104 PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rheum. L. 9. 3. Rhubarb. 



The name of the genus is from Rha, the ancient name of the 

 Volga, on whose banks grows the rhubarb used in medicine. 



R. rhaponticum. Willd. Pie-Rhubarb. Shows its origin in 

 the specific name ; a native of Thrace, and cultivated for orna- 

 ment and for use. Its large, long, leaf-stalks, full of juicy acid, 

 are often used to make tarts, at a time when the common ma- 

 terials usually fail. 



R. palmatum. L. Rhubarb. Introduced from Asia, and 

 rarely cultivated. The root, so important in medicine, and im- 

 ported as Chinese, Russian, &c. Rhubarb, is cultivated on the 

 southern declivities of the mountains of Tartary, towards Thibet, 

 and in China. 



ORDER 158. NYCTAGINE^E. The Marvel Tribe. 



Called after the genus Nydago of the French, from the Greek 

 drive and night, because its flowers expand by night, and are 

 closed much of the day. The plants are natives of the warmer 

 parts of the world. 



Mirabilis. L. 5. 1. Noonsleep, or Four o'clock. 



M. jalapa. L. From the West Indies, red, white, and yel- 

 low flowered ; beautiful for gardens ; common. 



M. dichotoma. W. From Mexico, with sessile and solitary 

 flowers. 



M. longiflora. W. From Mexico, with crowded, long 

 flowers, and somewhat villous leaves. The last two not so com- 

 monly cultivated as the first, and yet handsome. 



The general property of the class is cathartic ; but most of the 

 species have little beauty. 



