RUBIACE^E. CLXXXVI. SPERMACOCE. 



619 



CLXXXVI. SPERMACO'CE (from oirtppa, sperma, a 

 seed, and QKIUKTI, akoke, a point ; in allusion to the capsule being 

 crowned by the calycine points). Meyer, fl. esseq. p. 79. Cham, 

 et Schlecht. in Linnaea. 3. p. 355. D. C. prod. 4. p. 552. 

 Spermacoce species, Lin. Lam. Spreng. &c. Spermacoce, Co- 

 velia, and Chenocarpus, Neck. elem. no. 336, 337 ? and 339. 



LIN. SYST. Tetrandria, Monogynia. Calyx with an ovate 

 or turbinate tube, and a 2-4-lobed limb (f. 108. a. &.), and 

 sometimes accessory teeth in the recesses of the primary lobes. 

 Corolla salver-shaped, or funnel-shaped, 4-lobed (f. 108. c.). 

 Stigma bifid or undivided. Capsule crowned by the limb of 

 the calyx (f. 108. _/!), which is often obliterated, 2-celled; nuts 

 1 -seeded, dividing into 2 parts from the apex : the one part closed 

 by the adnate dissepiment, and the other open. Seed oval-ob- 

 long, marked inside by a longitudinal furrow. Herbs or sub- 

 shrubs. Branches or stems usually tetragonal. Leaves opposite. 

 Stipulas combined with the petioles, sheathing, fringed by numer- 

 ous bristles. Flowers axillary, sessile, crowded, verticillate, 

 or semi-verticillate, white, red, or blue. The fruit of this 

 genus is drawn with great character in Gaertn. fruct. 1. t. 25. 

 The fruit of a great number of the plants still preserved in this 

 genus being unknown, many of them will yet be expelled, when 

 proper specimens can be procured. 



* Species natives of America. 



1 S. TENU'IOR (Lin. spec. p. 147.) stems herbaceous, branch- 

 ed ; branches tetragonal, with the angles smooth or scabrous ; 

 leaves lanceolate, on very short petioles, rather scabrous above 

 and on the margins ; bristles of stipulas hardly longer than the 

 sheath ; flowers disposed in sessile axillary fascicles, semi-ver- 

 ticillate ; stamens inclosed ; capsule oval, usually hairy, crowned 

 by the 4 short, acute calycine teeth. O- F. Native of the 

 West India Islands, as of Jamaica, Martinico, Porto-Rico, 

 Cuba, St. Domingo, &c., as well as of Peru, Panama, Carolina, 

 very frequent. S. lanceolata and S. dichotoma, Willd. in herb. 

 S. parviflora, Salisb. prod. p. 60. Dill. elth. p. 370. t. 359. 

 Lam. ill. t. 62. f. 1. There are varieties of this species (ex 

 Swartz, obs. p. 43.) with smooth, pubescent, and straight or 

 ascending stems ; narrow and broader leaves ; whorled or solitary 

 flowers ; smooth or hispid fruit, having one of the parts or 

 nuts bearing 3 of the calycine teeth, and the other bearing 

 only one. The varieties are so numerous, and run so gradu- 

 ally into each other, as hardly to be distinguished, many speci- 

 mens of which are to be found in herbaria, under various names, 

 from their different habits ; as P. assurgens, Spreng. syst. 1. p. 

 402. a native of Porto-Rico, but not of the fl. per. ; and Sperm, 

 longifolia, Bartl. in herb. Haenke, &c. Some specimens are 

 suffruticose at the base, and others are herbaceous. Perhaps 

 the whole form a congeries of species, of which some may be 

 ultimately distinguished from each other. The flowers in most 

 of the varieties are of a white or pink colour, and one is said 

 to have yellow flowers. 



Slender Spermacoce. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. 1792. PI. 1 to 3 ft. 



2 S. PORTORICE'NSIS (Balb. in herb. Bert, ex D. C. prod. 4. 

 p. 552.) stem herbaceous, glabrous, tetragonal ; leaves elliptic- 

 oblong, acuminated at both ends, on very short petioles, gla- 

 brous ; stipulas rather downy, having the bristles longer than 

 the sheath ; flowers axillary, sessile, crowded, semi-verticillate ; 

 fruit oval, rather downy, somewhat truncate at the apex. 

 Native of Porto-Rico, where it was collected by Bertero. Per- 

 haps sufficiently distinct from S. tenuior. 



Porto-Rico Button-weed. PL 1 to 2 feet. 



