630 ORDER 112. EUPHORBIACEJS. 



parted; stamens 8 to 12, filaments very short, united at base, with 

 halved anthers ; ? calyx 3-parted ; styles 3, elongated, 2 or 3-cleft or 

 fringed ; fruit separating into 3 bivalve, 1-seeded nutlets, rarely simple. 

 (> Herbs (or tropical shrubs) resembling nettles. Lvs. alternate, 

 petiolate. Fls. axillary, the fertile in short clusters at the base of the 

 little stamiiiate spikes, surrounded by a large cut-toothed bract. 



1 A. Virginica L. Hairy or downy, branched ; Ivs. oblonrj -lanceolate, obscurely ser- 

 rate ; involucrate bracts broadly ovate, deeply cut-toothed, veiny ; sterile spikes 

 slender, peduncled, usually exceeding the involucre; seeds oval, ash-colored, 

 smoothish. Dry fields, Can. and U. S. A rough weed, 10 to 20' high, often de- 

 cumbateat base. Lvs. 12 to 30" long, varying from ovate to lanceolate or lance- 

 linear, obtusely pointed, the petioles about as long. The little green spikes 4 to 

 10'' ; fertile clusters in the same axils, sometimes alone, Jn. Aug. (Also A. 

 gracilens Gr.) 



ft. MONOCOGCA (Engelm.) Very slender, with lance-linear, subentire Ivs. and 

 a simple, 1-celled, 1-seeded fruit. W. 111. 



2 A. Caroliniana Walt. Minutely downy, branched ; Ivs. ovate, cordate, closely 

 and strongly serrate, acute ; sterile spikes short, fertile fls., also spicate, terminal ; 

 invol. bracts deeply palmate with linear segments; sds. roundish ovoid, light ash- 

 colored, roughened with hard, black points. Ind. to N. J., Ga. and La. Plant 

 slender, 1 to 2f high, nearly smooth. Lvs. 1 to 2' by 9 to 10", on slender petioles. 

 Seeds larger (L") than in No. 1. 



5. CNIDOS'COLUS, Pohl. SPURGE NETTLE. (Gr. /m'J??, a nettle, 



g, a prickle.) Flowers 8 , showy ; calyx colored, convolute, 

 coralline ; corolla ; hypogynous glands 5, $ stamens 1 0, united at 

 base, alternately short ; $ calyx 5-parted ; styles 3, each 2 or more- 

 cleft ; capsule 3-carpeled, 3-seeded. Herbs often beset with stings. 



C. stimulosa Gray. Hispid, with bristly stings ; Ivs. palmately 3 to 5-lobed, 

 cordate at base, ciliate, lobes acute or acuminate, with few mucronato teeth, late- 

 ral lobes 2-parted ; fls. terminal at length opposite the leaves, cymous ; sep. white, 

 oval, spreading; styles many-cleft at top; caps, hispid. It Alow herb, in sandy 

 soils, throughout the South, painfully common. It varies much in the width of 

 its leaf-segments. Stings white, often half an inch long. Mar. Jl. (Jatropha 

 stimulosa MX.) 



6. RIC'INUS, Tourn. CASTOR OIL PLANT. (Lat. ricinus, a bug ; 

 from the resemblance of the seeds.) Flowers 8 , apctalous ; calyx 3 to 

 5-parted, valvatc in the bud ; $ stamens co, with irregularly united 

 filaments ; $ style short, stigmas 3, 2-parted, plumous, colored ; cap- 

 sule echinatc, 3-lobcd, 3-cclled, 3-seedcd. Herbs or shrubs. 



R. communis L. St frosted or glaucous, white, herbaceous ; Ivs. peltate, palmate, 

 lobes lanceolate, serrate ; caps, prickly. Native of the E. Indies, where it becomes 

 a tree, although an herbaceous annual in the N. States. In Ga. La. and Fla. it is 

 a stout shrub ! St. tall, smooth, of a light bluish green color. Lvs. 4 to 12" 

 diam., on long petioles. From its seeds is expressed the well known castor oil 

 of the shops. For this purpose it is extensively cultivated in the S. and W. 

 States. The purgative property resides in the embryo, not in the albumen. 



7. CROTON, L. (Name in Greek of the same import as Ricinus.) 

 Flowers 6* ; <3 calyx 4 or 5-parted, cylindric-valvate in bud ; corolla of 

 4 or 5 petals, often small ; stamens 5 to 20 ; $ calyx 5, rarely 8-cleft ; 

 corolla often minute or none ; styles 3, once or repeatedly forked ; cap- 

 sule 3-lobed, 3-ccllcd, 3-carpcled, carpels 1-seeded. Plants clothed with 

 scurf, down or wool, usually glandular and aromatic. Hairs stellate. 

 Lvs. alternate. 



