uo 



PENTAXDHIA MOXOGYXIA 



ll>ot annua!. Stem 1 to 2 feet high, branching above, angular > someichal pitosi 

 y. AYfti 2 to A inches long, and i to'Zinchcs :cit!c. ovale, a uminate, entire, glabn 

 deep green ; petioles 1 to 3 inches long) semi-terete^ slightly channelled on the up. 

 per Me. Calyx angular, with short segments. Cor ►Ha white, tri:/i ovale»oblone 

 tpftading lobes. Stamens shorter than the corolla ; anthers white, with a tinge of 

 blue. Style cylindric, thick, longer than the stamens ; at i ma obtttsi . Berry ho/l, ts 

 ovddroblong* or depressed-globose angular, or torose, red when mature. Seeding. 

 merous, compressed^ subreniform, affixed to a central recepta* le. 



Hab. Gardens, fc. frequent. Fl. July— Aug* Ft. Sept.~~Octo. 



Ohs. Cultivated for the fruity— which is a powerful stimulus, and much usei 

 as a condiment. Several varieties, (and perhaps distinct species) with fruit of 

 carious forms,— are to be met with in the gardens. It is necessary to ptant the 



i very early, in a hot-bed, in order to obtain a crop in this climate. 7 'here are 

 m> native species in the U. Suites. 



l>. Corolla mostly pentapetalous. \ Fruit a Capsule. 

 109. CLAYTONIA, L. Mitt. Gen. 22f>. 



[la honor ofJohn Clayton ; one of the early explorers of Virginian Hants.] 



Calyx of 2 oblong-ovate persistent sepals* Petals obovate-oblon^, 

 unguieulate. Stamens inserted on the claws of the petals. Ovarti 



sessije. Stigma 3-cIeft. Capsule 1 -celled, 3-valved, 3 to 5-seeded, 



Seeds roundish-reniform, compressed. 



Herbaceous, and somewhat succulent: root mostly tuberous and perennial; 

 leaves radic.il : scape bearing a sincle pair of opposite entire leaves, and a ternii. 

 nal raceme of flowers Nat. Ord. 144. Lindl. PoRTOLAOBJB. 



1. C. virginjca, L. Leaves mostly 2, linear-lanceolate ; raceme sim- 

 ple, loose, nodding; pedicels elongated. Beck, Bot. p. 131. 

 Virginian Claitoma. 



Root perennial, tuberous and fleshy, usually deep in the ground. Scape 6 to II 

 inches long, simple, glabrous, weak, erect or subprocumbent. Radical leaves pi 

 tiolate (often wanting ?); those on the scape 3 to 5 inches long, and one fourth to half 

 an inch wide, thickish and succulent, at first sublincar, finally narrow-lanceolate, 

 rather acute, tapering at base and often subconnate. Flowers usually 6 to l2or 

 15, in a loose simple raceme ; pedicels half an inch to an inch and half long, grad- 

 Bally shorter above, the lowest one mostly bracteate at base (sometimes nearly all 

 •f them have small bracts). Sepals rather obtuse, one partially embracing the 

 ether at base, both a little recurved at apex after flowering. Corolla pale rei 

 •with purple vtins, nearly three times as long asjho calyx. Stamens shorter thai 

 the petals 'JUaments dilated below. Capsule roundish ovoid. Seeds often 5, com- 

 pressed, or lenticular, with an acute notch at base, black, shining, rugoscly Stri- 

 ate, uader a lens. 



Mob. Moist low grounds: common. Fl. April -May. Pr. June. 



Obs. There are 2 or 3 varieties of this, and perhaps one or two additional specie. 

 in the U. States. I have never met with any of the varieties, in this County, »* 

 cept that with linear-lanceolate leaves,— which is every where common. 



110. IMPATIENS.i. JWff. Gen. 224. 

 [Latin; metaphorical, alluding to the impatience of the seed vessels, to the tottcKj 



Calyx of 5 irregular deciduous sepals ; the two outer lateral ones roua- 

 iish-ovate, small ; the inner ones petaloid ; the two upper ones connate; 

 the lower «nc cucullate and spurred. Corolla of 4 petals, united in 



