602 ORDER 101. NYCTAGINACEJE. 



equal ; anthers 6, subsessile upon the style ; stigma 6-lobed ; capsule 6- 

 cclled, septicidal, many-seeded. St. erect or twining. 



Stem erect. Calyx tube sigmoid (i. e., twice bent like the letter S) Nos. 1, 2 



Stem climbing. Calyx tube recurved, once bent upwards Nos. 8, 4 



1 A. serpentaria L. VIRGINIA SNAKE-ROOT. St. erect, flexuous ; Ivs. petiolate, 

 oblong or ovate, thin, cordate, acuminate ; ped. radical, many bracted ; col. tube 

 smoothish, contracted in the midst, limb obscurely 2-lipped. A curious vegetable 

 in hedges and thickets. Penn. to 111. and La. St. 8 to 13' high, subsimple, jointed, 

 herbaceous. Lvs. variable in width, 2 to 4' by 9" to 2' rarely larger. Fls. few. 

 Cal. dull purple, of a leathery texture, tubular, 7 to 9" long, twice bent almost 

 double, enlarged at each end, the limb with 3 short, obtuse lobes. Caps, obovate, 

 6-augled, 6 to 9" long. Jn., JL 



/?. ? HASTATA. Lvs. lance-oblong, or oblong linear, auriculate at base, on pe- 

 tioles as short as the auricles. S. Car. to La. St. very slender and usu- 

 ally simple. Fls. not seen. Lvs. 2 to 3' by 3 to 5". (A. hastata Nutt.) 



2 A. reticulata Nutt. St. erect, very flexuous, hirsute, simple ; Ivs. oval, sessile, 

 cordate-clasping with decussating lobes, apex obtuse or bluntly acute ; veinlets and 

 veinulets finely reticulated, all prominent and hairy beneath ; ped. below the Ivs., 

 simple or branched, hirsute, bracted ; cal. small, densely woolly. La. (Hale.) About 

 If high. Fls. 5" long, about half the size of No. 1. Lvs. rather thick, 3 to 4' by 

 2 to 3'. 



3 A. Sipho L'Her. DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. St. twining, shrubby ; Ivs. glabrous, am- 

 ple, roundish, cordate, entire, petiolate ; ped. 1-flowered, furnished with a single, 

 ovate clasping bract; cal. tube bent, ascending, limb 3-cleft, equal. A vigorous 

 climber in mountainous woods, Western Penn. to Ky. and S. States. St. woody, 

 twining, and ascending trees 30 to 40f. Leaves 6 12' diam., alternate, sprinkled 

 with soft hairs. Flowers solitary, the tube long (16") bent at nearly a right 

 angle, in the form of a (siphon or) tobacco pipe, and of a dull brown color. May, 

 Jn. f Highly ornamental for arbors. 



4 A. tomentosa Sims. Twining, shrubby ; Ivs. downy or hairy beneath, roundish, 

 cordate, entire, petiolate, very veiny; ped. solitary, \-flowered, bra-ctkss; cal. 

 downy, bent upwards, greenish-yellow, limb dark-purple, nearly equal, rugous, re- 

 flexed, 3-cleft, throat oblong and oblique, nearly closed. "Woods along rivers, S. 

 111. to La. and Ga. St. climbing tall trees 30 to 40f. Lvs. 4 to 6' long, 3 to 4' 

 wide. Ped. as long as the petioles. Cal tube (20" long) contracted above the 

 ovary and strongly recurved. Stig. 3-lobed. May. Jn. 



ORDER CI. NYCTAGINACE^E. MARVELWORTS. 



Herbs (shrubs or trees) with tumid joints, entire and opposite leaves. Flowers 

 surrounded with an involucre (calyx-like when the flower is solitary). Calyx a deli- 

 cate, colored, funnel-form or tubular perianth, deciduous above the 1-celled, 1-seeded 

 ovary, leaving its persistent base to harden and envelop the fruit (achenium) as a 

 kind of pericap. Stamens 1 to several, definite, slender, hypogynous, exserted, un- 

 equal. Embryo coiled around the copious white albumen. Fig. 373, 460. 



Genera 16, species 110, chiefly tropical, south of the equator. 



Properties. The roots are purgative, especially those of the beautiful cultivated genus 

 Four-o'clock. ^. 



GENERA. 



* Involucre calyx-like, involving but asingle, large flower MIRABILIS. 1 



* Involucre involving several (3 to 5) small flowers OXYBAPHTTS. 2 



* Involucre none, the minute flowers with deciduous bracts BOJRHAAVIA. 3 



1. MIRABILIS, L. MARVEL OF PERU. FOUR-O'CLOCK. (Lat mira- 

 bilis, wonderful, admirable; a name well applied.) Involucre calyx-like, 

 5-lobed, 1 -flowered, lobes acuminate ; perianth (calyx) tubular-funnel- 



