286 BOTAiinr. 



mostly 2-4' long, sometimes much shorter ; involucre of 5 ovate or narrow- 

 lanceolate acuminate subherbaceous bracts, 2-5" long, 8-20-flowered; flower 

 bright rose-color, 6-12" long, the large limb (4-8" broad) 4-5-parted with 

 deeply emarginate lobes ; tube pubescent ; stamens 3-5, unequal ; fruit 

 7-12" long and 4-10" wide, including the 2-4 (usually 3) semi-orbicular 

 membranous strongly reticulated wings, which are united above the firm and 

 rigid body ; seed 2i-4" long. — A showy handsome plant, beginning to flower 

 very early. The fruit of the central flower is usually wingless. The speci- 

 mens of the collection, like others from the same region collected by Dr. 

 Torrey, Stretch, and Veatch, (A. Crux-Maltts, Kell.,) are only in flower, 

 showing immature fruit. They are alike in the broad 4-lobed and 4-androus 

 flowers, the very slender tube green above and slightly dilated about the ap- 

 proximate anthers, the uppermost of which are in the very throat ; the upper 

 tube is often marked by minute white lines, (raphides ?) From Northern 

 Texas and New Mexico to the Platte ; on the Saskatchewan, (Bourgeau.) 

 Valleys of Western Nevada ; May, June. (967.) 



Heemidium^ alipes. Stems rather stout, ascending, branched, 1° high ; 

 leaves 1-24' long, broad-ovate, subcordate, obtuse or subacute, short-petioled ; 

 heads about 6-flowered ; bracts 6-10" long, cordate-ovate, acute, sessile, occa- 

 sionally slightly united, more or less colored ; perigonium deciduous, light- 

 purple, campanulate, narrowed toward the base, about equaling the bract, 

 somewhat 5-lobed, the 5 nerves leading to the sinuses ; the slender filaments 

 and elongated style about equaling the perigonium ; stigma capitate ; fruit 

 (immature) globular, smooth ; ovary apparently narrowly 3-winged. — From 

 its bract-like involucres belonging technically to the suborder Bougainville(Z 

 of Choisy, but in the structure of the flower and fruit, (so far as appears from 

 immature specimens,) wholly a Mirabilis. On low foot-hills from the Big 

 Bend of the Truckee River to Oreana on the Humboldt; May. Plate 

 XXXII. Fig. 1. Portion of stem ; uppermost head of undeveloped flowers 

 opened out and showing imperfectly their position ; natural size. Fig. 2. A 

 single bract and flower. Fig. 3. Vertical section of immature ovary; enlarged 

 four diameters. (968.) 



' HERMIDIUM. Involucre consisting of a single broad membranous bract below the base of each 

 flower, riowers in condensed head-like terminal and axillary racemes, the short pedicels adnate to the 

 midveins of the bracts. Perigonium campanulate-funnelform. Stamens 5-7. Otherwise as iu iffiraMKs.— 

 A fleshy herbaceous glabrous and glaucous perennial ; leaves opposite, entire. 



