588 ■ ACANTHACE.E. Ruellia. 



1. RUELLIA, Linn. 

 Calyx 5-parted into narrow and nearly e(|ual divisions. Corolla broadly funnel- 

 form, almost regularly Sdobed ; the lobes broad and Hat, convolute in the bud. 

 Stamens 4, didynamous, included : filaments united at the base in pairs : anthers 

 sagittate, 2-ceUed ; the cells nearly parallel and ec^ual. Capsule oblong or club- 

 shaped, nearly terete, 8- 16-seeded. Seeds flat, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped. 

 — Perennials and chiefly herbs; with oval or oblong and petioled leaves, and rather 

 large blue or purple flowers ; many of the most fertile ones never unfolding, being 

 close-fecundated in the bud. 



1. R. tuberosa, Linn. Pubescent, 2 or 3 feet high : leaves oval or ovate : 

 flowers in a nearly naked terminal panicle: corolla (1| to 2 inches long) with a 

 slender tube suddenly expanded into an ample throat : stigma single (the other fork 

 wanting) : capsule 12 - 16-seeded. — Cryi)hiacaiithiis Barbadensis, Nees. 



California, Coulter. But his plant (No. 556) very likely collected in Arizona, whence this 

 species extends to Texas, and is common in Mexico, W. Indies, &c. 



2. BERGINIA, Harvey. 



Calyx 5-parted into narrow chartaceous and striate nearly equal divisions. Corolla 

 with tube about equalling the calyx and the irregular rather bilabiate limb ; ujjper 

 lip nearly erect, 2-parted, the lobes oblong, interior in the bud ; lower longer and 

 spreading, 3-parted or cleft; the lobes somewhat obovate, the middle one with a 

 bearded patch at and below its base. Stamens 4, inserted in the throat : filaments 

 subulate, the anterior pair bearded inside next the anther : anthers ovate-lanceolate, 

 the acute tips at first lightly cohering by a minute beard. Style thickened at apex : 

 stigma naked, truncate and a little cupped. Capsule not at all stalk-like or nar- 

 rowed at base, ovate, apparently thin-walled and not compressed, 4-seeded from 

 near the base. — A single species. 



1. B. virgata, Harvey, in herb. Apparently a low and somewhat shrubby 

 plant, minutely puljcrulent, with slender branches : leaves linear-oblong, entire, 

 sessile or nearly so, scabrous '(half an inch or so in length), with midrib pi-ominent 

 underneatli; the upper reduced to ovate-lanceolate bracts of the loose interrupted 

 spike, barely equalling the 2-bracteolate calyx : corolla apjjarently white, less than 

 half an inch long. — Benth. & Hook. Gen. PI. ii. 1096. 



California, No. 603, Coulter. Not since met with ; more probably collected in Arizona or 

 within tlie borders of Mexico. 



3. BELOPERONE, Nees. 



Calyx equally 5-parted, subtended by a pair of small bractlets. Corolla tubular, 

 bilabiate ; the upper lip interior in the bud, concave, erect or arching, entire or 

 emarginate ; the lower spreading and 3-lobed. Stamens 2 : anthers 2-celled ; the 

 cells disjoined, one higher than the other, the lower one with a short spur at base. 

 Style filiform : stigma mostly entire. Capsule clavate, having a long empty stalk- 

 like base ; the short cells each 2-seeded. — Mostly shrubs, of Tropical America ; 

 with flowers in spikes or racemes ; the bracts and bractlets small and narrow. — 

 Benth. & Hook. Gen. PI. ii. 1110. 



1. B. Californica, Benth. Tomentose or hoary: stems shrubby, slender, often 

 becoming leafless : leaves ovate, round-oval, or somewhat cordate, nearly entire, 



