POLYGALACEAE (MILKWORT FAMILY) 145 



C. Perennial; petals 14-20 mm. long; stigma short, but little longer than wide; 



capsule much exceeding the calyx. E. L. lewisil 



CC. Annual; petals about lo mm. long; stigma long, much longer than wide; 



capsule about as long as the calyx. W. E. — The seeds furnish linseed oil; the 



stem is the source of linen. L. usitatissimum (cultivated flax) 



BB. Petals white or rarely pinkish, never blue, 2-5 mm. long; leaves oblong-spatu- 



late; annual. W. L. micranthum (white flax) 



AA. Flowers yellow; petals about 2 mm. long; plant annual; leaves mostly opposite, 



upper ones serrate, elliptic-spatulate. E. L. dlgynum (yellow flax) 



POLYGALACEAE (Milkwort Family) 



Herbs. Leaves alternate, simple, entire. Stipules none. 

 Flowers in racemes, perfect, irregular. Sepals s, very unequal, 

 the lateral o«ei(wings) larger, colored. Petals 3, hypogynous, more 

 or less united into a split tube. Stamens 6 or 8, monadelphous or 

 diadelphous; the tube split and adhering to the petals. Capsule 

 2-celled, loculicidal; cells i-seeded. Seed hairy. — (Gk. polys = 

 much; gala = milk; the name of some Greek plant used to in- 

 crease the flow of milk.) U. Polygala califomica (milkwort) 



EUPHORBIACEAE (Spurge Family) 



Herbs; juice often milky. Flowers monoecious or dioecious, 

 variously arranged, mostly naked, or with normal calyx present, or 

 a mere scale; in Euphorbia subtended by an involucre resembling 

 a calyx. Stamens i to many. Styles 1-3, simple to many-cleft. 

 Fruit a capsule, 2-3-celled, dehiscent; cells 1-2-seeded. 



A. Flowers involucrate : stamens usually i ; both staminate and pistillate flowers 

 with only a rudimentary calyx, or none at all; capsule 3-celled; cells each with i 

 or more seeds. EUPHORBIA (p. 14s) 



AA. Flowers not involucrate ; stamens 6-7; staminate flowers with a 5-6-parted 

 calyx; pistillate flowers naked; capsule i-celled, i-seeded. E. — (L. piscaria = 

 belonging to fish; the Indian stupefied fish by throwing ttje herbage into the water.) 



Piscaria setigera (TUltKEY mullein) 



EUPHORBIA (Spurge) 



Leaves alternate or opposite or whorled. Flowers small, naked; in- 

 volucre top-shaped or campanulate. Staminate flowers many, of i naked 

 stamen jointed upon a short pedicel which usually has a minute bract at the 

 base. Pistillate flowers solitary, pedicelled, soon exserted. Styles 3, 

 usually 2-cleft. — (Honor of Euphorbus, the physician to King Juba.) 



A. Stems prostrate-spreading or nearly so ; involucre glands bearing petal-like 

 appendages. 



F. & R. EL. FL. — 10 



