322 orobanchace^e. (broom-rape family.) 



less, with a thickened and roughened coat. — Low branching annuals, clammy- 

 pubescent, exhaling a heavy odor : stems thickish : leaves simple, rounded. 

 Flowers racemed, large. (Dedicated to Prof. John Martyn, of Cambridge.) 



1. M. probOSCidea, Glox. Leaves heart-shaped, oblique, entire, or un- 

 dulate, the upper alternate ; corolla dull white or purplish, or spotted with yel- 

 low and purple ; endocarp of the fruit crested on one side, long-beaked. — Banks 

 of the Mississippi in S. Illinois (probably indigenous) and southwestward. Also 

 common in gardens. July- Oct. 



Order 67. OROBANCHACEJE. (Broom-rape Family.) 



Herbs destitute of green foliage (root-parasites') monopetalous, didyna- 

 mous, the ovary one-celled with 2 or 4 parietal placentas ; pod very many- 

 seeded : seeds minute, with albumen, and a very minute embryo. — Calyx 

 persistent, 4 - 5-toothed or parted. Corolla tubular, more or less 2-lipped, 

 ringent, persistent and withering ; the upper lip entire or 2-lobed, the low- 

 er 3-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous, inserted on the tube of the corolla : 

 anthers 2-celled, persistent. Ovary free, ovoid, pointed with a long style 

 which is curved at the apex : stigma large. Pod 1-celled, 2-valved ; the 

 valves each bearing on their face one placenta or a pair. Seeds very nu- 

 merous, minute, anatropous, the minute embryo at the base of transparent 

 albumen. — Low, thick or fleshy herbs, bearing scales in place of leaves, 

 lurid yellowish or brownish throughout. Flowers solitary or spiked. 



# Flowers of two sorts : stems branching. 



1. Epiphegus. Upper flowers sterile, with a tubular corolla ; the lower fertile, with the 



corolla minute and not expanding. Bracts inconspicuous. 



* * Flowers all alike and perfect : stems mostly simple. 



2. Conophol is. Flowers spiked. Calyx with 2 bractlets, and split on the lower side. Sta- 



mens protruded. Corolla 2-lipped. 



3. Pheliprea. Flowers spiked or panicled. Calyx with 2 bractlets, and regularly 5-cleft. 



Corolla 2-lipped. Stamens included. 



4. Aphyllon. Flowers solitary, without bractlets. Calyx regularly 5-cleft. Corolla with 



the border almost equally 5-lobed. Stamens included. 



1. EPIPHEGUS, Nutt. Beech-drops. Cancer-root. 



Flowers racemose or spiked, scattered on the branches ; the upper sterile, with 

 a long tubular corolla and long filaments and style ; the lower fertile, with a very 

 short corolla which seldom opens, but is forced off from the base by the growth 

 of the pod : the stamens and style very short. Calyx 5-toothed. Stigma capi- 

 tate, a little 2-lobed. Pod 2-valved at the apex, with 2 approximate placentas 

 on each valve. — Herbs slender, purplish or yellowish-brown, much branched, 

 with small and scattered scales, 6' -12' high. (Name composed of eVi, upon, 

 and (f>nyos, the Beech, because it grows on the roots of that tree.) 



1. E. Virginiana, Bart. (E. Americanus, Nutt. ) — Common under 

 Beech-trees, parasitic on their roots. Aug. - Oct. — Corolla of the upper (ster- 

 ile) flowers whitish and purple, 6" - 8'' long, curved, 4-toothed. 



