800 1COSANDRIA DI-FENTAGYN1A 



236. GILLENIA. Mmnch. Mitt. Gen. 443. 



[Greek, gclao, to laugh; in allusion to its exhilarating qualities, ex Eat. sed qu ?] 



Calyx tubular-caropanulato, slightly contracted at the orifice, f>-toothod, 

 persistent. Petals 6, linear-lanceolate, narrowed at base, rather un- 

 equal. Stamens included. Carpels 5, each pointed by the persistent 

 style, 2-seedcd. 



Herbaceous : leaves alternate, trifoliate, stlpular ; (lowers terminal, j articulately 

 scattered, on long pedicels. Nat. Ord. 73. Lindl. Rosacea. 



1. G. tiu fo li ata, Mmnch. Leaflets lanceolate, or obovate-lancco- 

 late, acuminate, serrate ; stipules small, subulate-linear, mostly entire. 

 Beck, Bot. p. 100. 



Spinea trifoliata. Willd. Sp. 2. p. 1063, Mr. Am. 1. p. 294. Per*. 

 Syn. 2. /;. 47, Ait, Kew. 3. /;, 257. Muhl. Catal.p. 4 ( J. Pursh.Am. 1. 

 />. 343. 



Three-leaved Gillema. Vulgd — Indian Physic. Bowman's root. 

 Root perennial. Stem 2 to 3 or 1 feet high, slender, paniculately branched at 

 summit, Somewhat angled, or ribbed, aud striate, smooth, or slightly pubescent, 

 mostly purplish. Leaves all teruate, upper ones subscssile, lower ones petiolate ; 

 stipules subulate, or lance-linear, sometimes serrate, the lower ones adnate to 

 the petioles ; leaflets 2 to 4 inches long, and half an inch to an inch or inch and 

 half wide, oblong-lanceolate, often lance-cbovate and somewhat cuneate, sharply 

 and unequally serrate, smoothish above, pubescent beneath, subsessile, or nar- 

 rowed to a short petiole. Flouers terminal, loosely and often corymbosely panic- 

 ulate, on slender pedicels half an inch to an inch or more in length— and fre- 

 quently on naked axillary peduncle-like blanches 2 to 4 inches long, with a subu- 

 late bract above the middle,— or at the base of the pedicels, when subdivided. 

 Calyx 10 ribbed, smooth; segments 5, short, erect, ciliatc-serrulatc, sharply acumi- 

 nate. Petals white, or sometimes slightly tinged with red, about 3 fourths of an 

 inch long, and 2 lines wide, narrowed at each end, but rather obtuse at apex. 

 Stamens about 15, scarcely as long as the calyx. Cartels at first subconnate, or 

 closely crowded into an ovoid form, hirsute, with 5 erect contiguous styles about 

 half as long as the calyx,— finally distinct, spreading, and bursting the tube of the 

 calyx, — opening at the sutures into 2 valves. Seeds oblong, a little «»Mi ( ju«', convex 

 externally, slightly concavo on the inner side, somewhat rugosc-piitcd, brown. 



Hab. Woodlands, and thickets : frequent. Fl. June. Fr. August. 



Obs. This plant has had considerable reputation for its medical properties,— 

 the root being said to operate as an emetic, cathartic, or tonic, according to the 

 dose, or mode of exhibition. It is rarely resorted to, at present. One other spe- 

 cies occurs in the western States of this Union. 



237. AGKIMONIA. L. J\^utt. Gen. 436. 

 [Supposed to bo corruptly derived from Argemone ; Which see] 



Calyx turhinate, calyculatc at hasc, armed with hooked bristles above ; 

 limb 5-cleft. Petals 5. Stamens about 12. Styles 2. Akenes 2, 

 in the tube of the indurated calyx. 



Herbaceous: leaves alternate, pinnately dissocted, stipular; flowers in terminal 

 racemose spikes, with trifid bracts. Nat. Ord. 73. Lindl. Rosacea. 



1. A. Eupatoria, L. Leaves interruptedly pseudo-pinnate ; leaflet* 

 ovate-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, coarsely serrate ; 6pike virgate ; 

 tube of the calyx campanulate ; fruit distant. Beck, Bot. p. 108. 



