VOL. II.] 



SPURGE FAMILY. 



365 



2. Ditaxis humilis (Engelm. & Gray) Pax. L,ow Ditaxis. (Fig. 2296.) 



Aphora humilis Engelm. & Gray, Bost. Journ. 

 Nat. Hist. 5: 262. 1847. 



Argyrothamnia humilis Muell. Arg. Linnaea, 

 34: 147. 1865. 



Ditaxis humilis Pax in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pfl. 

 Fam. 3: Abt. 5, 45. 1890. 



Stem slender, much branched, pubescent, 

 the branches spreading, 4'-! long. Leaves 

 alternate, ovate, oblong, obovate or oblanceo- 

 late, 5 // -i5 // long, entire, narrowed into a 

 short petiole; flowers in axillary clusters; 

 staminate flowers with petals a little longer 

 than the 5 calyx-segments and longer than 

 the lobes of the disk; pistillate flowers with a 

 5-parted calyx and 3 styles each usually twice 

 2-cleft; capsule short-pedicelled, much de- 

 pressed, 2 // -3 // in diameter, 3-4-lobed; seeds 

 oval-globose, about i" long, muricate. 



Prairies, Kansas to Louisiana and Texas. 

 March-Sept. 



5. ACALYPHA L, Sp. PI. 1003. 1753. 



Herbs or shrubs, our species annual, monoecious. Stems mostly erect and branched. 

 Leaves alternate, entire or toothed, petioled, stipulate. Flowers in axillary and terminal 

 spikes or spike-like racemes, the staminate cluster peduncled, each flower in the axil of a 

 minute bractlet, with a 4-parted calyx and 8-16 stamens united at their bases. Pistillate 

 flowers subtended by a foliaceous bract which often equals or overtops the staminate, the 

 calyx 3~5-parted, ovary 3-celled; stigmas fringed; petals wanting in both kinds of flowers; 

 capsule usually of 3 2-valved carpels, each i-seeded. [Greek, nettle.] 



About 230 species, mostly tropical and subtropical. 



Staminate and pistillate flowers in separate spikes or racemes; capsule spiny. i. A. ostryaefolia. 

 Staminate and pistillate flowers in the same spike or raceme; capsule smooth. 



Plant not glandular; bract pafmately rnany-lobed, equalling or exceeding the staminate spike. 



2. A. Virgintca. 

 . Plant glandular; bract many-cleft, shorter than the staminate spike. 3. A. gracilens. 



i. Acalypha ostryaefolia Ridd. 

 Hornbeam Three-seeded Mer- 

 cury. (Fig. 2297.) 



Acalypha Caroliniana Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 2: 

 645. 1824. Not Walt. 1788. 



Acalypha ostryaefolia Riddell, Syn. Fl. W. 

 States, 33. 1835. 



Dark green, minutely pubescent. Stem 

 erect, rather stout, simple or branched, i- 

 2% tall. Leaves thin, or membranous, 

 ovate, 2^ / -4 / long, short-acuminate, serrate, 

 obtuse or cordate at the base, the petioles 

 often as long as the blades; staminate and 

 pistillate flowers in separate spikes, the 

 bractlets of the staminate minute, those of 

 the pistillate conspicuous, lobed; capsule 

 much depressed, 3-lobed, i^'-a^in diame- 

 ter, spiny; seeds ovoid, \ ff long, wrinkled. 



New Jersey to Kansas, Florida and Mexico. 

 June-Nov. 



