RiiExiA. MELASTOMACE.E. - 227 



1. RHEXIA. Linn.; R. Br. in TucJcei/s vojj. p. 4.36 ; Endl. gen. 6200. RBEXIA. 



[A Greek name originally applied to a very dificrent plant.] 



Tube of the calyx ovoid-ventricose at the base, contracted into a neck above ; the limb 4-cleft. 

 Petals 4, obovate or roundish. Anthers 8, uniform, not appendaged, one-celled. Style 

 somewhat declined : stigma obtuse. Capsule nearly free from the investing calyx-tube, 

 4-cellcd ; the placentas projecting into the cells. Seeds cochleate. — Perennial herbs, with 

 ciliate, 3-nerved, mostly sessile leaves. Flowers showy, purple or yellow : petals caducous. 



1. Rhexia Virginica, Linn. Meadow Beauty. Deer-grass. 



Stem with winged angles, somewhat hispid ; leaves oval-lanceolate, acute, serrulatc-ciliate, 

 sprinkled with bristly hairs above and on the ribs underneath ; calyx hispid, the tube above 

 the ovary longer than the segments. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 346 ; Miclix. jl. \. p. 222 ; Bot. mag. 

 t. 908 ; Piirsh, fl.\. p. 288 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 439 ; Bart. Jl. Am. Sept. l.t.i; Torr. jl. 1. 

 p. 385 ; Bigel. jl. Bost. p. 148 ; DC. prodr. 3. p. 121 ; Beck, hot. p. 127 ; Darlingt. jl. 

 Cest. p. 242 ; Torr. 4- Gr. jl. N. Am. 1 . p. 477. 



Stem about a foot high, cymosely dichotomous at the summit, with narrow winged angles 

 which are sparingly hispid. Leaves 1—2 inches long, closely sessile, acute, strongly 3-ribbed. 

 Flowers an inch in diameter, seldom more than two or three expanded at one time. Calyx- 

 tube beautifully urceolate ; the segments lanceolate, acuminate. Petals bright purple, obliquely 

 obovate, often hispid externally. Stamens shorter than the petals : anthers long and linear, 

 curved ; the connectivum furnished with a small subulate process at the insertion of the 

 filament. Style longer than the filaments, a little curved above. Capsule globose, enclosed 

 in the ventricose tube of the calyx. Seeds numerous, with a large umbihcus. 



Swamps and wet sandy places ; common. July - September. 



Order XL. LYTHRACEiE. Juss. The Loosestrife Tribe. 



Sepals combined into a 4 - 7-toothed calyx ; the sinuses sometimes produced 

 into accessary teeth or processes. Petals alternate with the teeth of the cal^-x 

 and inserted into its throat, very deciduous, sometimes wanting. Stamens as 

 many as the petals, or 2 - 4 times as many, inserted into the tube of the calyx. 

 Ovary enclosed in the calyx, but not adherent to it, 2 - 4-cellcd ; the placentas 

 in the axis. Style filiform, or very short. Capsule membranaceous, often one- 



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