3 S. LONGIFOLIA (Aubl. guian. 1. p. 59. t. 21.) stem herba- 

 ceous, glabrous, dichotomous, and are, as well as the branches, 

 acutely tetragonal ; leaves oval-oblong, tapering to both ends, 

 on short petioles, scabrous above between the nerves and on the 



margins, and pilose on the nerves beneath ; stipulas downy, 

 bearing each 5-7 bristles, and short hairs between these bristles ; 

 whorles axillary, few-flowered ; fruit ovate, downy, crowned by 

 the 4 short teeth of the calyx. J? . S. Native of French Guiana. 

 S. fruticosa, Poir. Flowers white. Stems reddish. 

 Long-leaved Button-weed. Shrub. 



4 S. CJERU'LEA (Pohl. in litt. ex D. C. prod. 4. p. 552.) stem 

 herbaceous, almost tetragonal, downy ; leaves elliptic-oblong, 

 acute, petiolate, glabrous, downy on the nerves beneath ; sti- 

 pulas downy, bearing 5-7 bristles, which are a little longer than 

 the sheath ; flowers axillary, sessile, crowded, semi-verticillate ; 

 fruit oval, downy, truncate at the apex. Native of Brazil, 

 where it was collected by Pohl. Flowers blue. Very nearly 

 allied to S. tenuior, but is very distinct. 



.B^Me-flowered Button-weed. PL 1 to 2 feet ? 



5 S. RIPA'RIA (Cham, et Schlecht. in Linnaea. 3. p. 355.) quite 

 glabrous ; stems loose, fistular, tetragonal, suffrutescent at the 

 base ; leaves lanceolate, acute, with scabrous margins ; bristles 

 of stipulas 5, longer than the sheath ; flowers terminal in the 

 upper axils, disposed in whorled heads ; stamens almost in- 

 closed ; capsule ovate, glabrous ; teeth of calyx 6-7, acute, at 

 length obliterated. I/ . S. Native of Brazil, on the banks of 

 the Rio Negro. 



River-side Button-weed. PL 1 foot. 



6 S. HEBECA'RPA (D. C. prod. 4. p. 553.) stem herbaceous, 

 tetragonal, nearly naked, downy; the rest of the plant smooth- 

 ish : leaves ovate, acute, tapering to the base, glabrous above, 

 but downy on the nerves beneath while young ; bristles of sti- 

 pulas many, rather shorter than the sheath, which is downy : 

 heads of flowers verticillate, 1-2 axillary, and one terminal ; the 

 latter girded by 4 very unequal leaves : fruit downy, truncate at 

 the apex. Native of South America, about Caraccas, where 

 it was collected by Vargas. Both the nuts of the fruit being 

 dehiscent, it is therefore rather an ambiguous species. 



Var. ft, angustior (D. C. prod. 4. p. 553.) leaves lanceolate, 

 and are, as well as the stems, glabrous. Native of St. Domingo, 

 where it was collected by Bertero. 



Downy-fruited Button- weed. PL 1 foot ? 



7 S. DIFFU'SA (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 343.) 

 stems suffruticose, procumbent, terete, hairy ; leaves lanceolate, 

 scabrous from retrograde hairs on both surfaces, with the margins 

 serrately scabrous ; stipulas hairy, ciliated with bristles : whorles 

 of flowers axillary, sessile, and one larger terminal ; the latter 

 girded by 4 leaves : capsule smoothish, globose, crowded by the 4 

 teeth of the calyx, 2 of which are linear-subulate, and longer than 

 the other 2. fj . S. Native of South America, in the province of 

 Varino, at the river Atures. Flowers white. Said to be allied to S. 

 tenuior, and therefore it is probably a true species of Spermacoce. 



Diffuse Button-weed. Shrub procumbent. 



8 S. SUFFRUTE'SCENS (Jacq. 



schoenbr. t. 322.) stem suffru- 

 tescent at the base, rather dif- 

 fuse, branched, tetragonal, gla- 

 brous ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, 

 acuminated, lined, with sca- 

 brous margins ; stipulas fur- 

 nished with bristles : whorles of 

 flowers dense, sessile, axillary, 

 and terminal ; the latter girded 

 by 4 leaves : lobes of corolla 

 villous at the apex ; genitals 

 exserted ; stigma capitate ; fruit 

 turbinate, hispid, crowned by 

 the 4-cleft calyx, f? . S. Na- 

 tive country unknown. S. suf- 

 fruticosa, Spreng. syst. 1. 

 4K2 



FIG. 108. 



