CUCURBITACE.E. X. SICYOS. XI. ELATERIUM. 



LIN.SYST. Moncecia,Polyadelphia. Flowers monoecious ; male 

 ones with a 5-toothed calyx, and a 5-parted corolla ; teeth of 

 calyx subulate. Filaments 3 ? or more probably 5, in 3 bundles. 

 Female flowers with a trifid style, and a thickish trifid stigma. 

 Fruit 1 -seeded from abortion, usually beset with spines. Seed 

 obovate. Male and female peduncles many-flowered, usually 

 rising together from the same axillae. 



1 S. ANGULA V TUS (Lin. spec. 1438.) leaves cordate, angular, 

 denticulated, scabrous ; lobes 3-5, acuminated ; tendrils umbel- 

 late ; male flowers in corymbose heads, each head on a long 

 common peduncle ; female flowers sessile, in bundles at the tops 

 of the peduncles ; fruit ovate, spinescent, and tomentose ; seeds 

 truncate at the base, and very blunt at the apex. () F. Native 

 of North America. Lam. ill. t. 796. f. 2. Dill. elth. 58. t. 51. 

 f. 59. Flowers sulphur-coloured. Fruit beset with yellow 

 spines, and curling tomentum. 



Angular-}ea.\e&. Single-seeded Cucumber. Fl. June, July. 

 Clt. 1710. PI. tr. 



2 S. BRYONIXFOLIUS (Moris, hort. taur. sem. 1831.) leaves cor- 

 date and angular, denticulated, hispid below ; teeth of calyx ob- 

 solete ; capsule clammy and warted. Q.^/.S. Native country 

 unknown. This species differs from S. angidatus and S. parvi- 



florus in the stem being hardly pilose about the joints, the rest 

 smooth ; in the peduncles being short, the flowers umbellate ; 

 male ones 5-8 pedicellate, female ones almost sessile. 

 Bryony~leaved Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. cl. 



3 S. PARVIFLORUS (Willd. spec. 4. p. 626.) branches glabrous; 

 leaves cordate, rather angular, denticulated, roughish ; tendrils 

 trifid ; male flowers racemose, on long pedicels : female ones in 

 sessile capitate umbels ; fruit crowned by the permanent calyx, 

 size of an orange; seeds unknown. Q, F. Native in the tem- 

 perate parts of mountains about Quito, near Chillo, at the height 

 of 4000 feet. Not of Mexico, H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 

 2. p. 119. Flowers whitish. Fruit rarely solitary. 



Small-flowered Single-seeded Cucumber. Fl. June, Sep. Clt. 

 1823. PI. cl. 



4 S. BADEROA (Hook, et Am. in bot. misc. 3. p. 234.) leaves 

 cordate, angular, minutely denticulated, glabrous on both sur- 

 faces ; angles acuminated ; lobes at the base of the leaf lying 

 over each other ; tendrils trifid ; flowers few, capitate in both 

 sexes ; female peduncles one-half shorter than the male ones ; 

 fruit ovate while young. If. . w . G. Native about Valpa- 

 raiso. Bader6a bryoniaefolia, Bertero. 



Badero's Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. cl. 



5 S. PENTA'NDRUS (Wall. cat. no. 6682.) leaves cordate, denti- 

 culated ; flowers racemose ; racemes numerous, sometimes ag- 

 gregate, and branched. Tj . w . S. Native of the East Indies. 



Pentandrous Single-seeded Cucumber. Shrub cl. 



C S. DE'PPEI ; leaves broadly cordate, 7-lobed ; lobes acumi- 

 nated, middle lobe the longest ; margins acutely denticulated, 

 rough on both surfaces from conical hairs ; male racemes elon- 

 gated ; fruit glomerate, ovate, nearly glabrous, but beset with 

 strong retrograde prickles. Q. S. Native of Mexico, near 

 Jalapa. Flowers smaller than those of S. angulalus, but larger 

 than those of S. parviflorus. Sicyos, nov. spec. Schlecht. et 

 Cham, in Linnaea. vol. 5. p. 88. Seeds the size of those of 

 Citrus medica. 



Deppe's Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. tr. 



7 S. ACU'TUS (Rafin, fl. lud. p. 113.) climbing; leaves 

 lobed ; fruit glomerate, ovate, acute, bristly ; bristles echinated, 

 interwoven. O- F. Native of Louisiana. 



Acute-fruited Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. cl. 



8 S. MICROPHY'LLUS (H. B. et Kunth, gen. et spec. amer. 2. 

 p. 119.) branches roughish; leaves sinuately-cordate, 7-lobed, 

 denticulated, roughish ; tendrils smoothish, trifid ; male flowers 

 on long peduncles and pedicels ; female flowers in crowded, 



8 



nearly sessile heads ; fruit echinated from bristle-formed hairs, 



size of an apple seed ; seeds unknown. O- F. Native of 



Mexico, on the burning Mount Jorullo, at the height of 1620 feet. 



