Okdbr 16.— VIOLACB^. 241 



plant, with curious purple flowers, common in gardens, escaped into fields, &o. 

 South. May— Aug.f § "W. Ind. 



2 C. speoiooissima Deppe. Pilous; st. branching below , Ira. 5 — 'I -foliate, 

 on long petioles ; Ifts. lanceolate, acuminate, the upper Iva simple, bract-like, 

 ovate ; petals as long as the pedicels ; fruit shorter than its stipe. — (D Gardens. 

 Plant very showy, 3 — 4f high. Pis. rose-purple, clustered at the summit of the 

 rising raceme from Jn. to Sept. f Mexico. 



3. POLANISIA, Kaf. (Gr. woAv, mucli, aVttrof, UTiequal.) Sepals dis- 

 tinct, spreading ; petals 4, unequal ; stamens 8 — 32, filaments filiform 

 or dilated at the summit ; torus not developed, minute ; pods linear. — 

 (D Strong-scented herbs, with glandular, viscid hairs. 



P. gravSolens Ea£ Viscid-pubescent ; Ivs. temate, Ifts. elliptic-oblong ; fls. 

 axillary, solitary ; sta. 8 — 1 2 ; caps, oblong-lanceolate, attenuate at base. — Grav- 

 elly shores, Vt. to Ark. St. If high, branching, striate. Lfts. 1 — 1^' long, J as 

 wide, nearly entire and sessile ; common petiole 1' long. Pis. in terminal racemes. 

 Petals yoUowish-white, narrowed below into long claws. Fil. slender, exserted. 

 Pods 2' long, glandular-pubescent, siliquose, viscid like every other part of the 

 plant. Jl. 



Order XV. RESEDACE^. Mignonbtts. 



Herbs, with alternate, entire, or pinnate leaves. Stipules minute, gland-like. Fls. 

 in racemes or spikes, small and often fragrant, 4 — 7-merou3. Sepals somewhat 

 united at base, unequal, green. Petals unequal, entire or cleft. Sia. 8 — 20, in- 

 serted on the disk. Torus hypogynous, one-sided, glandular. Ova. sessUe, 3-lobed, 

 1-celled, many-seeded. Flacentce 2, parietal. Fr. a capsule, l-ceUed, opening be- 

 tween the stigmas before maturity. (Illustrated in Figs. 295, 422.) 



Genera 6, species 41, inhabiting the countries around the Mediterranean Sea,, having no very 

 remarkable properties. Reseda Inteola contains a yellow coloring matter, and other species aro 

 very fragrant. 



RESEDA, L. (Lat. resedo, to calm ; the plants are said to relieve 

 pain.) Sepals 4 — 7 ; petals of an equal nui-nber, often cleft ; torus 

 large, fleshy, one-sided, bearing the 8 — oo stamens. 



1 R. lut^ola L. Dyer's "Weed. Lvs. lanceolate, with a tooth on each side at base ; 

 sepals 4, united below ; petals (gi-eenish-yellow) 3 — 5-cleft. — (I) Nearly natural- 

 ized in "West. N. T. St. about 2f high. The flowers are arranged in a long 

 spike, which, as Linnasus observes, follows the course of the sun, inclining east, 

 south and west, by day, and north by night. — It affords a useful yellow dye, also, 

 the paint called Dutch pink. § Eur. 



2 R. odorata L. Mignonette. Fig. 295, 422. Los. cuneiform, entire or 

 3-lobed; sep. shorter than the '7 — 13-cleft petals. — A well known and universal 

 favorite of the garden, native of Egypt. The flowers are highly fragrant and no 

 bouquet should be considered complete without them. The variety frtjtesoens is 

 by a peculiar training (§87) made perennial and raised to the height of 2f| 

 with the form of a tree. The species phyteuma, native of Palestine, has a calyx 

 larger than the petals. 



Oeder XVI. VIOLACE^. Violets. 



Serbs with simple (often cleft) alternate leaves with stipules. Fls. irregular, 

 spurred, with the sepals, petals and stamens in 53. Sep. persistent, slightly united, 

 elongated at base, the 2 lateral interior. Fetals commonly unequal, the inferior 

 usually spurred at base. Sta. 5, usually inserted on the hypogynous disk. Fil 

 dilated, prolonged beyond the anthers. Ova. of 3 united carpels, with 3 parietal 



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