MALVACEAE. 



459 



objects worthy of the gardener's care, particularly those which 

 are hardy. In stoves and green-houses the species are parti- 

 cularly liable to the attacks of the red spider, mealy bug, and 

 scale, a circumstance which makes them less generally esteemed 

 than the beauty of many of them merits. The greater part of 

 the plants contained in this Order are clothed with stellate pu- 

 bescence, and a kidney-shaped, 1 -celled anther is a character 

 common to the whole. These two peculiarities, together with 

 the alternate stipulate leaves, distinguish them from all the rest of 

 ThalamiflbrcE. All the species abound in a nutritive mucilage ; 

 a quality which renders the young heads of the Okro or Hibis- 

 cus esculentus, an object of great value within the tropics as an 

 ingredient in soups. In Brazil the Abuliton esculcntum serves 

 the same purposes. The emollient properties of Althaea qffici- 

 nalis are well known to physicians. A decoction of the leaves 

 of Sphceralcea Cisplatma is used for similar objects in Brazil. 

 A species of Pavdnia is employed in the same country as a diu- 

 retic in the form of a decoction. The straight shoots of Slda 

 macrantha are employed as rocket-sticks at Rio Janeiro. The 

 chewed leaves of Slda carpinifdlia allay the inflammation 

 occasioned by the stings of wasps. The tough fibres of many 

 Malvdcece are manufactured into cordage. Their petals are as- 

 tringent, whence those of Hibiscus rbsa-Sinensls are used in 

 China to blacken the eye-lashes, and the leather of shoes. The 

 fibrous threads, in which the seeds of Gossyp'mm are enveloped, 

 furnish the valuable cotton, an article of immense importance to 

 the world ; these threads, when examined by the microscope, 

 will be seen to be finely toothed, which explains the cause of 

 their adhering together with greater facility than those ofBombax 

 and several Apocynece, which are destitute of teeth, and which 

 cannot be spun into thread without the admixture of cotton. 



Synopsis of the genera. 

 Division I. Calyx double, or girded by an involucrum. 



1 MA'LOPE. Calyx girded by a 3-leaved involucrum ; leaflets 

 cordate. Carpels numerous, 1 -seeded, disposed into a head. 



2 MA'LVA. Calyx girded by a 3-leaved involucrum, rarely 

 by a 5-6-leaved one ; leaflets oblong or setaceous. Carpels cap- 

 sular, 1 -seeded, verticillate, disposed in an orbicular head. 



3 SPH^RA'LCEA. Calyx girded by a 3-leaved involucel. 

 Carpels, 2-3-seeded, verticillate, collected into a round head. 



4 MODI OLA. Calyx girded by a 3-leaved involucel. Car- 

 pels bicuspidate, 2-seeded, disposed in a whorl. 



5 KITAIBE'LIA. Calyx girded by a 7-9-cleft involucel. Car- 

 pels capsular, 1-seeded, disposed into a 5-lobed head. 



6 ALTH.E'A. Calyx girded by a 6-9-cleft involucel. Carpels 

 capsular, 1-seeded, disposed into a globular head. 



7 LAVATE^RA. Calyx girded by a 3-5-cleft involucel ; leaflets 

 usually connected together to the middle. Carpels capsular, 

 1-seeded, disposed into an orb around the axis. 



8 MALA'CHRA. General involucrum 3-5-leaved, girding a 

 head of flowers. Calyx girded by a proper 8-12-leaved invo- 

 lucel ; leaflets linear, or bristle-formed. Carpels 5, capsular, 

 1-seeded, disposed into a globular head. 



9 URE'NA. Calyx girded by a 5-cleft involucel, especially 

 with the leaflets connected to the middle. Anthers on the top 

 of the staminiferous tube. Carpels 5, capsular, connivent, 1- 

 seeded, usually echinated on the outside, with prickles, which are 

 rayed at the apex. 



