ST. ANDREW'S CROSS 



base, entire, rounded at apex ; when full grown, thin, pale 

 green, black-dotted, usually two glands at base. 



Flowers. July, August. Perfect, regular, yellow, terminal 

 and axillary, one-half to three-fourths of an inch across. Pedi- 

 cels short, two-bracted. 



Calyx. Sepals four ; the two outer very broad and leaf-like; 

 the inner much smaller, imbricate in bud. 



Corolla. Petals four, oblique, bright yellow, hypogynous, 

 convolute in bud, oblong-linear, about the length of the outer 

 sepals, approaching each other in pairs in the form of St. 

 Andrew's cross. 



Stamens. Many, hypogynous, scarcely in clusters. 

 Pistil. Ovary superior, one-celled, styles two. 

 fruit. Capsule, one-celled, many-seeded. 



Among the different crosses known in the symbol- 

 ism of the Christian church that of St. Andrew is dis- 

 tinguished by its oblique 

 arms which are arranged in 

 the form of an X. This little 

 shrub gains its specific as 

 well as its common name be- 

 cause its four petals make a 

 very perfect St. Andrew's 

 cross. 



The plant is not very gen- 

 erally known, although it is 

 rather common in the pine- 

 barrens of New Jersey, and 

 not rare along the coast. 



Closely related to the St. 

 John's-worts, it differs in having four petals instead 

 of five ; in its four unequal sepals, and its numerous 



29 



St. Andrew's Cross, tAscyrum hyper- 

 icotdes. Leaves %' to \%' long. 

 Flowers ' to ^' across. 



