ORDER 67. RUBIACE-<E. 401 



prickles to every thing in their way. Lvs. 12 to 20" by 2 to 3". Fls. numerous, 

 small, white. Fr. rather large, armed with hooked prickles. Jn. The root will 

 dye red. The herbage is valued as a domestic remedy. ? 



2. RITBIA, Tourn. MADDER. (Lat. rubra, red ; from the coloring 

 matter of its roots.) Calyx tube ovoid, limb 5-toothed or obsolete ; 

 corolla rotate, 5 -parted ; stamens short ; styles 2, united at base ; fruit 

 twin, roundish, baccate, smooth. Herbaceous or shrubby. St. 4-angled, 

 diffuse. 



R. tinctorium L. St. weak, its angles retrorsely aculeate ; ITS. in whorls of 6, 

 lanceolate, the margins and midveins aculeate; ped. axillary and terminal, 

 3-forked ; cor. 5-parted, brownish yellow, with a callous point. -^-From Europe. 

 Cultivated for its roots which yield that valuable coloring matter, madder. 31 



3. PINCKNETA, MX. (Dedicated to Gen. C. C. Pinckney, of S. 

 Carolina.) Calyx tube campanulate, limb 5-parted, one segment of 

 several of the flowers dilated into a large rose-colored bract ; corolla 

 tube cylindrical, limb 5-lobed, somewhat imbricated in the bud ; sta- 

 mens 5, from the base of the corolla, exserted ; style slender ; stigma 

 2-lobed ; capsule roundish, thinly coriaceous, 2-valved, many-seeded. 

 A small tree (or large shrub). Stip. caducous, leaving a strong ridge 

 between the petioles. 



P. pubena MX. Swamps and along creeks, S. Car. to Fla., common. It is a sin- 

 gularly beautiful tree, 15 to 25f high in its native woods, with a straight and slen- 

 der trunk. In cultivation it has more the character of a shrub, branching from 

 the base and flowering when but lOf high. Lvs. large, ovate, acute or sub- 

 acumiuate at each end. Young branches and cymes downy. Cor. purple within, 

 canescent without. Cymes splendidly radiant by the largely expanded marginal 

 calyxes. Capsules as large as an ounce bullet. May, Jn. Properties similar to 

 the Peruvian bark. (Fig. 183.) 



^ 4. CEPHALANTHUS, L. BUTTON BUSH. (Gr. e0aA4 a head, 

 avOog, a flower ; flowers in heads.) Calyx limb 4-toothed ; corolla 

 tubular, slender, 4-cleft ; stamens 4 ; style much exserted. Shrubs 

 with opposite Ivs. and short stip. Fls. in globous heads, without an 

 involucre. 



C. occidentalia L. Lvs. opposite and in 3s, oval, acuminate, entire, smooth ; 

 hds. pedunculate. A handsome shrub, frequenting the margins of rivers, ponds 

 and brooks, U. S. and Can. It is readily distinguished by its spherical heads of 

 flowers, which are near 1' diam., resembling the globular inflorescence of the 

 Sycamore. Height about Gf. Lvs. spreading, entire, 3 to 5' by 2 to 3'. The 

 fls. are tubular, with long, projecting styles, and are inserted on all sides of the 

 round receptacle. JL 



5. MITCKEL'LA, L. PARTRIDGE BERRY. (In honor of Dr. John 

 Mitchell, an English resident in Virginia.) Flowers 2 on each double 

 ovary ; calyx 4-parted; corolla funnel-shaped, hairy within ; stamens 4, 

 short, inserted on the corolla ; stigmas 4 ; berry composed of the 2 

 united ovaries. Evergreen herbs smooth and creeping, with oppo- 

 site Ivs. 



M. repena L. St. creeping; Ivs. roundish-ovate, petiolate. A little prostrate 

 plant found in woods, throughout the U. S. and Can. St. furnished with flat, 

 coriaceous, dark green Ivs., aud producing small, bright red berries, remarkably 

 distinguished by their double structure, and remaining on the plant through the 

 winter. The corollas are white or tinged with red, very fragrant, sometimes 5 or 

 even G-parted (Mr. Shriver). Fr. well-flavored but dry and full of stony seeds. 

 June. 



26 



