OligomerLs. RESEDACEvlC. 53 



petals 2 lilies long : fruit 3 to 4 lines 1)rnad ; the oblong-obovate valves nerved and 

 surrounded nt the truncate extremity hy a row of stout bhiiit tubercles : style 3 

 linos long : stipe 3 to 4 lines long, refracted. — Proc. Am. Acad. viii. G28. 

 On the Lower Colorado River, Paliner. 



6. OXYSTYLIS, Torr. 

 Distinguished (so far as known) from Wislizenia by the subulate persistent at 

 length Bpineseont stylo, and by the ovoid giolxtso 1-2-soeded valves coiiipletoly 

 closed at the scar. — A smooth annual, M'ith 3-foliolate leaves, and small yellow 

 flowers in capitate axillary racemes. 



]. O. lutea, Torr. Rather stout, erect, 12 to 15 inches liigh : leaflets 1 to 1^ 

 inclies long, obtuse : heads of flowers half an inch in diameter, not elongated in 

 fruit: petals 2 lines long. — Frera. Rep. 264 & 313. 



Known only from specimens collected by Fremont in April, 1844, in a single locality in the 

 valley of the Armagosa River near its bend. 



Order TX. RESEDACEJE. 



A small order of herbs, or slightly shrubby plant-s, related only to the preceding ; 

 with alternate leaves, merely glands for stipules, and terminal racemes or spikes of 

 .small and rather inconspicuous flowers ; these both irregular and unsymmetrical, the 

 stamens not covered in the bud, the one-celled ovary and capsule 3-G-beaked and 

 witli as many parietal placenta;. — Flowers perfect, bracteato. Calyx 4 - 7-parted, 

 herbaceous, hypogynous, persistent. Petals 2 to 7, mostly with broad and thickened 

 nectariferous claws, and the blade cleft. Stamens 3 to 40, usually on a more or less 

 one-sided hypogynous disk. Stigmas 3 to 6, terminating the diverging beaks of the 

 ovary. Ovules numerous, campylotropous. Seeds reniform, and witli a crustaceous 

 coat, filled by the incumbently incurved embryo. 



The family belongs to the Old World, mninly to flio Mnditi'rmnrnn nnd ndjacont wnnn regions; 

 the wntciy juice is destitute of pungency nnd generally of ndivo ])ropprtie9. 



Rkskpa IiUrr,()i,A, biini., the Dyer's Weed or Weld, however, hns been used for dyeing vellow. 

 It is the only species of the genus which has Wcome spontniioous in tlie United States. Having 

 been found in the streets of Onklniul, it may l)eroine a naturalized weed of roadsides, as in the 

 Atlantic States. The genus may be known by the several-lobed or parted petals, and the 10 to 

 40 stamens borne on the inside of a fleshy disk, which projects on the upper side of the flower : 

 and this species is a stout erect herb, 2 or 3 feet high, with lanceolate leaves, greenish-yellow 

 flowers in a long and narrow raceme, 4 petals, and a short small capsule. 



R. ODORATA, Linn., the common Sweet Mignonette, cultivated as an annual for its fragrant 

 flowers, may also escape from cultivation. 



1. OLIGOMERI3» Cnmbess. 

 Sepals 4, lateral. Petals 2, next to the axis, free or united at base, entire or 

 2-3-lobed, persistent. Disk none. Stamens 3 to 8 ; filaments united at base. 

 Ovary sessile, 4-angled, 4-beaked. Capsule 4-sulcato, many-seeded, opening at the 

 summit. — Low brandling herbs; with numerous linear entire leaves, and small 

 white flowers in terminal spikes. 



A genus of only 5 speeies, four confined to S. Africa, the fifth ranging fmm the Panary Islands 

 to In<lia, and also seemingly indigenous to N. America. 



1. O. Bubulata, Poiss. Annual, glabrous, .'") U^ 10 inrlies ]ii<,'li. branching from 



