252 UMBELLIFER.E. MoUugo. 



the lobes more or less purple : stamens many, — Ilohrbach in Mart. Fl. Bras, xiv^ 

 310, t. 70. 



A vory viiriiiblo .siioi;ies, widely (listril)uteil around tho glol)e. It lias been collected ncsir Fort 

 Moliavo (C'ooiur), and is l'rei|Ui.'nt in saline or alkaline viilleyn tluough the interior i'loiii N. Nc^vuda 

 to Colorado and New Ml^\il■o, olUin willi naioli liroader leaves llian is ii.siiul in liie sea-eoa.st luiins. 



3. MOLLUGO, Linn. Caupet-weeu. 

 Calyx 5-clelt nearly to the busi; ; the lobes herbaceous, membranously margined. 

 Petals none. Stamens 3 or 5, rarely twice as many, hypogynous. Styles 3. CJap- 

 sule free, thin-membranaceous, 3 - 5-celled, loculicidally 3 - 5-valved, the partitions 

 breaking away from the })ersistent central placenta. Seeds several in each cell, 

 longitudinally sulcato on the back. — Annuals, low and nmch branched, glabrous, 

 not succulent ; leaves linear to obovate-spatulate, entire, opposite and apparently 

 verticillato ; stipules obsolete ; flowers mostly on long pedicels and axillary. 



About a dozen s|)ecies in the wanner regions of tlie globe. The following is tlie only one in- 

 digenous to N. America. 



1. M. verticillata, Linn. Prostrate, covering tho ground, slender: leaves s])at- 

 \date ti) liiH'iu-olilaacenlate, an inch long or less: pedicels unibellatuly t'a.sc.ic.led at 

 tho nodes, slender, 2 or 3 lines long : siipals and oblong-ovoiil capsule about 1^ lines 

 long : seeils renitbrm, shining. — Itohrbach, 1. c. 240, t. 55. 



On light sanily soils from tlie Columbia lliver southward ; at Eagle Creek, near Sliostfi, and 

 at McCumber's Flat {Brewer, Newberry) ; from Arizona to Colorado and New Mexico, and fre- 

 quent in the Atlantic States as a weed in cultivated grounds : thence southward to the W. Indies 

 and Brazil. 



Order XLV. UMBELLIFER^. 



Herbs with small flowers in umbels (sometimes contracted into heads), five epi- 

 gynous stamens and petals, and two styles ; tho calyx adnate to the 2-celled ovary, 

 which contains a solitary ovule suspended from the summit of each cell ; and tho 

 fruit splitting into a j)air of dry seed-like indehiscent carpels. Seed with a minute 

 embryo in hard albumen. Petals mostly valvate in the bud. Stem couimoidy 

 hollow. Leaves mainly alternate, mostly compound, often decompound : the jietiole 

 expanded or .sheathing at base. Umbels usually themselves umbellate, forming a 

 compound umbel : this is then usually called the umbel, and the partial umbels are 

 called umhellets. The bracts under the general umbel, when present, form an invo- 

 lucre; those under the umbellets, an involucd. The enlarged base of the styles, or 

 the common base of the two, takes the name of stylopodium : it is often surrounded 

 by or confluent with an epigynous disk, Etich of the two carpels is commonly 

 traversed by 5 longitudinal ribs : in the intervals between them are usually lodged 

 one or more longitudinal canals containing aromatic oil, tho vittce or oil-tubes. 'J'ho 

 face by which the two carpels cohere is the commissure : a slender prolongatiun of 

 the axis between them is the carpophore: it is apt to split into twu branches, a 

 carpel suspended for some time from the tip of each. 



A family of almost 200 genera and much above a thousand si)ccies, dispersed over all parts of 

 tlie world, but abundant only in warm, temperate, or eooliM- regions. Many are ])oisonous (Hem- 

 ln.;k, Waler-llemlock, kc.) : others allbrd esculent roots (I'arsnip, Carrot), or their herbage may 

 be eaten after blanching (Celery) ; several are innocent and aromatic (l'ifl> Fennel), at least tho 

 fruits (Caraway, Anise, &c.). 



