NERIUM. CI. APOCYNACE^E. 457 



in low shades and hedges, Can. to Ga. and Ark. Stem 2 4f high, generally 

 dividing above into long, slender branches. Leaves li 2 7 by 8 11", oppo- 

 site, on petioles 2" long, and, when young, downy beneath. Cymes terminal, 

 with linear bracts. Flowers about half as long as those of the last species. 

 Sepals lanceolate, acute. Corolla white, with straight, obtuse segments. The 

 fibres of the bark are strong and pliable, said to be used by the Indians in 

 various ways as hemp. July, Aug. 

 /?. pubescens. LTS. beneath and cymes pubescent. 



3. A. HYPERICIFOLIUM. St. John* s-wort. Dog's-bane. 



Smooth ; Ivs. oblong, on very short petioles, obtuse or subcordate at base, 

 mucronate ; cymes terminal, shorter than the leaves ; cat. nearly as long as the 

 tube of the corolla. Gravely banks of streams. Stem erect, 2f high, with 

 opposite branches. Leaves 2 4' long, as wide, lower ones often sessile and 

 cordate, smooth both sides but paler beneath. Flowers very small, in dense 

 cymes at the ends of the stems and branches. Sepals lance-linear, about as 

 long as the tube of the greenish- white, erect corolla. Aug. 



2. AMSONIA. Walt. 



Calyx 5-cleft, segments acuminate ; cor. 5-cleft, tube narrowly 

 funnel-form, bearded inside, hispid at throat ; segments linear, con- 

 volute in aestivation ; sta. 5 ; sty. 1 ^ ova. 2, connate at base ; folli- 

 cles 2, erect, slender, fusiform ; seeds in one row, cylindric, truncate 

 at each end. Lvs. alternate, entire, subsessile. Cymes terminal, corym- 

 bose. Fls. blue. 



A. TABERN^MONTANA. Walt. (A. latifolia. Michx.} 

 Erect ; Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, acute at base, briefly petiolate, 

 margin slightly revolute ; sep. glabrous, lanceolate, acuminate ; cor. pilose out- 

 side near the top of the tube. A plant of singular appearance, in prairies and 

 damp grounds, Western ! and Southern States ! Stem terete, smoothish, 2f 

 high, branched above. Leaves numerous, 3 4' by 1 !', conspicuously 

 veined beneath. Flowers pale blue, in several terminal, cymose clusters. 

 Corolla 8" diam., very hairy at top of tube. Follicles in pairs, 2 3' long, 

 about 6-seeded. May, June. 



3. VINCA. 



Lat. vinculum, a band ; from the long twining branches. 



Corolla hypocrateriform, contorted, border 5-cleft, with the lobes 

 oblique, orifice 5-angled ; 2 glands at the base of the ovary ; capsule 

 follicular, erect, fusiform ; seed oblong. Trailing shrubs. Lvs. 

 evergreen. 



1. V. MINOR. Lesser Periwinkle. Sts. procumbent; Ivs. elliptic-lanceolate, 

 smooth at the margins ; fls. pedunculate ; seps. lanceolate. Native in Europe. 

 A handsome evergreen, flowering in Ma)''. Stems several feet in length, round, 

 smooth and leafy. Leaves opposite, smooth and shining, about an inch long. 

 Flowers solitary, axillary, alternate, violet, inodorous. 



2. V. MAJOR. Greater Periwinkle. Sts. nearly erect ; Ivs. ovate, ciliate ; fls. 

 pedunculate ; sep. setaceous, elongated. Native in Europe. Shrub with nume- 

 rous, slender, straggling branches, very leafy, forming light masses of ever- 

 green foliage flourishing best beneath the shade of other plants. Leaves 1 2' 

 in length, rounded or somewhat cordate at base. Flowers blue, appearing in 

 May and June. 



4. NERIUM. 



Calyx with 5 teeth at the base outside of the corolla ; corolla hy- 

 pocrateriform^ segments contorted, orifice with a corona consisting of 

 5, laciniate leaflets ; filaments inserted into the middle of the tube ; 

 anthers sagittate, adhering to the stigma by the middle. Oriental 

 shrubs. Lvs. evergreen. 



