispid, with bristly slings; Ivs. palmately 3 to 5-lobed, 

 cordate at base, ciliate, lobes acute or acuminate, with fbw mucronate teeth, late- 

 ral lobes 2-partcd ; ils. terminal at length opposite the leaves, cymous ; sep. white, 

 oval, spreading; styles many-cleft at top ; caps, hispid. 11 A low herb, in sandy 

 soils, throughout tho South, painfully common. It varies much in the width of 

 its leaf segment^. Stings white, often half an inch long. Mar. Jl. (Jatropha 

 Ktimulosa, MX.) 



6. RIC'INUS, Tourn. CASTOR OIL PLANT. (Lat. ricimis, a bug ; 

 from the resemblance of the seeds.) Flowers 8 , apetalous ; calyx 3 to 

 5-partcd, valvate in the bud ; $ stamens co, with irregularly united 

 filaments; $ style short, stigmas 3, 2-parted, plumous, colored; cap- 

 sule cchinatc, 3-lobed, 3-celled, 3-secdcd. Herbs or shrubs. 



R. communis L. St. frosted or glaucous, white, herbaceous ; Ivs. peltate, palmate, 

 lobes lanceolate, serrata; caps, prickly. Native of the E. Indies, where it becomes 

 a tree, although an herbaceous annual in tho N. States. In Ga La. and Fla. it is 

 a stout shrub! St. tall, smooth, of a- light bluish green color. Lvs. 4 to 12" 

 diam., on long petioles. From its seeds is expressed the well known castor oil 

 "of the shops. For this purpose it is extensively cultivated in tho S. and \V. 

 States. The purgative property resides in the embryo, not in the albumen. 



7. CROTON, L. (Name in Greek of the same import as Ricinus.) 



Flowers 8 ; $ calyx 4 or 5-parted, cylindric-valvate in bud ; corolla of 

 4 or 5 petals, often small ; stamens 5 to 20 ; $ calyx 5, rarely 8-cleft ; 

 corolla often minute or none ; styles 3, once or repeatedly forked ; cap- 

 sule 3-lobcd, 3-cclled, 3-carpeled, carpels 1-seeded. Plants clothed with 

 r-curf, down or wool, usually glandular and aromatic. Hairs stellate. 

 Lvs. r.lteraate. 