Small-leaved Single-seeded Cucumber. Fl. July, Sep. Clt. 



1823. PI. tr. 



9 S. PACHYCA'RPUS (Hook, et Arnott, in Beech, bot. p. 83.) 

 branches glabrous ; leaves cordate, 5-7-lobed, denticulated, gla- 

 brous above and papillose, scabrous beneath ; tendrils glabrous, 

 trifid ; male flowers in panicles ; female ones in crowded heads ; 

 fruit ovate, rostrate, unarmed. O- F. Native of the Island of 

 Oahu, on the Diamond Hill among the volcanic rocks. Allied to 

 S. microphyllus , 



Thick-fruited Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. prostrate. 



10 S. VITIFOLIUS (Willd. spec. 4. p. 626.) the whole plant 

 clothed with very fine clammy down ; leaves cordate, with a 

 roundish recess, 5-lobed, toothed. O- F- Native country un- 

 known. Flowers yellow, twice the size of those of S. angulatus. 



Vine-leaved Single-seeded Cucumbers. Clt. ? PI. tr. 



1 1 S. LACINIA'TUS (Lin. spec.1459.) stem glabrous ; leaves cor- 

 date, palmate, glabrous above, but echinated from stiff hairs be- 

 neath ; lobes lobulate ; petioles short ; tendrils trifid ; male 

 flowers somewhat panicled : female ones glomerate, sessile ; pe- 

 duncles short; fruit very spiny. 0. F. Native of South 

 America. Plum. ed. Burm. pi. amer. t. 243. Flowers yellow. 



Jagged leaved Single-seeded Cucumber. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 



1824. PI. tr. 



12 S. TRiauETER (Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. ined. ex D. C. 

 prod. 3. p. 309.) stem bluntly furrowed ; leaves cordate, 5- 

 lobed ; lobes broad, obtuse, somewhat denticulated ; tendrils 

 much branched ; calycine and corolline lobes 3 ? male flowers 

 racemose, pedunculate, aggregately subverticillate ; female 

 flowers subumbellate ; fruit elongated, unarmed, triquetrous ; 

 seed oblong-cylindrical. Q. F. Native of Mexico, in Chil- 

 appa. Flowers yellow. Fruit 6 lines long, acuminated, some- 

 what 3-winged. 



Triquetrous-fruited Single-seeded Cucumber. PI. tr. 



Cult. Sow the seeds in the hot-bed in spring, and treat the 

 plants as directed for Gourds, p. 42. Not worth growing ex- 

 cept for curiosity. 



XI. ELATE'RIUM (from eXarr/p, slater, an impeller ; in re- 

 ference to the elastic seed vessels). Lin. gen. no. 1398. Juss. 

 gen. p. 394. Jacq. amer. 241. t. 154. D. C. prod. S. p. 310. 

 Momordica, Neck. elem. bot. no. 390. 



LIN. SYST. Moncecia, Monadelphia. Flowers monoecious, 

 white or yellow ; male ones disposed in racemes or corymbs ; 

 calyx petaloid, campanulate, with hardly conspicuous teeth, and 

 with the corolla hardly gamopetalous. Female flowers solitary, 

 or rising from the same axils with the males. Calyx elon- 

 gated, petaloid, echinated at the base, and girding the carpels ; 

 neck filiform, more or less elongated, at length dilated, and 

 bearing the corolla and stamens. Style thick ; stigma capitate. 

 Capsule coriaceous, reniform, echinated, 1 -celled, 2-3-valved, 

 many-seeded, opening elastically, and ejecting the seeds. 



1 E. GEME'LLUM (D. C. prod. 3. p. 310.) leaves cordately sub- 

 sagittate, somewhat 5-angled, with the middle angle acuminated ; 

 tendrils bifid ; male flowers in long racemes ; neck of calyx 

 long, campanulate ; petals ovate, acutish ; fruit curved, 3- 

 celled ; prickles distant. O- F. Native of Mexico. Moc. et 

 Sess. fl. mex. icon. ined. 



Twin-tendri\\ed Squirting Cucumber. PI. cl. 



2 E. CARTHAOENE'NSE (Lin. spec. 1375.) leaves cordate, an 

 gular, denticulated, petiolate, roughish above ; flowers whit 

 sweet-scented : male ones in panicles : female ones solitary j 

 tube of calyx terete above the ovarium, not dilated at the apex ; 

 petals linear-lanceolate, acute ; fruit kidney-shaped, hispid ; 



