^30 Order 112.— EUPHORBIACB^. 



parted ; stamens 8 to 12, filaments very short, united at base, with 

 halved anthers ; ? calyx 3-parted ; styles 3, elongated, 2 or 3-cleft or 

 fringed ; fruit separating into 3 bivalve, 1-seeded nutlets, rarely simple. 

 — ® Herbs (or tropical shrubs) resembling nettles. Lvs. alternate, 

 petiolatc. Fls. axillary, the fertile in short clusters at the base of the 

 little staminatc spikes, surrounded by a large cut-tootheJ bract. 



1 A. Virginica L. Hairy or downy, branched ; lvs. oblong -lanceolate, oiscurely ser- 

 rate ; involucrate bracts broadly ovate, deeply cut-toothed, veiny ; sterile spikes 

 slender, peduncled, usually exceeding the involucre ; seeds oval, ash-colored, 

 smoothinh.—DTy fields, Can. and U. S. A rough-weed, 10 to 20' high, often de- 

 cumbateat base. Lvs. 12 to 30" long, varying from ovate to lanceolate or lance- 

 linear, obtusely pointed, the petioles about as long. The little green spikes 4 to 

 10" ; fertile clusters in the samo axils, sometimes alone. Ju. — Aug. (Also A. 

 gracilens Gr.) 



ji. iiONOCOCCA (Engelm.) Tory slender, with lance-linear, subentire lvs. and 

 a simple, 1-celled, l-seeded fruit. — W. III. ' 



2 A. Carolini^na Walt. Minutely downy, branched ; hs. ovate, cordate, closely 

 and strongly serrate, acute ; sterile spikes short, fertile fls., also spicate, t«>-m,inal ; 

 invol. bracts deeply palmate with linear segments; sds. roundish ovoid, light ash- 

 colored, roughened with hard, black points. — Ind. to N. J., Ga. and La. Plant 

 slender, 1 to 2f high, nearly smooth. Lvs, 1 to 2' by 9 to 16", on slender petioles. 

 Seeds larger (1") than in No. 1. 



5. CNIDOS'COLUS, Pohl. Spurge Nettle. (Gr. uvISt], a nettle, 

 OKuXog, a prickle.) Flowers 8 , showy ; calyx colored, convolute, 

 coralline; corolla ; liypogynous glands 5, $ stamens 10, united at 

 base, alternately short ; ? calyx 5-parted ; styles 3, each 2 or more- 

 cleft ; capsule 3-carpeled, 3-so'edcd. — Herbs often besot with stings. 



C. Btimuldsa Gray. Hispid, with bristly stings; lvs. palmately 3 to 5-lobed, 

 cordate at base, ciliate, lobes acute or acuminate, ^vith few mucronata teeth, late- 

 ral lobes 2-parted ; lis. terminal at length opposite the loaves, cymous ; sep. white, 

 oval, spreading ; styles many-cleft at top ; caps, hispid. — If A low herb, in sandy 

 soils, throughout the South, painfully common. It varies much in the width of 

 its leaf segments. Stings white, often half an inch long. Mar. — -Jl. (Jatrophti 

 Btimulosa Mx.) 



6. Rlt'INUS, Tourn. Castor Oil Plant. (Lat. ricinus, a bug ; 

 from the resemblance of the seeds.) Flowers S , apetalous ; calyx 3 to 

 •5-parted, valvate in the bud; S stamens oo, witlr irregularly united 

 filaments ; $ style short, stigmas 3, 2-partod, phmious, colored ; cap- 

 sule echinate, 3-lobed, 3-cellcd, 3-secded. — Herbs or shrubs. 



R. communis L. St. frosted or glaucous, white, herbaceous ; lvs. peltate, palmate, 

 lobes lanceolate, serrate ; caps, prickly. — Native of the E. Indies, where it becomes 

 a tree, although an herbaceous annual in the N. States. In Ga. La. and Pla. it is 

 a stout shrub I St tall, smooth, of a light bluish green color. Lvs. 4 to 12" 

 diam., on long petioles. From its seeds is expressed tlio well known castor oil 

 of the shops. For this purpose it is extensively cultivated in the S. and ^A . 

 States. — The purgative property resides in the embryo, not in the albumen. 



7. CROTON, L. (Name in Greek of the samo import as Ricinus.) 

 Flowers 8 ; $ calyx 4 or 5-partod, cylindric-valvato in bud ; corolla of 

 4 or 5 petals, often small ; stamens 5 to 20 ; $ calyx 5, rarely 8-cleft ; 

 corolla often minute or none ; styles 3, once or repeatedly forked ; cap- 

 sule 3-lobed, 3-celled, 3-carpeled, carpels 1-secded. — Plants clothed with 

 scurf, down or wool, usually glandular and aromatic. Hairs stellate. 

 Lvs. alternate. 



