132 CLASS V. ORDER V. 



It will be seen that the foregoing description disagrees, in sev- 

 eral respects, with that of Mr. Nuttall under D. filiformis. I 

 am inclined, however, to believe them varieties of the same spe- 

 cies. 



145. STATICE. 

 Statice Caroliniana. Marsh Rosemary. 



American Medical Botany, PI. xxv. 



Scape round and panicled : leaves obovate-lanceo- 

 late, smooth, obtuse, mucronated, and flat on the 

 margin. 



A purple flowering plant of the salt marshes, very ■conspicuous 

 about midsummer. The root of this plant is perennial, large, 

 fleshy, fusiform or branched. Several tufts of the leaves and 

 scapes are often produced from the same root. The leaves are 

 narrow-obovate, supported by long petioles, smooth, veinless, 

 obtuse, mucronated by the prolongation of the middle rib, level 

 and flat on the margin, in which respect they difier from S. limo' 

 nium, which is undulated. Scape round, a foot high, smooth, 

 furnished with a few scales, fiexuous at top, giving off numerous 

 branches, which end in spikes of flowers; the whole forming a 

 large panicle. The base of each branch and flower is supported 

 by an ovate, mucronated scale. The flowers are alternate, erect, 

 consequently one sided in the horizontal branches ; mostly in 

 pairs, but appearing single from one expanding before the other. 

 They grow on a short forked peduncle, which is concealed by 

 several sheathing scales, part of which are common to the two, 

 and part peculiar to the upper one. The calyx is funnel shaped, 

 five angled, the angles ciliate and ending in long acute teeth with 

 sometimes, not always, minute intermediate teeth. The upper 

 part of the calyx is scarious and of a pink color. Petals spatu- 

 late, obtuse, longer than the calyx, pale bluish purple. Stamens 

 inserted in the claws of the petals, anthers heart shaped. Germ 

 small, obovate, with five ascending styles shorter than the sta- 

 mens. Seed oblong, invested with the persistent calyx. — Pe- 

 rennial. 



The root is strongly astringent, and with us is an ofiicinal 

 article of .considerable consumption. 



