MADDER FAMILY. Rubiaceas. 



MADDER FAMILY. RubiacecB. 



Shrubs or herbs with toothless leaves growing oppo- 

 sitely or in circles ; the regular flowers perfect, or stam- 

 inate with rudimentary pistils, or pistillate with 

 rudimentary stamens ; the corolla funnel-formed with 

 4 (sometimes 5) lobes and as many stamens. Cross- 

 fertihzed mostly bj^ bees and butterflies. A large family 

 in the tropics, to which belong the Coffee, the Cinchona 

 tree from which is obtained quinine, and the Madder 

 {Ruhia tinctorum) whose roots furnish the red dye and 

 the artist's permanent pigment of that name. 



. A familiar little wayside flower also 



Bluets called Quaker Ladies and Innocence ; 



Houstonia communistic in manner of growth and 



ccerxdea frequently covering large spaces with its 



White and white bloom. It is a perennial, and forms 



lilac etc. 



April-July dense tufts of oblong lance-shaped, tinj^ 



light green root-leaves and slender, thread- 

 like stems sparingly set with minute opposite leaflets. 

 The little four-lobed corolla is about | inch in diameter, 

 white, or white tinged on the lobes with lilac, or pale 

 violet (the nearest approach to blue) ; the centre is 

 stained with golden yellow. The flowers are pistillate 

 and staminate as above described. Cross-fertilized 

 mainly by the bees of the genera Halictus and Andrena, 

 and the smaller butterflies — the Clouded Sulphur (Colias 

 philodice), the Meadow Fritillary {Brenthis hellona), and 

 the Painted Lady (Pyrameis Cardui). 3-6 inches high. 

 In moist grassy places or sandy waysides, from Me., 

 south to Ga. and Ala., west to Mich. Named for William 

 Houston an early English botanist . ' 



A taller southern species. The stem 



h*''^* . smooth or slightlv hairy, the light green 



Houstonia , , ' , / , 



Houstonia leaves pointed broad ovate (the upper ones 



purpurea smaller and narrower), with 3-5 ribs, the 



Lilac or deep largest nearly 3 inches long. The deep 



' . lilac or pale lilac, long-tubed flowers in 



May-July 



small clusters : the thin lobes of the calyx 



longer than the globular seed-pod. 6-16 inches high. 



In thin or open woodlands, from Md., south (especially 



440 



