18 CABOMBACEiE. ( WATER-SHIELD FAMILY.) 



4. JEFPERSONIA, Barton. Twin- leaf. 



Sepals 4, petal-like, caducous. Petals 8, oblong. Stamens 8. Stigma nearly 

 sessile, 2-lobed. Capsule coriaceous, obovate, many-seeded, opening transversely 

 on the back, near the summit Seeds numerous, furnished with a fleshy lacini- 

 aled aril. — A low stemless perennial herb, with long-pctioled, 2-parted leaves, 

 and naked scapes, bearing a single white flower. 



1- J. diphylla, Pcrs. — Rich shady woods, Tennessee and northward. 

 April. — Lobes of the leaves half-ovate, entire or toothed. Scapes 6' - 12' high. 

 Flowers 1' wide. 



5. PODOPHYLLUM, L. May-Apple. 



Sepals 6, caducous. Petals 6-9, obovate. Stamens twice as many (in our 

 species) as the petals. Anthers opening longitudinally. Stigma large, peltate, 

 sessile. Fruit baccate, many-seeded. Seeds enveloped in a pulpy aril. — A low 

 perennial herb, with the naked stem terminated by two large peltate, 5 - 9-partcd, 

 lobcd and toothed leaves, with a solitary nodding flower in the fork. 



I. P. peltatum, L. (Mandrake.) — Rich woods, Florida and north- 

 ward. April and May. — Stems 1° high, the barren ones terminated by a 

 single centrally peltate leaf, smooth. Leaves 4' -6' wide. Flowers 1' wide, 

 greenish. Berry l'-2' long, ovoid, yellow, fragrant. 



Order 6. NELUMBIACEjE. (Nklumbo Family.) 



Aquatic herbs, with large circular centrally peltate floating leaves, and 

 solitary hypogynous flowers on long peduncles. Sepals and petals sim- 

 ilar, in several rows, imbricated in the bud, deciduous. Stamens indefi- 

 nite, the slender filaments prolonged above the linear, adnate, introrse 

 anthers. Ovaries separate, 1-celled, 1-ovuled, imbedded in the flat sum- 

 mit of the large obconioal torus, forming large globular nuts in fruit. 

 Stigma nearly sessile, peltate. Seeds suspended. Embryo large. Al- 

 bumen none. 



1. NELUMBIUM, Juss. Nelumbo. 



Characters of the order. 



1. N. luteum, Willd. < Water Chinquepin.) — Lakes and still water, 

 Florida, near Tallahassee, and northward and westward. Not common. July. 

 — Rhizoma large, creeping. Leaves l°-2° wide, depressed in the centre. 

 Flowers 5' - 6' wide, pale yellow. Appendage of the anthers linear. 



Order 7. CABOMBACEjE. (Water-shield Family.) 



Aquatic perennial herbs, with peltate or dissected leaves, and solitary 

 hypogynous flowers on long axillary peduncles. Sepals 3-4, colored 



