250 ORDER XXIV. GERANIACE,E. 



1. C. Cauounia'xa, (Mich.) Root tuberous. Radical leaves long- 

 petioled, spatulate ; cauline leaves ovate-lanceolate or oval, one or two 

 pair on a stem. Flowers in racemes, on a nodding pedicel. Sepals 

 obtuse. Petals nearly round, with purple veins. — Rose-colored. 11. 

 March. Mountains. 



2. C. Virgin'ica, (L.) Radical leaves few, linear-lanceolate ; cauline 

 ones a single pair, linear-attenuate at the base, glabrous. Flowers in 

 a simple raceme. Pedimcles 1 — 2 inches long, nodding. Sepals lance- 

 olate-acute, persistent. Petals oval, obtuse, striate, much longer than 

 the sepals. Anthers erect, oblong, rose-colored. — Rose-colored. 1£. 

 March — April. Near Columbia and Macon. Spring-beauty. 



Order XXIII.— LIXA'CE^]. D. C. 



Sepals 5, persistent, with can imbricated aestivation. Petals 

 5, alternate with the sepals, with a twisted aestivation, hypogy- 

 nous, unguiculate. Stamens 5. Anthers attached by the mid- 

 dle. Pistils 5. Styles few, spreading-. Stigmas capitate. 

 Capsule globose, or by false dissepiments, 10-celled; dehiscence 

 septicidal. Seeds suspended, anatropous, ovate, compressed, 

 mucilaginous when moistened. Herbaceous plants, annuals. 



Genus I— LI'NUM. L. 5—5. 



(Latin linum, a thread.) 



There is but this genus belonging to this order, and the description 

 of the order will suffice for the genus. 



1. L. VirgixiaVum, (L.) Stem erect, smooth, branching above, gla- 

 brous. Radical leaves ovate, spatulate ; cauline ones alternate, linear- 

 lanceolate. Flowers in corymbose panicles, lax. Sepals acute, ovate. 

 Petals small. Capsule nearly globose. — Yellow. @. May — June. 

 Common in Middle Car. and Geo. 18 — 36 inches. Wild Flax. 



2. L. rig'idum, (Pursh.) Stem angled, branched above. Leaves lin- 

 ear, acute, rigid, with scabrous margins. Sepals broad lanceolate, cus- 

 pidate, with scabrous margins, with 3 strong nerves. Yellow. ©. 



The Linum usitatisaamum, the common Flax, lias become almost naturalized in 

 some parts of the United States, and is the only species which is appropriated to any 

 use: but the others possess similar useful properties. Tlie woody fibre of the bark is 

 the material from which all linen fabrics are manufactured, and a mucilage com- 

 posing a part of the testa of the seed is used in medicine, and a fixed oil, contained in 

 the kernel of the seed, is the common painters' 1 oil, known under the name of Lin- 

 seed Oil. 



Order XXIV.— GERAXIA'CE^E. D. C. 



Sepals 5, persistent, with an imbricated aestivation, ribbed, 

 one sometimes spurred or saccate. Petals 5, hypogynous, un- 

 guvcukkto, distinct. Stamens hypogynous, monadelphous, 10. 

 Ovary composed of 5 carpels, arranged around the extended 

 axis. Styles 5, cohering round the axis, the Btigmatic surface 

 within the summit. Carpels distinct in fruit, each 1 or 2 seed- 

 ed, dehiscing by the inner suture. Seeds pendulous, anatro- 



