PLANTS OP BERMUDA. 75 



2. E. macidata. L. An annual, prostrate, pubescent plant ; stems 

 ranch branched, radiating and forming patches six inches to a foot 

 in diameter, often purplish ; leaves one-third of an inch long, ob- 

 long, blunt, oblique at base, obscurely serrate above the middle, 

 ciliate, dark green or purplish above, pale beneath, petioles very- 

 short. Heads small, crowded, axillary ; capsule hairy, seeds four- 

 angled, transversely wrinkled. Distribution, United States and 

 West Indies ; habitat, one of our commonest weeds, spreading out 

 flat on garden paths and flower-beds. Heads reddish-green ; all 

 seasons. 



3. E. prostrata. This species is also found in similar situations 

 to the above, and is so closely allied as to be with difficulty distin- 

 guished. 



4. E. hypericifolia. A smooth, annual, erect plant, one to two 

 feet high ; stem twiggy, with alternate slender branches ; leaves an 

 inch long, opposite, shortly petioled, oval-oblong, blunt, oblique 

 at the base, serrate, often blotched with red ; cymes terminal and 

 axillary, many-flowered, involucre bearing four small petal-like 

 lobes. Distribution, United States, &c. ; habitat, cultivated ground, 

 common. Flowers white, minute ; summer months. 



5. E. hypericifolia, var. hirsuta. Similar to the above, but the 

 branches and leaves are hairy, the cymes terminal and contracted. 



6. E. heterophylla (Joseph's coat), A smooth annual plant, two 

 or three feet high ; stem erect, branched, sparingly leafy, bright 

 green ; leaves alternate, very variable in shape, fiddle -shaped, ovate, 

 lanceolate or linear, serrate or entire, petioled, without stipules, 

 upper leaves and bracts narrowly lanceolate, with a deep red blotch 

 near the base, surrounding the terminal clusters of flowers ; invol- 

 ucre five-lobed, bearing a mouth-like gland on one side. Distri- 

 bution, United States and Bahamas ; habitat, waysides and culti- 

 vated ground, a common weed of striking appearance. Flowers 

 reddish-green ; summer months. 



7. E. peplus. A small, erect, annual, leafy plant about six inches 

 high ; stem simple below, dividing into three branches, which are 

 repeatedly forked, forming a regular, leafy umbel; lower leaves 

 alternate, half -inch long, roundish, very blunt, quite entire, taper- 

 ing into the short petiole, upper leaves (bracts) opposite, at the 

 forks, oblong ; involucres small, bearing four two-horned glands. 

 Distribution, Europe ; habitat, waste places and cultivated ground, 

 rather local. Flowers green ; September to November. 



II. MERCURIALIS. 



Herbs with a watery juice ; floivers unisexual, the male and female 

 frequently on separate plants, not enclosed in involucres ; sepals three ; 

 male, stamens about twelve, filaments slender ; female, ovary two-celled, 

 styles two, forked. 



1. 31. annua (Herb Mercury). Annual, stem erect, smooth, six to 

 twelve inches high, sparingly branched ; leaves opposite, thin, two 

 inches long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, regularly serrated, petioled; 



