i)IAI)i:LriIIA. OCTANDRIA, SjT 



III.— OCTANDRfV. 



489. rOLY(^,ALA. L, (Milkwort.) 



Calix 5-Icavc(l; ^2 of the loaves in the form of 

 uini^s, an<] coloared. Capsule obcordate, 2-cell- 

 c;], C-valved. 



Herbaceous ors!in;!)by; leaves mosUy alternate; f^o\ver<5 

 each pro.lucing- from I to 3 bractes, .-tlternate, loosely oi- 

 densely >p;ke(l, and terminal. — (A ^enus of diversified 

 aspect, and scarcely natural, those of different continents 

 possessing-, however, a common resemblance, with a fc-v 

 exceptions.) Seeds of the American species strophiolato 

 . and pubescent, often hirsute; strophiole (or carunculatc 

 hilum) bifid, in P. incarnata and P. setacea reflected up- 

 ■4vards.) 



Species. \- V. incarnata. (W^wcoms. 2. sefacea. Vever- 

 nial. 3. vulgaris. Haq. On the hanks of Mohawk river, 

 New York. v. s. 4- paucifofiay (P. iirijiora? Mich.) From 

 Pennsylvania to the m.oimtains of Coroiina. Forming- almost 

 exclusive carpets of great extent in the Pine forests of 

 Lake Huron. Is it not possessed of medicinal properties 

 similar to those of P. Senega, wh'ch it resembles in taste, 

 and in its action on the fauces? 5. Senega. 



^.* alba. Perennial; flowers cristate; stem simple; ieaveg 

 alternate, linear, revolute on the marg-in; flowers race- 

 mosely spiked; spike long pedunculate, bractes deciduous^ 

 wings of the callx rounded, about the length of the corolla. 

 Hab. On the plains of the Missouri, common, and the only 

 species of t!ie genus in the upper part of Louisiana. Obs. A 

 small plant scarcely more tlntn 6 inches high, considen.ldy 

 allied to /■'. Senega, but more than a variety, as it has be en 

 considered by Mr. Pursh; leaves smooth and narrow; flow- 

 ers and caliK white, nearly sessile; bractes lanceolate. 



7. * pube^cen!>. Muhl. Catal.? Perennial: stem erect, 

 and pubescent, virgately branched; leaves alternate, ovate- 

 Lanceolate, ciliate, sub-essile; raceme elongated, flowers 

 heard..-d, di-^tinct, rosaceous. Hab. Around Savannah \n 

 Georgia, Sec. (3ne of th^ largest and finest species indi-^ 

 g-enous to the United S'atcs, and certainly very distinct 

 from P. Senega. The bractes are minute and deciduous;, 

 flowers larger than in any other species included in this 

 <Jatalog':e. 



.. ^- po'ifgama. Pri. Stem branched from the base; leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, attenuatrd downward?; racemes filiform, 

 lateral and terminal, flowers sessile; radical racemes pro* 



