THE MONOPETALOUS ORDERS. 



445 



times nearly equally five-lobed : aestivation convolute ! Stamens 

 four and didynamous, or only two, the anterior pair being abortive 

 or obsolete, inserted on the corolla. Ovary two-celled, with the 

 placentae in the axis, often few-ovuled. Seeds (sometimes only 

 one or two in each cell) usually supported by hooked processes of 

 the placenta, destitute of albumen. Ex. Acanthus, Dianthera. 

 A large family in the tropics. Many are ornamental. 



837. Ord, Scroplmlariacem (the Figwort Family). Herbs, or 

 sometimes shrubby plants ; with opposite, verticillate, or alternate 

 leaves. Calyx of four or five more or less united sepals, persist- 

 ent. Corolla bilabiate, personate, or more or less irregular; the 

 lobes imbricated in aestivation. Stamens four and didynamous, the 

 fifth stamen sometimes appearing in the form of a sterile filament^ 



or very rarely antheriferous ; or often only two, one pair being 

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