284 CONVOLVULACE^E. [CONVOLVULUS. 



and undivided in Cuscuta}. DIST .Chiefly trop. ; genera 32 ; species 

 about 800. AFFINITIES. With Boraginece and Hydrophyllacece. PRO- 

 PERTIES. Often purgative ; some (Batatas] yield esculent roots. 



SUB-ORDER I. Convolvulese, Leafy. Corolla plaited in bud. Albumen 

 scanty. Cotyledons foliaceous 1. Convolvulus. 



SUB-ORDER II. Cuscu'tese (Presl, Order). Leafless parasites. Corolla 

 imbricate in bud. Albumen copious, fleshy. Embryo filiform spiral. 



2. Cuscuta. 



1. CONVOLVULUS, L. BINDWEED. 



Slender, often perennial twining herbs ; juice milky. Leaves alternate, 

 often cordate or sagittate. Flowers axillary, solitary or corymbose, white 

 pink purple or blue, bracteate or ebracteate, honeyed. Sepals 5. Corolla, 

 funnel- or bell-shaped, limb 5-angled, plaited and twisted in bud. Stamens 

 5, inserted at the bottom of the corolla- tube, filaments dilated at the base. 

 Ovary 2 -celled ; style filiform, stigmas 2 oblong or linear ; ovules 2. 

 Capsule 2-celled, the dissepiment sometimes imperfect. Seeds 2 in each 

 cell, erect, testa hard. DISTRIB. Temp, and trop. regions ; species about 

 160. ETYM. convolve, to entwine. 



SUB-GEN. 1. Convol'vulus proper. Brads small, placed low on the 

 peduncle. Stigmas slender. 



1. C. arvensis, L. ; leaves hastate or sagittate entire or sinuate. 

 Small Bindweed. 



Fields and waste places, N. to Caithness ; ascends to 1,200 ft. in Derby ; local 

 in Scotland ; Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. June-Sept. Glabrous or pubes- 

 cent. Rootstock slender, extensively creeping underground. Stems many, 

 6-24 in., trailing or twining, slender. Leaves 1-3 in , very variable, apicu- 

 late, lobes acute. Flowers 1 in. diam., white or pink, proterandrous, 

 odorous ; peduncle 1-4-fld. ; pedicels 4-gonous, recurved iu fruit ; bracts 2, 

 small, linear. Sepals unequal, broadly oblong, obtuse. Capsule 2-cellecl, 

 globose, apiculate. Seeds 4, obtusely 3-gonous, muricate. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 N. Africa, N. and W. Asia, N.W. India. A pest to agriculture. 



SUB-GEN. 2. Calyste'gia, Br. (gen.). Bracts 2, large, enclosing the 

 calyx. Stigmas broad. 



2. C. se'pium, L. ; stem twining, leaves hastate or sagittate. 

 Hedges and "thickets, from Berwick and the Clyde southd.; ascends to 1,200 



ft. in Derby; Ireland; Channel Islands; fl. June- Aug. Glabrous, rarely 

 pubescent. Rootstock tuberous, creeping. Stems twining, 3-5 ft., slender. 

 Leaves 3-5 in., membranous, entire, obtuse or acute, deeply cordate, lobes 

 rounded or angled. Flowers 2 in. diam., white or pale pink, inodorous, open 

 in rain, closed at night ; peduncle solitary, 1-fld., 4-gonous ; bracts ovate- 

 cordate or triangular. Sepals subequal, ovate-lanceolate. Capsule in. 

 diam., globose, apiculate, 1-celled above, 2-celled below. Seeds smooth, 

 obtusely 3-gonous. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Asia, N. Africa, temp. N. and 

 S. America, Australasia. Eootstock purgative. 



