394 MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA 



sionally almost prostrate : but I can discover nothing in my specimens to warra 

 a specific distinction. If the O. corniculata bo really distinct, I have not observed 

 it, here. 



2. O. violacka, /,. Stemless ; scapes subumhcllatc, 3 to 9-flowered 

 flowers nodding; sepals callous at apex. Meek, JJot. /;. 69, 



Violet Oxalis. 



Hoot perennial, bulbous ; bulb composed of ovate acuminate imbricated scales 

 — the outer ones membranaceous, 3-nerved, fringed with Long curled hairs (these 

 scales are apparently the dilated persistent bases of former petiole s),~the inner 

 ones thick, fleshy, and minutely ciliaie. Leaves radical, trifoliate ; leaflets about 

 half an inch long, and wider than lonif, broadly caneate-obcordate, sessile nunc 

 tate, smooth, often purplish ; pe{ibles 3 to 6 inches long, dilated membranaceous 

 and 3-nerved at base. Stapes 4 to 6 or 8 inches long, slender, naked, sutumbel 

 late at summit, 2 or 3 to 6 or 9-flowered ; rays, or pcdirels, half an inch to an inch 

 long (sometimes subdivided), with membranaceous involucre-) Ike braete at base 

 Sepals lance-oblong, thickened at apex, or tipt with a sub-cordate grooved orange. 

 colored callus. Petals violet-purple, obovate, nearly 3 times as long as the calyx 

 Filaments ciliaie. Styles hirsute with short spreading halra, often as long or 

 longer than the stamens (shorter, Ell. Ibrr.) ; stigmas capitate, 2-iobed. Cup$u( e 

 5-angled and sulcate, or 5-lobed. 



Hub. Woodlands; fence-rows, &c frequent. Fl. May— June. Fr. July. 



Obs. This pretty species often sends up a scape and produces flowers in the 

 latter part of summer, after the leaves have all disappeared, six or seven adili. 

 ttonal species have been enumerated in the U. States,— some of which, I suspect 

 are scarcely more than varieties. The O. acetosella (O. amcricana, Digel. in DC. 

 Prodr. \.p. 700.) I have seen in abundance on Pokono Mountain, in this State • 

 and it seems to be very much restricted to such regions. 



Order 5. Polyandria. 



a. Calyx double, or with involucre-like Bracts at base. 



325. MALVA. L. JSTutt. Gen. 578. 



[An ancient Latin name, of obscure etymology.] 



Calyx 5-cleft, mostly tribracteate at base ; bracts oblong, or setaceous. 

 Carpels numerous, arranged orbicularly, mostly 1 -seeded. 



Herbaceous, or shrubby: leaves alternate, stipular, undivided, or palmate-lobed; 

 flowers axillary and terminal, more or less aggregated. Nat, Ord. 24. Lindl. 

 Malvacejb. 



1. M. stlvestris, L. Stem herbaceous, erect ; leaves somewhat 

 acutely 5 or 7-lobed ; petals obcordatc, 3 times as long as the calyx. 

 Beck, Bot. p. 57. 



Woodland, or wild Malva, Vulgo — High Mallows. 

 Gallice — Grande Mauve. Germ. — Die Waldmalve. JJisp. — Malva. 

 Plant hairy. Root perennial. Stem 2 to 3 or 4 feet high, somewhat branched. 

 Leaves an inch and half to 3 inches long, and wider than long, 5 to 7-lobed, lobes 

 rather acute, incised-crenate ; petioles 1 to 3 or 4 inches long, very hairy, with 2 

 stipules at base. Flowers large, axillary, 3 or 4 together, subumbellate ; pedicels 

 half an inch to an inch long. Calyx with 3 oblong obtuse bracts at base. Petals 



