422 



MALVACEAE. 



[VOL. II. 



3. Sida hermaphrodita (L/.) Rusby. Vir- 

 ginia Mallow. (Fig. 2429.) 



Napaea hermaphrodita L. Sp. PI. 686. 1753. 

 Sida Napaea Cav. Diss. 5: 277. pi. ijz. f. i. 1788. 



Sida hermaphrodita Rusby, Mem. Torr. Club, 5: 223. 

 1894. 



Perennial, nearly glabrous, branching, 4-io high. 

 Leaves petioled, 3'-6' wide, ovate-orbicular, deeply 

 3-7-lobed or cleft, the lobes lanceolate or ovate, the 

 middle one commonly longest, all incised dentate, 

 acute or acuminate; flowers white, 9 // -i2 // broad, 

 numerous in terminal corymbose panicles; pedicels, 

 calyx and petioles of the upper leaves finely pubes- 

 cent; calyx-lobes short and broad, acute; carpels 

 about 10, acute, dehiscent at the top. 



Along rivers, in rocky places, southern Pennsylvania, 

 West Virginia and Virginia. Summer. 



7. ABUTILON Gaertn. Fruct. et Sem. 2: 251. pi. 135. 1791. 



Herbs or shrul, sometimes trees in tropical countries, mostly soft-pubescent, with cor- 

 date angular or lobcd leaves and axillary flowers. Involucels none. Calyx 5-cleft. Stamen- 

 column anther-bearing at the apex. Cavities of the ovary 5-00 , 3~9-ovuled. Style-branches 

 the same number as the ovary-cavities, stigmatic at the apex; carpels 2-valved, often rostrate, 

 falling away from the axis at maturity. Seeds more or less reniform, the upper ascending, 

 the lower pendulous or horizontal. [Name given by the celebrated Arabian physician Avi- 

 cenna (Ibn Sina), died 1037.] 



About 90 species, natives of warm and trop- 

 ical regions of both hemispheres. In addition to 

 the following, some 15 others inhabit the southern 

 and southwestern parts of the United States. 



i. Abutilon Abutilon (L.) Rusby. 



Velvet I,eaf. Indian Mallow. 



(Fig. 2430.) 



Sida Abutilon L. Sp. PI. 685. 1753. 



Abutilon Avicennae Gaertn. Fruct. et Sem. 3: 



251. pi. 135. 1791. 

 A. Abutilon Rusby, Mem. Torr. Club, 5: 222. 1894. 



Annual, stout, 3-6 high, branched, densely 

 and finely velvety-pubescent. Leaves long- 

 petioled, cordate, ovate-orbicular, 4 / -i2 / wide, 

 dentate, or nearly entire, acuminate, the point 

 blunt; flowers yellow, 6" '-9" broad, axillary, 

 solitary; peduncles stout, shorter than the peti- 

 oles; head of fruit i' in diameter or more; car- 

 pels 12-15, pubescent, dehiscent at the apex, 

 each valve beaked by a slender awn. 



In waste places, frequent or common through- 

 out our area, except the extreme north. Natural- 

 zed or adventive from southern Asia, and widely 

 distributed as a weed in warm countries. Called 

 also American Jute. Aug. -Oct. 



8. SPHAERALCEA St. Hil. Plant. Us. Bras. pi. 52. 1825. 



Herbs or shrubs with the habit of Malvastrum. Bractlets of the involucels 3, distinct, or 

 united at the base. Stamen-column anther-bearing at the summit. Cavities of the ovary 

 5-00, 2-3-ovuled. Style-branches the same number as the ovary-cavities, stigmatic at the 

 apex; carpels 2-valved, not septate between the seeds, separating from the axis at maturity. 

 Seeds reniform. [Greek, globe-mallow.] 



About 30 species, natives of America and South Africa. In>ddition to the following, about 14 

 others occur in the southwestern United States. 



