GENERA. 



I. RUBIEiE. 



1. Rubia T. — Flowers hermaphrodite or polygamous; receptacle 

 very concave saclike, enclosing adnate germen ; calyx 0. Corolla 

 gamopetalous, rotate or subcampanulate ; lobes 2, 3 or oftener 4 

 {Galium) or 5 (Eurubia), valvate. Stamens same in number, inserted 

 in tube of corolla and alternating with lobes; filaments short; anthers 

 sub-2-dymous, oftener exserted ; cells 2, introrsely rimose. Germen 

 2- rarely by abortion 1-celled, crowned with simple or more rarely 2- 

 lobed epigynous disk; style 2-fid or 2-partite; branches stigmatose 

 at capitate apex. Ovules in cells solitary, more or less completely 

 anatropous or amphitropous, ascending, basifixed; micropyle ex- 

 trorsely inferior, raphe ventral. Fruit 2-dymous, fleshy (Eurubia, 

 Didymcea) or coriaceous or dry (Galium, Vaillantia), by abortion 

 sometimes 1-celled, externally glabrous, hispid, tuberculate, or 

 longitudinally cristato-dentate (Mericarpcea) ; cocci 1-spermous. Seed 

 ascending subpeltate, concave within ; hilum broad ; albumen thick 

 horny ; radicle of curved embryo inferior. — Herbs, rarely shrubby at 

 base, generally scabrous, hispidulate or aculeate; branches oftener 

 4'gonal ; leaves opposite ; stipules interpetiolar conformed to leaves 

 and spuriously verticillate with them, or more rarely small and not 

 conformed to leaves (Didymcea) ; flowers (small) in axillary and 

 terminal generally very compound, sometimes contracted cymes, ex- 

 involucrate (Eurubia, Uidymma, Mericarpcea, Galium), or singly invo- 

 lucrate with 4 bracts (Relbunium), more rarely 3-nate, pendulous,; 

 each enclosed by a cymbiform accrescent bract (Callipeltis) or 

 thickened by decurved connate pedicels ; the middle one fertile. 

 {Warm, cold and temp, regions of the whole world.) — See p. 257. 



