192 RUBIACEJE. [Rubia. 



rotate, bell- or funnel-shaped ; lobes 3-5, valvate in bud. Stamens 3-5, 

 inserted on the corolla-tube, filaments usually short ; anthers didymous. 

 Ovary 2- celled ; styles 2, stigmas terminal ; ovules solitary in each cell, 

 attached to the septum, pendulous, amphitropous, integuments confluent 

 with the nucleus. Fruit didymous, of 2 plano-convex or globose indehis- 

 cent 1-seeded lobes. Seed ascending, plano-convex, testa membranous ad- 

 nate to the pericarp, albumen horny ; embryo axile, cotyledons foliaceons, 

 radicle terete. — This tribe is the N. temp, representative of the enormous 

 Order Rubiaeece. — Distrib. All cold and temp, regions ; genera 7 ; species 

 about 300. — Affinities. With Caprifoliaceaz and Valerianeoz. — Proper- 

 ties unimportant. Rubia yields Madder. 



Calyx-limb entire or obsolete. 



Corolla rotate or bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Fruit fleshy 1. Rubia. 



Corolla rotate, 4-lobed. Fruit dry 2. Galium. 



Corolla bell-shaped. Fruit dry 3. Asperula 



Calyx-limb 4-6-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped. Fruit dry 4. Sherardia. 



1. RU'BIA, L. Madder. 



Perennial herbs, often woody below. Cymes axillary and terminal. Calyx- 

 limb 0, or annular. Corolla bell-shaped or rotate, 5-lobed. Styles 2, 

 short, connate at the base, stigmas capitate. Fruit didymous or globose, 

 succulent. — Distrib. Chiefly temp, regions ; species about 50. — Etym. 

 ruber, from the red dye. 



R. peregri'na, L. ; leaves 4-6 in a whorl elliptic or oblong. 

 Rocks and copses, chiefly near the sea, "Wales, Hereford, and from Cornwall 

 to Kent; E. and S. Ireland; Channel Islands ; fl. June-Aug. — Evergreen, 

 shining, 1-2 ft., glabrous except for the recurved prickles on the angles of 

 stem, midrib, and margins of the leaves. Leaves 1-3 in. Cymes panicled, 

 longer than the leaves. Corolla yellowish, \ in. diam., lobes spreading. 

 Stamens short. Fruit small, black, globose and 1-celled, or didymous.— 

 Distrib. W. Europe, N.W. Africa. 



2. GA'LIUM, L. Bedstraw. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Flowers minute, in axillary or terminal 

 cymes, honeyed. Calyx-limb annular. Corolla rotate, 4- rarely 5-lobed. 

 Stamens 4. Styles 2, short, connate at the base ; stigmas capitate. Fruit 

 didymous, dry, often hispid or tubercled. — Distrib. Chiefly temp, 

 climates ; species about 150. — Etym. yaAa, from some species being used 

 to curdle milk. . , 



* Perennial. Flowers yellow. Fruit glabrous, smooth. 

 1. G. ve'rum, L. ; leaves in whorls of 8-12. Lady's Bedstraw. 

 S mdy banks, shores, &c, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 2,000 ft. in the High- 

 lands ; Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. June-Sept. — Pubescent, black when 

 dry ; rootstock stoloniferous. Stems many, 1-3 ft., erect or ascending, 

 4-angled. Leaves f-1 in., linear, deflexed, rough above, mucronate, margin 



