EUPHORBIACEAE (SPUBGE FAMILY) 645 



composed of (piWov, leaf, and &vdo%, blossom, because the flowers in a few species 

 are borne upon leaf-like dilated branches.) 



1. P. carolini§nsis Walt. Annual, low and slender, branched ; leaves obovate 

 or oval, short-petioled ; flowers commonly 2 in each axil, almost sessile, one 

 stamlnate, the other fertile ; calyx 6-parted ; stamens 3 ; styles 3, each 2-clef t ; 

 glands of the disk in the fertile flowers united into a cup. — Gravelly banks, 

 e. Pa. to oentr. 111., s. e. Mo., and southw. 



11. ANDRACHNE L. i 



Flowers monoecious, pedicellate, the sterile petaliferous, fasciculate, the 

 fertile often petaliferous, usually solitary in the axils. Stamens and calyx- 

 segments 5-6. Pod dry, splitting into three 2-valved carpels. — Shrubs and 

 undershrubs, with many ascending leafy branches. Leaves oval or obovate, 

 entire. (From ivSpaxmi, classic Greek for the purslane.) 



1. A. phyllanthoides (Nutt.) Muell. Arg. Nearly glabrous shrub ; stems and 

 ascending simple branches lithe ; leaves broadly obovate, membranaceous, 1.5 

 cm. long, shortly petiolate ; pedicels capillary, 7-14 cm. long ; petals in the 

 sterile flowers about as long as the obovate calyx-segments, in the fertile obsoles- 

 cent. — Rocky and gravelly places, s. Mo. to Tex. 



13. EUPH6rBIA L. Spurge 



Flowers monoecious, include^ in a cup-shaped 4-5-lobed involucre {flovier of 

 older authors) resembling a calyx or corolla, and usually bearing large thick 

 glands (with or without petal-like margins) at its sinuses. Sterile flowers nu- 

 iherous and lining the base of the involucre, each from the axil of a little bract, 

 and consisting merely of a single stamen jointed on a pedicel like the filament ; 

 anther-cells globular, separate. Fertile flower solitary in the middle of the 

 involucre, soon protruded on a long pedicel, consisting of a 3-lobed and 3-celled 

 ovary with no calyx (or a mere vestige). Styles 3, each 2-cleft ; the stigmas 

 therefore 6. Pod separating into three l-seeded carpels, which split elastically 

 into 2 valves. Seed often oaruncled (ours only in §§ 5 and 6). — Plants (ours 

 essentially herbaceous) with a milky acrid juice. Peduncles terminal, often 

 umbellate-clustered ; in the first section mostly appearing lateral, but not really 

 axillary. (Named for Euphorbus, physician to King Juba.) 



A. Glands of the involucre with petal-like usually white or rose-colored margins 

 or appendages ; these almost obsolete in no. 1. 



§ 1. ANTSOPHYLLXJM Roper. Leaves all opposite, short-petioled, small, oblique 

 at base ; stipules awl-shaped or scaly and often fringed, persistent ; stems 

 much branched, spreading or usually procumbent ; involucres solitary in the 

 forks or in terminal or pseudo-lateral clusters, small, with 4 glands; 

 annuals. 



* Seeds smooth and even; leaves entire ; whole plant glabrous. 



1- Leaves oblong to linear, 6-20 mm. long ; pod 2-3 mm. in length. 



^-^ Appendages of the involucral glands mimtte or none. 



1. E. polygonifdlia L. (Seaside S.) Prostrate-spreading; leaves oblong- 

 linear, obtuse, mucronate, slightly cordate or obtuse at base, 8-16 mm. long; 

 stipules setaceously divided; peduncles in the forks, as long as the petioles: 

 lobes of the involucre longer than the minute not appendaged glands; pods 

 obtusely angled ; seeds ovate, over 2 mm. long, the largest of this section. — 

 Sandy shores of the Atlantic (from N. S. southw.) and of the Great Lakes ; also 

 reported from centr. la. and westw. 



2. E. Geydri Engelm. Procumbent ; leaves oblong-ovate, obtuse, slightly 

 mucronate, mostly acutish at base, lowermost cordate, 6-12 mm. long ; stipules 

 setaceously divided ; peduncles as long as the petioles, at length in loose foli- 

 aceous lateral clusters ; glands with narrow white or red appendages ; pods 



gkat'2 manual — 36 



