96 Madder (Rubihcecz). [No. 12 



No. 12.— Family RUBlACE^E. (Madder Fam.) 

 GUIDE TO THE GENERA. 

 Vine, prostrate ; stems, cylindrical, (i) Mitchdlla, L. 

 (Partridge- Berry). 



Vine, ascending ; stems, square. (2) Galium (Bed- 

 straw). 



(1) Genus Mitchella, L. 



Named for John Mitchell, an early botanist of Virginia. 



Fig. 48. — Partridge-Berry. M. ripens, L. 



Flowers, about one half inch long, terminal in pairs ; 

 white, often purple-tinged, very fragrant. Corolla, 

 funnel-form, four-lobed, densely hairy within. Calyx, 

 four-toothed. Stamens, four, inserted on the tube of 

 the corolla and alternate with its lobes. Style, one. 

 Stigmas, four, line-like. In some specimens the sta- 

 mens are exserted and the stigmas included, in others 

 the stamens are included and the stigmas exserted. 

 Seed-case, one for the pair of flowers, adherent to the 

 calyx, four-celled ; one young seed in each cell. June, 

 July. 



Leaves, evergreen, simple, opposite, entire, connected 

 around the stem by minute stipules, one half to five 

 sixths of an inch in length ; round egg-shape, slightly 

 heart-shaped at the base, with short stems, smooth 

 and shining, and often marked with whitish lines, 

 turning black in drying. 



Fruit, a bright red, edible berry, curious for its double 

 structure — one berry for the pair of flowers, crowned 

 with two sets of calyx-teeth, and with eight small 

 seeds. A berry-like double drupe. 



