70 MALVACEAE. 



pel, reniform, peritropous. Embkyo semicircular-incurved in 

 fleshy albumen : cotyledons foliaceous, cordate, plaited in 

 the middle and infolded : radicle centripetal-inferior, or in 

 the upper seed centripetal-superior. 



Herbs or shrubs, mostly hoary with a stellate pubescence, 

 with alternate and usually lobed or toothed leaves, and axil- 

 lary flowers. Stipules subulate, deciduous. Corolla ver- 

 milion, flesh-colored, or violet. 



Etymology. Name compounded of o-(/)aipa, a sphere, and Alcea, an 

 ancient name of Mallow, in allusion to the spherical fruit. 



Geographical Distribution. Natives of the warmer temperate and 

 subtropical regions of America, in both hemispheres ; the greater part Mex- 

 ican. One species extends north to the Arkansas River ; another is found 

 farther north in Oregon. None of them are yet known to occur within the 

 geographical limits of this work ; but they may be expected in Western Texas, 



PLATE 127. Sph^ralcea miniata ; — summit of a branch from Fendler's 

 Santa Fe collection ; of the natural size. 



1. Diagram of the aestivation of the calyx and corolla. 



2. Vertical section of a flower, magnified. 



3. Fruit, with the persistent calyx. 



4. The same, with the calyx spread open and all but one carpel removed. 



5. Vertical section of a carpel and its two seeds, more magnified. 



6. Seed detached, more magnified. 



7. Vertical section of the same and of the embryo. 



8. Embryo detached entire, and still more magnified. 