10 PAVONIA. Calyx girded by a 5-15-leaved involucel. 

 Stigmas 10. Carpels 5, capsular, 2-valved, 1-seeded. 



11 MALVAVI'SCUS. Calyx girded by a many-leaved invo- 

 lucel. Petals erect, convolute. Stigmas 10. Carpels 5, bac- 

 cate, 1-seeded, sometimes nearly distinct, but usually connate 

 into a 5 -celled fruit. 



12 LEBRETONIA. Calyx 5-parted, girded by a shorter 5- 

 parted involucel. Petals 5, exserted in part, twisted in aestiva- 

 tion, with a spreading limb. Styles 10. Carpels 5 or only 4 

 from abortion, 1-seeded, indehiscent. 



13 HIBISCUS. Calyx girded by a many-leaved, rarely with 

 few-leaved involucel, distinct or connected with each other at 

 the base. Petals not auricled. Stigmas 5. Carpels joined into 

 a 5-celled capsule, with the valves bearing a dissepiment on the 

 inside ; cells many, rarely 1-seeded. Seeds woolly or smooth. 



14 PARI'TIUM. Calyx girded by a 7-10-12-toothed or lobed in- 

 volucel. Style 5-cleft. Capsule 5-celled, 5-valved, with a dis- 

 sepiment in the middle of each valve, many-seeded. Seed smooth. 



15 LACUNA' RIA. Calyx girded by an involucel, which is 

 almost reduced to a prominent, entire or toothed margin. Capsule 

 5-celled, with a dissepiment in the middle of each valve. Cells 

 many-seeded. Seeds smooth. 



16 THESPE'SIA. Calyx truncate, girded by a 3-leaved deci- 

 duous involucel. Capsule 5-celled ; cells semi-partite, bearing 



4 seeds at the base, with an incomplete dissepiment. Albumen 

 sparing. 



17 GOSSY'PIUM. Calyx cup-shaped, bluntly 5 -toothed, girded 

 by a 3-leaved involucel (f. 83. a.) leaflets connected at the base, 

 cordate, jagged. Stigmas 3-5. Capsule 3-5-celled (f. 83./.), 

 many-seeded. Seeds enveloped in cotton (f. 83. g.). 



18 REDOUTE'A. Calyx 5-parted (f. 84. 6.), girded by a 

 10-12-leaved involucel (f. 84. a.), shorter than the calyx. Stig- 

 mas 3 (f. 84. g.}. Capsule 3-celled, 3-valved (f. 84. h.) many- 

 seeded. Placentas 3, alternating with the valves, bearing 

 woolly seeds (f. 84. i.) on all sides. Anthers in bundles (f. 84. d.). 



19 FUGO'SIA. Calyx 5-cleft (f. 85. a.), girded by a very 

 short 12-leaved setaceous involucel. Anthers few, disposed as 

 it were in a whorl on the middle of the staminiferous tube (f. 

 85. d.). Stigmas 1-3-4 (f. 85. e.). Capsule 3-celled, globose ; 

 cells 3-5-seeded (f. 85. h. z.). Seeds covered with short wool. 



20 SE'RRA. Calyx 5-toothed, small, girded by a 3-leaved 

 involucel; leaflets cordate, entire. Anthers about 10, stipitate, 

 on the top and sides of the tube, with a 4-5-crenate membrane 

 under the ovary. Stigmas 5. Capsule 2-celled ? 10-seeded. 



21 LOPI'MIA. Involucel 2 0-leaved, longer than the calyx; 

 leaflets setaceous, connivent. Corolla flat. Column of stamens 

 somewhat deflexed. Stigmas 10. Anthers 30-40. Capsule of 



5 carpels; carpels 1-seeded, close, covered with viscid mucilage. 



22 POIYCHL^NA. Calyx 5-cleft, girded by a many-leaved, 



setaceous involucel. Capsule 5-celled, cells 1-seeded. 

 3 N 2 



