GENUS 7. 



SPURGE FAMILY. 



459 



i. Tragia urens L. Eastern Tragia. 



Fig. 2724. 



Tragia urens L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 1391. 1763. 

 Tragia innocua Walt. Fl. Car. 220. 1 788. 



Perennial, dull green, pHose or hirsute. 

 Stem slender, erect, 4'-! 5' tall, branched; 

 leaves obovate or ovate to linear, entire, un- 

 dulate or toothed, mostly obtuse at the apex, 

 narrowed or subcordate at base, short-petioled 

 or sessile, s"~ 2 ' l n & ! flowers in terminal or 

 lateral spike-like racemes often 4' long; stam- 

 inate flowers with a 4-lobed calyx and 2 

 stamens ; pistillate flowers several at the base 

 of the racemes, with a 5-6-lobed calyx; cap- 

 sule short-pedicelled, much depressed, 4 "-5" 

 in diameter, sparingly pubescent ; seeds sub- 

 globose, 2" long, smooth. 



In sandy soil, Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. 

 May-Aug. 



2. Tragia nepetaefolia Cav. Catnep 

 Tragia. Fig. 2725. 



T. nepetaefolia Cav. Icones 6 : Z7.pl- 557, f.i- 1801. 



Tragia urticaefolia Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 176. 



1803. 



Perennial, hispid with stinging hairs. Stem 

 slender, erect or reclining, 6'-is' long; leaves 

 triangular-ovate or lanceolate, 5"-2' long, den- 

 tate-serrate, cordate, short-petioled, the lower 

 sometimes orbicular; racemes s"-ii' long, 

 many-flowered ; staminate flowers mostly with 

 a 3-lobed calyx and 3 stamens ; pistillate flow- 

 ers with a s-lqbed calyx ; capsule much de- 

 pressed, 3" in diameter, hirsute ; seeds globose, 

 chestnut brown, smooth, 2" in diameter. 



In sandy soil, Georgia and Florida to Missouri, 

 Kansas, Mexico and New Mexico. Recorded from 

 Virginia. May-Oct. 



3. Tragia ramosa Torr. Branching 

 Tragia. Fig. 2726. 



T. ramosa Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 2 : 245. 1826. 

 T. stylaris Muell. Arg. Linnaea 34: 180. 1860. 



Perennial, light green, bristly with stinging 

 hairs. Stem slender, usually much branched, 

 the branches sometimes spreading, z'-iaMong; 

 leaves lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate or triangu- 

 lar-lanceolate, i'-2' long, acute at the apex, 

 coarsely and sharply serrate, truncate or cor- 

 date at the base, short-petioled ; racemes $' 14 

 long, few-flowered ; staminate flowers very 

 short-pedicelled, with a 4-5-lobed calyx and 

 4-6 stamens ; pistillate flowers solitary with a 

 5-lobed calyx subtended by a 3-lobed bract; 

 capsule much depressed, 3"~4" in diameter, 

 bristly; seeds globose, 2" in diameter, orange, 

 more or less variegated. 



In dry soil, Missouri to Texas, Colorado and 

 Arizona. July-Aug. 



