228 The Evening Primrose. 



the ground, so that the length of stem below the surface is 

 great as that above. The tuber of C. Virginica, is about 

 large as a hazel nut ; the stem is five or six inches high w\ 

 a pair of opposite linear leaves. The flowers are about e' \ 

 or ten in number, on very slender pedicels, rose-colored 

 white, with purple veins. The tuber of C. Carolinians ' 

 brown, and somewhat flattened. The root-leaves, if m,. 

 spatulate. The stem-leaves are two, opposite, about half w 

 up the stem, ovate, obtuse, and tapering into the petiole. Th" 

 flowers are rather darker in color than those of the other sne- 

 cies, and are beautifully veined with purple lines. These 

 pretty plants are among the earliest spring flowers. Thev 

 have been introduced into England, where they are often culti- 

 vated, and much admired. A peat soil is said to be proper for 

 planting them in, and they may be increased from the seed 

 or by dividing the root. 



(ENOTHERA— THE EVENING PRIMROSE. 



Natural Order, Ouagraceae ; Linnseau System, Octandria, MonogyDia. 

 Generic Distinctions: — Calyx, four-cleft, tubular; segments, reflexed- 

 petals, four ; capsule, four-celled, four-valved, inferior ; seeds, naked. 



(E. maerocarpa. — Stem, simple, prostrate, downy ; leaves, lanceolate, quite 

 entire, with the margins and nerves downy ; petals, broad, obcordate; 

 stamens, arched, shorter than the corolla ; lobes of stigma, blunt, cylindri- 

 cal ; capsule, large, sessile, oblong, four-winged. — Plate 33. 



The roots of a species of this genus were formerly used as 

 an incentive to drinking wine, as olives are eaten at the present 

 time. From this circumstance is derived the generic name, 

 which is compounded of two Greek words signifying wine, and 

 to hunt. Many of the species are in common cultivation under 

 the name of Evening Primroses. They all close their flowers 

 during the heat of the day, and open them again in the even- 

 ing, or when it is cloudy. This phenomenon is best observed 

 in a common species, a native of the United States, CE. bien- 

 nis. The mode in which the flowers expand is curious. The 



