108 CLASS V. ORDER II. 



silken down attached to the seeds, for which the plant has been 

 cultivated in Europe and America. It is used as a substitute for 

 feathers, fur, cotton, &:c. — July. — Perennial. 



AscLEPiAs oBTusiFOLiA. Micli. Bluiit Icttvcd SUTc wecd. 

 Leaves closely sessile, oblong, obtuse, waved ; um- 

 bel terminal, on a long peduncle ; corollas smooth. 

 Mich. ahr. 



Leaves opposite, ovate, heart shaped at base, sessile, apparent- 

 ly clasping, very much waved on the margin, obtuse at the end, 

 mucronated. Stem erect, supporting a terminal umbel at a dis- 

 tance from the leaves. The flowers are larger than in any spe- 

 cies here described. Calyx leaves ovate, acute, a quarter as 

 long as the petals. Corolla spreading, afterwards reflexed, 

 greenish white tinged with red. Nectaries paler, large, cylin- 

 drical, obliquely truncated inward, cleft inside, with acute in- 

 curved horns rising from their centres. Mass of anthers more 

 cylindrical than in some other species, its summit discoid, umbi- 

 licate, with five rounded teeth. Pollen masses resembling those 

 in A. phytolaccoides. — Cambridge, Mount Auburn. — July. — Pe- 

 rennial. 



AscLEPiAS PHYTOLACCOIDES. Puvsk. Polce Uavtd Silk loeed. 

 Stem erect, simple ; leaves ovate, acute ; umbels 

 lateral, on long stalks, "nodding; nectaries truncated 

 obliquely outward. 



Syn. AscLEPiAS exaltata. Muhl. 



A tall, large flowering species, more delicate in its appearance 

 than A. Syriaca. Stem erect, slender, smooth, four or five feet 

 high. Leaves large, opposite, on short petioles, ovate-lanceo- 

 late, acute, smooth above, pale and slightly pubescent under- 

 neath. Umbels somewhat nodding on rather long peduncles, 

 given off at the upper pairs of leaves. Involucre irregular, of 

 short linear leafels. Flowers large. Petals green. Nectaries 

 white or flesh colored, truncated obliquely outward, and toothed 

 at the top inside, with long horns curving inward. Mass of an- 

 thers cylindrical, green with black dots, white on the summit. 



