112 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Cathcartia} has the flower of Argemone, with a dimerous perianth, 

 and a cylindrical capsular fruit with from four to six valves opening 

 all the way down to leave a sort of cage, of which the bars are formed 



Argemone mexicana. 









Fig. 125- 

 Flower-bud. 



Fig. 126. 

 Flower. 



Fig. 127. 

 Open fruit. 



by the hardened placentas surmounted by the persistent style. C. 

 villosa is a Himalayan herb, with a yellow juice and the leaves 

 covered with tawny hairs, like those of certain Poppies, of which it 

 has the inflorescence. 



Siylopliorunr has nearly the fruit of Cathcariia, with two, three, or 

 four placentas. The ovary is surmounted by an erect style which 

 expands above into a head with erect stigmatiferous lobes separated 

 by deflexed sinuses ; in other respects the dimerous flower and 

 vegetative organs are very near those of Chelidonium. Four species 

 of this are known, 3 two are perennial herbs from North America; 

 a third 4 is Himalayan; the fourth comes from Eastern Asia and 

 Japan. 5 



Sanguinaria canadensis* (figs. 128, 129) is a little perennial herb, 



1 Hook, p., in Pet. Mag., t. 4536.— B. H., 

 Gen., 52, n. 8.— Walp., Sep., iv. 175. 



2 Nutt., Gen., ii. 7. — I'.eknit., in Linncea, 

 viii. 461.— Ejcdl., Gen., n. 4820.— A. Gray, 

 Gen. 111., t. 48.— 15. H., Cen., 52, n. 9. 



3 DC, Prodr., i. 121 (Meconopsis). — Hook., 

 in Sot. Mag., t, 4867.— Walp., Rep., i. 110 

 (Meconopsis) ; Ann., vii. 86. 



4 S. lacfvcoides, wliereof J. Hookek & Tiiom- 

 eox (Fi. Ind., i. 255) have made a genus, Diera- 

 nostigma, because its gyr.seceuui is dicarpellary. 



5 Chelidonium unifiorvm Steb. & Zrcc. (Ft. 

 Jap. Fam. Nat., i. 63), wliereof Maximovitz 

 (Prim. Fl. Amur., 36, t. 3) makes a genus Hi/lo- 

 mecon, giving it the specific name H. vernalix. 

 It has the fruit of Chelidonium, but its style is 

 that of the other species of Stylophorum. Perhaps 

 some day we shall be compelled to regard this as 

 only a section of the genus Chelidonium. 



6 Sanguinaria Dill., Flth., t. 252. — L., 

 Gen., n. 645. — J., Gen., 236. — Lamk., Diet., 

 vi. 498; III., t, 419.— DC, Sgst., ii. 88 ; Prodr., 



