79 
RUTA acsirtora. 
White-flowered Rue. 
OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA, (DECANDR. Wilid.).—Nat. Onp. RUTACEA. 
Grn. Cuar.—Cal. 4-5-partitus. Petala concava. Germen glandulo melli- 
fero auctum. Caps. lobata. 
Ruta albiflora ; foliis bipinnatis, pinnulis obcordatis, floribus tetrapeta- 
lis, petalis obovatis integerrimis (albis), germine pedicellato. 
Plant woody and apparently perennial, about a foot in height, forming a 
small, but handsome branching shrub: Stems and branches cylindrical, 
semipellucid glands, most apparent on the under side ; the whole giving 
out, when bruised, a smell similar to that of the Common Rue. 
Panicle terminal, compound, graceful; peduncles and pedicels slender, slight- 
ly hairy, each having a smallish obovate leaf-like bractea at its base. 
Flowers slightly drooping, the terminal one upon the branchlets rather 
and notched at the margin. Peials four, obovate, erecto-patent, cadu- 
cous. Stamens mostly six in number, sometimes seven, sometimes eight, 
unequal in height, some exceeding the length of the corolla, others 
shorter than it, with white filaments and yellow anthers, and inserted 
around the base of a cup-shaped, rather large, fleshy nectary, of a whitish 
color, and toothed at the margin with small, glandular, obtuse, yellowish 
processes; a few of which are seen on the back of the nectary. From 
the centre of this nectary arises the pedicellated germen, shorter, however, 
than the petals, deeply four, sometimes five, rarely three-lobed, glan- 
dular, each, just below the extremity, bearing a filiform style, which 
uniting with the others, seem in a measure incorporated, so as to form 
in number, placed in two rows (some of them generally proving abor- 
tive): the more perfect ones or unripe seeds, ovate, striated and ert 
inserted upon a small, spongy, roundish receptacle in the front of 
cell. 
VOL, I. oe 9d 
