232 ORDER XVI. — VTOLACEJ5. 



obtuse ; scarcely any crest ; limb of the petals distinct. Seed black, 

 hairy. Lobes of the caruncle small. — Rose-color. 0. Florida. 12 — 

 15 inches. 



15. P. poi.yga'ma, (Walt.) Stem glabrous, angled, branching from 

 the base, numerous. Leaves sessile, oblong, linear, mucronate. Flowers 

 pedunculate, in loose racemes. Wings with short claws; keel 3-lobed, 

 middle lobe fimbriate. Radical racemes destitute of corolla or wings. 

 — Purple or reddish-purple. 8. Drylands. Common. 6 — 12 inches. 



e. Flowers in loose racemes ; keel not cristate; caruncle without appen- 

 dages. 



16. P. grandiflo'ra, (Walt.) Stem erect, pubescent, branching. 

 Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute, pubescent, strongly veined. Flowers 

 12 — 18, the lowest more remote. Pedicels recurved after flowering. 

 Wings large, nearly round, covering the other parte of the flower ; 

 when first expanded red, afterward green. Seed villous. — Red. U- 

 May — Aug. S. C. and Geo. Dry soils. 8 — 12 inches. 



f. Flowers few, axillary or terminal. 



17. P. pauctfo'lia, (Willd.) Stem simple, erect, naked at the base, 

 leafy at the summit, rising from a branching rhizoma. Leaves clus- 

 tered, ovate, petioled. Flowers generally terminal, by threes, larger 

 than those of any other species ; keel fimbriate ; wings obovate, atten- 

 uate at the base. Lateral petals united with the keel nearly to the 

 summit. — Purple. U. May — July. Mountains. 8 — 4 inches. 



The P. senega or Seneca snake-root is the only plant of this order appropriated 

 to any use in this country, although several of the J-pecies are beautiful flowers, and 

 would make ornaments of the flower garden. The root of the Senega is extensively 

 used as a medicine, and possesses valuable properties: among the most important is 

 its action as an expectorant On this account it enters into the composition of most 

 medicines for coughs, croup, asthma, and affections of the lungs. It is entirely an 

 American medicine, being first used in Virginia. It is cathartic, and is used, in com- 

 bination with other medicines, for this property. 



Genus II— KRAME'RIA. Loefl. 4—1. 

 (In honor of Kramer, a German botanist) 



Sepals 4 — 5, more or less irregular, colored, the innermost 

 smaller. Petals 4 — 5, smaller than the sepals, three with long 

 claws. Stamens 4, hypogynous, more or less unequal. - Ovary 

 1 -celled, gibbous, hairy, or hirsute. Under-shrubs. 



1. R. lanceot.a'ta. Stem much branched from the base, silky or 

 hirsute. Leaves alternate, simple or rarely 3-foliate. F'lowers termi- 

 nal and axillary, sometimes in secund racemes. Claws of the petals 

 united. — Florida. 



Order XVI.— VIOLA'CELE. 



Sepals 5, persistent ; aestivation imbricate, usually auricled, 

 or elongated at the base. Petals 5, hypogynous, marcescent, 

 or deciduous, with an oblique, convolute aestivation, one-spurred 

 at the base, generally unequal. Stamens 5, alternate with the 



