5 BOTANY. 



Cucurbita maxima, the large Winter Squash; C. verrucosa, the Crook- 

 necked Squash ; and C. Pepo, the Pumpkin, are well known in cultiva- 

 tion. Their nativity is unknown. According to Dr. Gray, the Pump- 

 kin was "cultivated as now along with Indian Corn by the North 

 American Indians before the coming of the whites." 



Cucumis Melo, the Musk-Melon, and C. sativus, the Cucumber, are 

 doubtless natives of India. 



Citrullus vulgaris, the Watermelon, is a native of India. 



Tue dried flesh and seeds of Citruttus Colocyntliis, of the Eastern 

 Mediterranean region, constitutes the poisonous drug Colocynth. 



Lagenaria Bulgaria, the common Gourd, a native of Asia and Africa, 

 is cultivated for its fruits, which are made into bottles, drinking ves- 

 sels, etc. 



Luffa ^ffigyptica, the Towel Gourd of Ej*ypt, is now grpwn in the 

 West Indies and the Southern United States. Its fruit is somewhat 

 larger than a Cucumber, and is very fibrous internally ; its rind and 

 seeds are removed, and the fibrous portion used as a bath sponge. 



EcJiinocystis lobata, the Wild Cucumber or Balsam Apple of the 

 Eastern United States, is a rapidly growing climber, valuable for ar- 

 bors, screens, etc, 



Order Passifloracese. The Passion-Flower Family. Trees, shrubs, 

 or herbs, mostly of the tropics. Species 250, represented in the South- 

 ern United States by four or five species of Passiflora, and in conserv- 

 atories by magnificent climbers of the same genus from South America. 



Carica papaya, the Papaw of tropical America, is a email tree, bear- 

 ing large edible fruits. 



Order Turneracese. Tropical herbs and shrubs. 



Order Loasacese. Herbs of warm climates, mostly American. 



Order Samydaceee. Trees and shrubs of the tropics. 



593. Cohort XXV. Myrtales. Flowers mostly actino- 

 morphic ; ovary usually inferior, syncarpous ; placentae in the 

 axis (or apical, rarely basal) ; leaves simple, and usually entire. 



Order Onagraceae. Herbs, shrubs, and trees, about 300 species, of 

 temperate climates, represented in the United States by species of Epi- 

 lobium, (Enothera, and other genera. In conservatories, many species 

 of Fuchsia are cultivated for their beautiful flowers. They are natives 

 of Mexico and South America. 



Trapa natans, a curious aquatic plant of Central and Southern 

 Europe, is called Water Chestnut, and its large nut-like horned fruits 

 are nutritious. T. bispinosa, of Northern India, and T. bicornis, of 

 China, are extensively used for food in their native countries. 



Order Lythracese. Herbs, shrubs, and trees, mostly of the tropics. 



