76 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



floracese. The tendrils are usually borne singly at the 

 nodes and are thought to be modified axillary branches. 

 The fruits are exceedingly diverse and odd. Some are 

 the largest fruits of the vegetable kingdom, others are 

 very tiny. The gourds are very diverse in shape and 

 color,-^-club-shaped, globular, or flattened from above, 

 or curiously curved. 



The family is of considerable economic importance. 

 The fruits of many are edible; e. g., Cucurbita Pepo 

 (pumpkin, summer crookneck squash), C. maxima 

 (squash), C. moschata (winter crookneck squash), 

 Cucumis Melo (muskmelon and other melons), C. 

 saliva (cucumber), Cilrullus vulgaris (watermelon). 

 The gourds are cultivated as curiosities and for the 

 fruit to be used as household utensils, e.g., bottle-gourds 

 and calabash (Lagenaria). The leaves, stems, or roots 

 of very many species contain bitter, subresinous sub- 

 stances which render them drastic purgatives. The 

 roots of Bryonia alba (bryony) of Europe are highly 

 purgative. The fruits of colocinth (Citrullus Colo- 

 cynlhis) of the orient and North Africa furnish a purga- 

 tive known to the ancients. The fruit of Luffa of India 

 and Arabia is purgative when ripe but edible when 

 green. The outer portion of the fruit of Luffa is very 

 fibrous and reticulated, and, when cleaned, serves as a 

 sponge or dish-cloth in the Antilles (luffa-sponge or 

 Egyptian bath-sponge). The small gourd of Benin- 

 casa hispida (wax gourd or Chinese watermelon) of 

 tropical Asia is considered an emblem of fertility in 

 India and is presented to newly married couples. Acan- 

 thosicyos of the South African desert is remarkably 

 erect and spiny, but the small fruit is considered a 

 delicacy. Elaterium is a drug obtained from the juice 

 of Ecbattium Elaterium. 



The most remarkable fruit is the squirting cucumber 

 (Ecballium Elaterium) of the Mediterranean region. 

 The prickly fruit, about 2 inches long, becomes very 

 turgid and finally explodes with a considerable report. 

 The basal end is blown out like a cork from a bottle, 

 and the pulpy interior, containing the seeds, is pro- 

 jected to a considerable distance. 



Twenty to 30 genera are in cultivation in N. America. 

 Among these are the various melons, squashes, gourds, 

 and the like, mentioned above; also Bryony, Wax 

 Gourd, Balsam Pear or Balsam Apple (Momordica), 

 Dish-cloth Gourd, Squirting Cucumber, Curuba 

 (Sicana), and Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes). 



214. Campanulacese (from the genus Campanula, a 

 diminutive of campana, a little bell). BELLFLOWER 

 FAMILY. Fig. 56. Herbs, shrubs, or trees, mostly with 

 milky juice: leaves usually alternate, exstipulate, rarely 

 lobed or divided: flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, 

 regular or irregular, often bilabiate and split down the 

 back, usually epigynous; calyx of usually 5, separate, 

 valvate sepals; corolla usually 5-lobed, gamopetalous, 

 very rarely polypetalous; stamens as many as the lobes 

 of the corolla, often slightly epipetalous, separate or 

 united; ovary usually inferior, 2-5-celled or 6-10- 

 celled, rarely 1-celled; ovules many; style 1; stigmas 

 1 to several: fruit a capsule, rarely a berry. 



Campanulacese has 59 genera and about 1,500 

 species, occurring in all parts of the world but mostly in 

 the temperate regions. A large part are alpine. Arbo- 

 rescent forms occur in the Hawaiian Islands. The family 

 is rather distantly related to the Compositsc, Dipsaca- 

 ceae, Caprifoliacese. Formerly the Lobeiiaceae were sepa- 

 rated as a distinct family, but the only differences 

 are in the irregular flowers and syngenesious or mona- 

 delphous stamens, both of which show abundant tran- 

 sitions. When united, the family constitutes a very 

 distinct group. -The gamopetalous epigynous flower, 

 the many ovules and the frequently united stamens 

 are distinctive. The stamens arc sometimes united by 

 their filaments with the anthers free (monadelphous), or 

 by the anthers with the filaments free (syngenesious), 

 or by both filaments and anthers. 



Lobelia inflala (lobelia, Indian tobacco) of North 

 America is poisonous. The foliage furnishes the 

 medicinal lobelia. L. syphililica was used for syphilis 

 by the Indians, but is of no value. The roots of this 

 latter plant and of the cardinal flower (L. cardinally) 

 are more or less poisonous. The berries and fleshy 

 roots of some Campanulacea: have been used as food. 



In cultivation in N. America are some 20 genera. 

 Among these are: Shepherd's Scabious, or Sheep's-bit 

 (Jasione); Chinese or Japanese Bellflower or Balloon 

 Flower (Platycodon) ; Venus's Looking-glass (Specu- 

 laria); Horned Rampion (Phyteuma); Giant Bellflower 

 (Ostrowskia) ; Lobelia and the Cardinal Flower (Lo- 

 belia); and the Bellflowers or Bluebells (Campanula). 



10 



57. COMPOSITE: 1. Vernonia, fruit. 2. Eupatorium, head. 3. 

 Erigeron, disk flower. 4. Ambrosia, fruiting involucre. 5. Xan- 

 thium, fruiting involucre. 6. Coreopsis, head. 7. Dahlia, ray 

 flower. 8. Bidens, fruit. 9. Cosmoa, disk flower, corolla removed. 

 10. Heienium, disk flower, vertical section. 11. Mutisia, head. 12. 

 Senecio, floral digaram. 13. Cichorium, a, head; 6, fruit. 14. 

 Lactuca, fruit. 15. Hieracium, ray flower. 



215. Composites (name having reference to the 

 aggregation of the flowers into heads or false flowers, i. e., 

 composite flowers). COMPOSITE FAMILY. Fig. 57. Herbs, 

 shrubs, or rarely trees, sometimes twining, often with 

 milky juice: leaves alternate, opposite or whorled, 

 very diverse in shape, size and texture: flowers bisexual 

 or unisexual, regular or irregular, epigynous; subtended 

 by a bract called chaff; aggregated into 1- to many- 

 flowered involucrate heads; calyx (pappus) reduced to 

 hairs, scales, awns, or a border, or wanting; corolla 

 gamopetalous, normally regular, 4^5-lobed; the lobes 

 valvate; in one tribe bilabiate; often enlarged and 

 split down one side, and flattened out (ligulate or ray 

 flowers); stamens usually 4-5, epipetalous, synge- 

 nesious, alternating with the corolla lobes; carpels 2; 

 ovary 1-celled, 1-ovuled, inferior; style 1; stigmas 2, 

 rarely 1 : fruit an achene, often crowned by the persistent 

 pappus; seed exalbuminous. 



