ORDER XIV. C APP ARID ACE JE. 229 



Order XIV.— CAPPARTDA'CEyE. 



Sepals 4, deciduous, sometimes marcesoent ; aestivation im- 

 bricate or united, forming a tube. Petals 4, hypogynous, cru- 

 ciate, unguiculate, sometimes a nectary at the base of the outer 

 petal, more or less unequal. Stamens almost perigynous, 7 — 

 12, or many, seldom 4. Disk hemispherical or elongated. 

 Ovary compressed, of 2 carpels united, stipitate, with parietal 

 placentae ; styles united, filiform, or none. Fruit a 1-celled, 

 pod-shaped capsule, many-seeded. Seeds campylotropous, ren- 

 iform ; albumen wanting. Embryo curved. Leaves alternate, 

 stipulate. Annual plants. 



Ghana I— CLEOMEL'LA. D. C. 6—1. 



(The diminutive of Cleome.) 



Sepals minute, spreading Petals 4, sub-spatulate. Torus 

 oblong. Stamens (3. Pod 4 — 6-seeded, obovate ; stipe fili- 

 form. Embryo conduplicate. Leaves compound ; leaflets lin- 

 ear. Flowers in terminal racemes, leafy. 



1. C. Mexica'xa, (D. C.) Stem branching, glabrous. Leaven with 

 flat linear-lanceolate leaflets, longer than the petiole. Pod flattened. 

 Style short. — Yellow, flj. Louisiana. 



Gexus II— GYNAKDROP'SIS. L. 6—1. 



(From gune, a pistil, amer, stamen, and opsis, like, from the resemblance of the sta- 

 mens and pistils to each other.) 



Sepals spreading. Petals 4. Torus elongated. Stamens 

 6, adhering to the torus. Pod raised, on a long stipe rising 

 from the summit of the torus. 



1. G. pentaphyl'la, (D. C.) Stem pubescent, viscid. Leaves simple 

 and 3 — 5-foliate ; upper ones simple, cordate-lanceolate ; middle and 

 lower ones 3 — 5-foliate ; leaflets lanceolate or ovate, tapering at each 

 ext remit}-, entire or slightly serrulate. Flowers in a terminal raceme. 

 Calyx deciduous. Petals with long, slender claws. Pod 2 — 3 inches 

 long. — White. ©. May — July. In cultivated grounds. Introduced. 

 2—3 feet. 



Genus III— POLAXIS'IA. Raf 12—1. 



(From the Greek polu, much, and anisos, unequal, in allusion to the stamens.) 



Sepals 4, spreading. Petals 4, unequal, entire, nearly orbic- 

 ular, on short claws. Stamens 8 — 12, on the receptacle. Torus 

 minute. Pod linear, scarcely stipitate. Annual plants. 



1. P. TENLii o'lia, (T. & G.) Stem slender, branched, viscid, glandu- 

 lar. Leaves trifoliate, nearly glabrous; leaflets linear, filiform. Flow- 

 ers in racemes; pedicels filiform; styles longer than the ovary. Plant 

 with an unpleasant odor. — Nearly white. 0. June. Georgia. Low 

 country. 1 — 2 feet. 



