366 Obdee so.— CRASSULACB^. 



denticulate ; fls. 9 i^ J , the S on short peduncles ; jr. oval or stibgMious, smooth, 

 longitudinally torulous. — Q Native of Asia, whence it was first brought to, Eng- 

 land in 1570. Generally cultivated for the juicy, yellowish, dehcately flavored 

 flesh of the mature fruit. Jn., Jl. Varieties numerous. 



3 C. Angaria L. Peiokly Cucumbek. St, prostrate, slender, hispid ; ten- 

 drils simple;, Ivs. palmately and deeply sinuaie-lobed, cordate at base; fr. oval- 

 ovoid, or subgloious, echincde. — ® Cultivated for the green fruit, which is about 

 the size of a hen's egg, and used for pickles. Jl., Aug. % Jamaica. 



4 C. Coloo^nthis L. Colooykth. St. prostrate, subhispid ; Ivs. cordate- 

 ovate, cleft into many oltuse hhes, hairy-eanescent beneath ; tendrils short ; fls. 

 axillary, pedunculate ; 9 with a globous, hispid cal. tube and campanuljite limb, 

 with small petals ; fr. glohous, yellow when ripe, about as large as an orange, 

 and intolerably bitter. — The extract is the oolocynth of the shops, poisonous, but 

 medicinal. ,f Prom Japan. 



5 C. angiinus L. Seepbnt Cuotjmbee, Sts. climbing; Ivs. 3 to 5-lobed, 

 repaud-dentate ; tendrils forljed ; fr. very long, smooth, cylindrical, coiled. — Culti- 

 vated for the curiosity of the long, snake-like fruit, f E. Ind. 



Oedee LIX. BEGONIACEJE. Begoniads. 



Serbs or succulent undershrubs with an acrid juice. Leaves alternate, oblique at 

 the base, with large, scarious stipules. Flowers diclinous, pink-colored, cymous. 

 Oalyx adherent, colored. Sepals of the J 2 pairs, decussating ; of the 9 5, imbri- 

 cated, or 8. Stamens GO, distinct or coherent in a column. Anthers clustered. 

 Ovary inferior, 3-celled, with 3 large placentse meeting in the axis. Seeds minute, 

 without albumen. Fruit capsular. (Pig. 270.) 



Genera 4, species 160, mostly natives of the Indies and S. America — none N. American. They 

 are frequently cultivated as curious and ornamental. Properties astringent and bitter. 



piPLOCLIN'IUM, Lindl. Elephant's Ears. (Gr. diTrlboq, double, 

 kXivtj, coucli ; alluding to the double placentae.) Fls. 8 . — $ Sepals 

 orbicular, colored like the petals, but larger ; petals oblong, acute ; 

 stamens combined in a column ; anthers in a globous head. ¥ Sepals 

 3, lanceolate, larger than the 2 petals ; stigma lobes distinct, spiral, 

 erect ; capsule wings unequal ; placentse double, or' 2 in each cell. — 

 Evergreen, succulent undershrubs. 



D. Evansianum Lindl. Glabrous ; st. branched, tumid and colored at the 

 joints, succulent; Ivs. large, slightly angular, mucronate-serrate, cordate-ovate, 

 very unequal at base, petiolate, with weak, scattered prickles, and straight, red 

 veins, the under surface deeply reddened ; fls, pink-colored in all their parts, 

 except the golden yellow anthers and stigmas; 9 larger than the $, and on 

 peduncles twice as long. From China. (Begonia discolor "Willd.) — Many other 

 species are found in conservatories — too many for our limits. 



Oedkb LX. CEASSULACEiE. House-lkeks. 



Plants herbaceous or shrubby, succulent. Xms. entire or pinnatifid. SUp. 0. 

 Flowers sessile, usually in cymes and perfectly symmetrical. Sepals 3 to 20, more 

 or less united at base, persistent. Petals as many as the sepals, distinct, rarely co- 

 hering. Stamens as many as the petals, and alternating with them, or twice as 

 many. Ovary as many aa the petals and opposite them. FU. distinct Ariih. 

 2-celled, bursting lengthwise. Fruit, follicles as many as the ovaries, each open- 

 ing by the ventral suture, many-seeded. (Pigs. 260, 261.) 



Oenera W, species 460, chiefly natives of the warmer regions of the globe, particularly the 

 Cape of Good Hope. About 20 are found In N. America. They grow in the thinnest and nrlest 

 soil, on naked rocks, sandy deserts, etc. They have fto peculiar property except a alight acrid- 

 ity. Many are highly ornamental. 



