108 



SELECTED WESTERN FLORA 



Fraxinus nigra. 



LXVII. GENTIAN ACEiE (Gentian Family). 



Smooth herbs with a bitter watery juice, opposite, simple, entir6, 

 sessile leaves, and regular perfect flowers. Calyx inferior, 4^12- 

 lobed or toothed, persistent; corolla gamopetalous, 4-12-lobed; 

 stamens as many as the lobes of the corolla, alternate with them, and 

 situated on the tube; ovary 1-oelled, many-seeded. 



1. CENTAURIUM. 



Calyx 4-parted ; corolla 4 or 5-clef t, funnel-form with slender tube, 

 style slender, anthers exserted. Low-branching annuals with 

 reddish flowers, mostly introduced from Europe. 



