POLYGALACEAE. 



217 



short appressed hairs on both sides when young, becoming glabrous or nearly 

 so when old, rather bright-green above, pale-green beneath, acute at the base, 

 obtuse or emarginate at the apex, the pubescent petioles about 2 mm. long; 

 flowers clustered in the axils, puberulent, on pedicels 2 mm. long or less; ex- 

 terior sepals about 0.7 mm. long, suborbicular, green; corolla white, about 2.5 

 mm. long; carina unguiculate, obtuse; capsule nearly triangular, shallowly 

 emarginate, about 8 mm. long and wide, subacute at the base. 



Scrub-lands and coppices, Andros, New Providence ; Cat Island ; Acklin's Island ; 

 Crooked Island ; Watling's Island ; North Caicos ; Providenciales : Cuba. Re- 

 corded by Dolley as Badiera dominyensis Jacq. OBLOKG-LEAVED BADIEEA. 



Family 12. EUPHORBIACEAE J. St. Hil. 

 SPURGE FAMILY. 



Monoecious or dioecious herbs, shrubs or trees, with acrid often milky 

 sap. Leaves opposite, alternate or verticillate. Flowers sometimes much 

 reduced and subtended by an involucre which resembles a calyx (Euphor- 

 biae), the number of parts in the floral whorls often differing in the stam- 

 inate and pistillate flowers. Ovary usually 3-celled; ovules 1 or 2 in each 

 cavity, pendulous; styles mostly 3, simple, divided, or many-cleft. Fruit 

 mostly a 3-lobed capsule, separating-, often elastically, into 3, 2-valved 

 carpels from a persistent axis. Seeds anatropous; embryo in fleshy or 

 oily endosperm, the broad cotyledons almost filling- the seed-coats. About 

 250 genera and over 4000 species, of wide distribution. 



A. Ovules 2 in each ovary-cavity ; plants not milky. 



1. Powers petaliferous. 1. Savia. 



2. Flowers apetalous. 



a. Fruit capsular or baccate : styles slender. 



* Staminate flowers with a rudimentary ovary ; 



spiny shrub or tree. 2. Securinega. 



** Staminate flowers without a rudimentary ovary. 

 Trees, shrubs or woody vines. 



Leaves normal ; branches not flattened into 



phyllodia. 

 Flowers in leafy -bracted panicles ; fruit 



indehiscent, baccate. 3. Cicca. 



Flowers axillary : fruit dehiscent. 4. Margaritaria. 



Leaves obsolete ; branches flattened into phyl- 

 lodia. 5. Xi/lophylla. 

 Annual or perennial herbs. 6. Phyllanthus. 



b. Fruit drupaceous ; styles dilated. 7. Drypetes. 



B. Ovule 1 in each ovary-cavity. 



1. Flowers not in an involucre, or involucre closed. ( See Pera. ) 



a. Filaments inflexed at the top. 8. Croton. 



b. Filaments straight. 



* Flowers in forked cymes. 



Petals coherent ; tree or shrub with cordate 



leaves. 9. Curcas. 



Petals distinct : shrubs or herbs. 10. Adenoropitim. 



** Flowers not in forked cymes. 



f Lobes of the Staminate calyx valvate. 



Staminate flowers with petals. 11. Argythamnia. 



Flowers of both kinds apetalous. 



Stamens few or many, distinct or united. 

 Flowers not in a closed involucre. 

 Anther-sacs globose to oblong. 



Shrubs or trees ; anther-sacs 



oblong. 



Pubescence of simple hairs. 12. Adelia. 

 Pubescence stellate. 13. Lasiocroton. 



Herbs ; anther-sacs globose. 14. Hercurialis. 



Anther-sacs elongated, often flex- 



uous. 15. Acalypha. 



Flowers in a globose closed involucre 



when young. 16. Pera. 



15 



