MITCHELLA — PAUTUIDOE-HEUUY. 10!) 



in tho tlu'oat of tlio corollii. Htylo filiform ; Hti<,'nms 4. Fruit, Imcciitc, 

 bright rod, (■()iii[M)H(tl of tlu! imitc'd oviirics of both flowers, tacli of which 

 coiitiiiuH 4: biuull homy, l-soodod nutlets. It is edible but insipid. 



A small creeping, evergreen herl). Stems slender, u it) 12 inche-s long, 

 brunching luul rooting iifc tho joints und beeoming niatted upon tho sur- 

 face of the ground. Leaves one-half inch long, opposite, roundisli, diirk 

 green and shining, jjfonorally niarkcnl with a central longitudinal line of a 

 ligiiter color, of a coriaceous t«'xture. I'lowei's of two kinds, one v,ith 

 stamens oxserted and style included, the otiier with style exserted and 

 stamens included ; these difVerent kinds of flowers oc(;ur in dilVerent jjlants. 

 Tho Howors are white, about one-half in(;h long, and though generally with 

 their parts in fours, n(<t imfrecpiently have them in five", or even in sixes ; 

 they aro produced in June. The whole plant turns black in drying. 



Ilahilal. — In moist woods, about the roots of trees, often forming u 

 vivid greon matting, variegated in autumn by the bright red berries, the 

 latter often p(n'sist:ng till spring. Evcrywhero common. 



I'avl L'scd. — Tiio herb — not official. 



Const il.iunilM. — Uidcnown. 



J'n'iH;riilioiif':---lt is administei'cd in infusion ov decoction. 



Mrdiral /'I'operticH and l.'iif.i. — The medical i)i"opcrties of this plant aro 

 altogether problematical. It is said to bo astringent, diuretic, and partu- 

 rient. Squaws are said to us" a decoction of it for som(^ weeks jjn^vious 

 to their parturition, in order to i-endcr th(,'ir delivery safe and easy ; white 

 women Homctimos use slippery (^Im for the same piui)ose, and probably 

 with about tho same amount of benefit. 



COMPOSIT/E. 9 



Gharnctcr of ihe Order. — Flowers, relatively small, collected in a dense 

 head \\\}o\x a common receptacle and surrounded by an invcjlucre of bracts, 

 the whole resembling a single flower, and termed l)y the older botanists 

 compound. The separate tlowei's : calyx-tube coherent with the ovary, its 

 limb, termed pappus, composed of bristles, plumose hairs, scales, or even 

 minute leailets, though sometimes absent entirely or reduced to a mere 

 margin. Corolla usually composed of Ij united petals, either ligulate or 

 tubulai'. Stamens 5, rai'ely fewer, their anthers linear and united into a 

 tube, sometimes with an apiiendage at the top or at the base. Ovary 1- 

 celled, 1-ovuled ; style in the fertile flowers 2-cleft, tho lobes often fur- 

 nished with hairs for collei^ting pollen, the stigmatic surfaces in the form of 

 elevated lines along the inner margins. Fruit an acheuium crowned with 

 the pappus. 



A veiy largo order of hei'bs, rarely shrubs or trees, comjirising about 

 one-tenth of the flowering plants of the world. The flowers occur in man_y 

 diil'erent forms. When all of them are perfect the head is said to be 



