366 Obder 60.— CRASSULACEJ3. 



denticulate ; fis. ? !? 5 > the ? on short peduncles ; fr. oval or subglobous, smoolh, 

 longitudinally torulous.— (D Native of Asia, whence it was first brought to Eng- 

 land in ISVO. Generally cultivated for the juicy, yellowish, delicately flavored 

 flesh of the mature fruit. Jn., Jl. "Varieties numerous. 



3 C. Augilria L. Peicklt Cucumber. St. prostrate, slender, hispid ; ten- 

 drils simple ; Ivs. palmately and deeply sinuaie-lobed, cordate at base ; fr. oval- 

 ovoid, or subghhous, echinate. — (J) Cultivated for the green fruit, which is about 

 the size of a hen's egg, and used for pickles. Jl., Aug. J Jamaica. 



4 C. Coloo;^nthis L. Colootnth. St. prostrate, subhispid ; Ivs. cordato- 

 ovate, cleft into many obtuse lobes, hairy-canescent beneath ; tendrils short ; fls. 

 axillary, pedunculate ; $ with a globous, hispid caL tube and campanulate limb, 



; with small petals ; fr. globous, yellow when ripe, about as large as an orange, 

 and intolerably bitter. — The extract is the colocynth of the shops, poisonous, but 

 medicinal. ■(- From Japan. 



5 C. angiiinua L. Serpent Cucumber. Sts. climbing; Ivs. 3 to 5-lobcd, 

 repand-dentate ; tendrils forked ; /;•. very long, smooth, cyliridrical, coiled. — Culti- 

 vated for the curiosity of the long, snake-like fruit, f E. Ind. 



Order LIX. BEGONIACE^. Begoniads. 



Jleris or succulent undershrubs with an acrid juice. Leaves alternate, oblique at 



the base, with large, soarious stipules. Flowers diclinous, pink-colored, cymous. 



Calyx adherent, colored. Sepals of the J 2 pairs, decussating ; of the 9 5, imbri- 



i-ated, or 8. Stamens CO, distinct or coherent in a column. Anthers clustered. 



Ovary inferior, S-ceUed, with 3 large placentae meeting in the axis. Seeds minute, 



without albumen. Pruit capsular. (Fig. 270.) 



Genera 4, species 160, mostly natives of the Indies and S. America — nonoN. American. They 

 iire frequently cultivated as curious and ornamental. Properties astringent and bitter. 



DIPLOCLIN'IUM, Lindl. Elephant's Ears. (Gr. dinXoog, double, 

 icXiVT], coucli ; alluding to the double placentae.) Fls. 8 . — i Sepals 

 orbicular, colored like tlie petals, but larger ; petals oblong, acute ; 

 stamens combined in a column; anthers in a globous head. ? SepaJa 

 3, lanceolate, laiger than the 2 petals ; stigma lobes distinct, spiral, 

 erect ; capsule wings unequal ; placentse double, or 2 in each cell. — 

 Evergreen, succulent undershrubs. 



D. Evansianum Lindl. Glabrous; St. branched, tumid and colored at the 

 joints, succulent ; Ivs. large, slightly angular, mucronate-serrate, cordate-ovate, 

 ver^ unequal at base, petiolate, with weak, scattered prickles, and straight, red 

 veins, the under surface deeply reddened ; fls. pink-colored in all their parts, 

 except the golden yellow anthers and stigmas; S larger than the J, and on 

 peduncles twice as long. From China. (Begonia discolor "Willd.) — Many other 

 .species are found in conservatories — ^too many for our limits. 



Order LX. CRASSULACE..^. House-leeks. 



Plants herbaceous or shrubby, succulent. Lvs. entire or pinnatifid. Stip. 0. 

 Flowers sessile, usually in cymes and perfectly symmetrical. Sepals 3 to 20, more 

 or less united at base, persistent. Petals as many as the sepals, distinct, rarely co- 

 liering. Stamens as many as the petals, and alternating with them, or twice as 

 many. Ovary as many as the petals and opposite them. Fil. distinct Anih. 

 ^-celled, bursting lengthwise. Fruit, follicles as many as the ovaries, each open- 

 ing by the ventral suture, many-seeded. (Figs. 260, 261.) 



Oenern 22, f^pencji 450, chiefly natives of the ■warmer regions Of the globe, particularly the 

 Capn <Jf Good llii])e. About 20 .ire found in N. America. They grow in the thinnest and driest 

 soil, on naked rocks, Bandy deserts, etc They have no peculiar property except a slight acrid- 

 ity. Many are highly ornamental. 



