PLANTS OF BERMUDA. 11 



toothed above the base and covered with star- shaped down ; 

 stipules bristle -like; flowers axillary, shortly stalked; calyx with 

 five acute teeth ; petals longer than calyx ; carpels eight to ten 

 each, with two sharp teeth. Distribution, West Indies and most 

 warm countries ; habitat, a troublesome weed and wayside shrub. 

 Flowers half -inch, yellow ; all seasons. 



II. ALTHCEA. 



Involucel of six to nine bracts, united at base. 



1. A. Officinalis (Marsh-mallow), A stout, soft, downy peren- 

 nial plant ; stem two to three feet, erect ; leaves on short stalks, 

 broadly ovate, three to five lobed, toothed ; flowers axillary ; sepals 

 five, ovate; jpetals large. Distribution, Europe, America, etc.; 

 habitat, marshes. Flowers pale rose colour ; August. 



III. MALVA. 



Involucel of three bracts, not united at base. 



1. M. Caroliniana. A prostrate, creeping annual ; stem one foot, 

 branching and rooting at joints; leaf stalk one inch, leaves 

 palmately five-lobed, three-quarters of an inch in diameter, lobes 

 toothed ; hairs simple on upper, star- shaped on under surface ; 

 flowers axillary, on one-inch stalks ; sepals five, acute. Distribu- 

 tion, Southern United States; habitat, waste ground. Flowers 

 dark red ; December to March. 



2. M. sijlvestris (Mallow). An erect, perennial, herbaceous plant. 

 Stems hairy, two to three feet ; leaves sharply angular, with five to 

 seven lobes, serrate, two to three inches in diameter ; flowers seve- 

 ral, in axillary clusters ; calyx five-toothed ; petals large, reversely 

 and irregularly heart-shaped ; carpels smooth. Distribution, most 

 temperate climates ; habitat, gardens, and as an escape in waste 

 places. Flowers purple, one and a half inches in diameter; May 

 to July. 



3. 3£.rotundifoUaiJi,l3llQVf). A prostrate, perennial plant. Stems 

 hairy, one to one and a half feet long ; leaves two to two and a half 

 inches in diameter, roundish, bluntly five-lobed, serrate, on long 

 stalks ; hairs simple on upper surface, geminate on lower surface ; 

 flowers few, axillary ; calyx acutely five-toothed ; carpels hairy. 

 Distribution, Europe and America; habitat, roadsides, etc., com- 

 mon. Flowers pale rose colour, one-quarter to half-inch in diam- 

 eter ; March to June. 



B. Fruit a Jive-celled, many-seeded capsule. 



IV. HIBISCUS. 



Involucel Jive -leaved. 



1. H. mutabilis (Changeable rose). An erect shrub or small tree 

 ten to fifteen feet high. Stems branching; leaves heart-shaped, 

 acutely five-angular, toothed, covered with many-branched hairs ; 

 flower- stalks as long as the leaves ; bracts narrow ; calyx with five 

 ovate, acute divisions ; petals oval, veined ; stj^les five, capitate | 



