RESEDAGE^-MIGNONETTE FAMILY 



MIGNONETTE 



JResSda odorbia. 



Reseda, Latin, to calm; from supposed sedative properties. 



Well-known garden favorite, treated as an annual; with inconspicuous 

 flowers of delightful fragrance. Northern Africa and Asia Minor. 



Stem. — Upright, finally more or less decum- 

 bent, branching. 



Leaves. — Alternate, variable, spatulate, or 

 ovate, mostly entire, sometimes notched or 

 three-lobed, apex obtuse. 



Flowers. — Small, irregular, in spicate racemes 

 that become loose and open with age. 



■Sepals. — Four to seven, usually six, spreading. 



Petals. — Four to seven, attached beneath the 

 ovary; the upper cut into a number of segments 

 like white fringe. 



Stamens. — Ten to forty, borne on a one-sided 

 disk; anthers large, duU, reddish-orange, con- 

 spicuous, giving the color to the flower. Disk 

 broad, appears between the petals and the 

 stamens, dilated at the upper side of the flower 

 into a yellowish plate, secreting honey at the 

 back. 



Ovary. — Sessile, one-celled. 



Stigmas. — Three. 



Capsule. — One-celled, three-homed, opening 

 before the seeds are mature. 



A blooming stem of Mignonette consists 

 principally of green sepals, white fringe, 

 reddish anthers, and fragrance. The white 

 fringe is the petals, the reddish anthers give 

 the color, and in the fragrance lies the value 



Mignonette. Resida odorila 0^ the flower. 



