OiiDBB tl.— LOBELIACE^. 475 



tumid at base ; receptacle naked ; pappus of simple, copious, wliite- 

 silky hairs, in luany series : achenia compressed, not rostrate. — Lvs. 

 mostly spinulous. Hds. with n»Dy yellow fls. 



§ Flowei-s bright yollow, i n showy lioads. Achenia nn^ulnr. Perennial N(i. 1 



§ Flowers pale yellow, in largo heads. Achenia flat. Annual Nos. 2, 3 



1 S. arv^nsisL. Root creeping;, stem glabrous, erect; lvs. runcinate-pia- 

 natifid, spiDulous-dentate, cordate, clasping at base, witli short and obtuse auri- 

 cles; panicles urabellate-corymbous ; ped. and iuvol. hispid; aoh. somewhat 

 4-angled, ribs transversely rugulous. — Waste grounds, naturalized, B. Mass. and 

 S. N. York, rare. St. angular, about 2f high. Hds. large, with deep yeUow 

 fls. § Bur. 



2 S. asper Vill. Lvs. cordate-amplexicaul, oUong-lanceolate, undulate, spinulous- 

 dentate ; ped. subumbellate ; ach. oval-ohovaie, 3-ribbed on, each side. — Found in 

 similar situations with the former, but less common, U. S. St. 1 to 2f high, 

 smooth except at the summit of tine branches where it is often hispid-glandular. 

 Lvs. with numerous, short, spiny teeth, wavy or slightly runcinato, the upper 

 ones clasping so as to appear perfoliate. Scales with few scattered hairs. Aug., 

 Sept. (S. spinulosus Bw. S. Carolinianus Walt.) 



3 S. oler^oeus L. Zms. sagitiate-amplexicaul, runcinate-pinnaUfid, subspinulous, 

 dentate ; ped. downy ; invol. at length smooth ; ach. many-striate. — A sordid look- 

 ing plant, in waste ground, among rubbish, &c. Plant of a glaucous hue. -St. 

 angular, hollow, fragile, 2 to 3f in height. Lvs. apparently clasping, with large, 

 retreating lobes at base, wavy and serrated in a runcinate manner, tlie teeth end- 

 ing in weak spines. Invol. dilated at fease, with yellow corollas. Sept. § Eur. 



SuBOEDER in. LABIATIFLORtE. 



115. CHAPTA'LIA, Vent. (Dedicated by Ventenat to the celebrated 

 French chemist M. Ohaptal.) Heads I'adiate ; involucre campanulate ; 

 scales in few series, linear, acute ; receptacle naked ; ray flowers ? , 

 ligulate, disk-flowers ^ , but sterile, bilabiate, lips equal, outer 3-, inner 

 2-parted ; achenia glabrous ; pappus capillary. — 21 Acaulescent herbs. 

 Lvs. all radical. Hd. solitary, cyanic. 



C. tomentdsa Vent. Lvs. oblong-ovate or lance-oval, on a short petioie, re- 

 trorsely denticulate, clothed with a dense, white tomentum beneath; scape 

 loosely tomentous ; hd. nodding until in flower, thence erect on the slender, sim- 

 ple scape. — Moist pine barrens, N. Oar. to Fla. and La. An interesting plant, 

 alone representing the suborder Labiataaflorse. Lvs 2 to i' long, G to 15" wide, 

 often subpessile, the upper surface at first arachnoid, at length smooth. Scape 

 6 to 12' high. Bays about 20, rose-red or white. Disk florets pale yellow. 

 Mar., Apr. 



Order LXXI. LOBELIACEjE. Lobeliads. 



Serbs or shrubs with a milky juice, alternate, exstipulato lvs. and scattered fls. 

 Galyx 5-Iobed or entire. Cor. monopetalous, irregular, spUt down to the base on 

 one side. Stamens 5, free from the cor., united into a tube at least by their anthers. 

 Ovary adherent to the calyx tube. Style 1. Stigma surrounded by a fringe. i^Vitii 

 a capsule 2 — 3-(rarely 1-) celled. Seeds numerous, albuminous. 



Genera 29, speeiee 875, most abundant in counfrics near the tropics, as "W. Indies, Erazili 

 Siindwich Islands, but common also thronghont the temperate zones. 



Properties. The species of Lobelia are moi-e or less poisonous. Tho milky juice is acrid and 

 narcotio, producing effects similar to those of Tob.icco. L. inflata has long been considered a 

 remedy for spasmodic nsthm.a, but more recently is adopted in the regular practice of the "Bot- 

 anic School" of Medicine as an emetie, expectorant and sndoriilc, applicable in numerous dis- 

 eases. Like Aconite and other medicinal poisons, it is, of course, to be used with caution. - 



