CAPrARIDACK^. (CAPER FAMILY.) 31 



1. C. maritima, Scop, var. aequalis. Smooth; stem much branched, 

 prostrate ; leaves oblong, irregularly toothed or pinnatifid, narrowed intc a petiole 

 as long as the limb ; flowering racemes short and corymb-like, fru/ting ones 

 elongated ; petals wedge-obovate, emarginatc ; mature silicle linear, 8-ribbed, 

 the upper joint ovate-lanceolate, slightly compressed, beak-pointed, one third 

 longer than the cylindrical lower one ; cotyledons linear, 3-angled. (C. cequa- 

 lis, L'Her.) — Drifting sands along the coast. May -August. — Stems l°-2° 

 long. Flowers pale purple. 



Order 13. CAPPARIDACEiE. (Caper Family.) 



Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with acrid watery juice, alternate, simple or 

 palmately-conipound leaves, and regular hypogynous flowers. Stipules 

 spiny or wanting. — Sepals 4, imbricated or valvate in the bud. Petals 

 4. mostly clawed. Stamens 6 or numerous. Ovary 1 -celled : ovules am- 

 phitropous or campylotropous, attached to the two parietal placentae. 

 Fruit silique-like, and 2-valved or indehiscent. Seeds reniform, without 

 albumen. Embryo curved. 



Synopsis. 



* Calyx 4-sepaIous — Herbs. 



1. POLAXISIA. Stamens 8 - 32, free. Torus short. Style filiform. 



2. CLEOME. Stamens 6. free. Torus short. Stigma sessile. 



3. GYXAXDROPSI3. Stamens 6. Filaments partly united with the stipe of the ovary. 



* * Calyx 4-parted. — Shrubs. 



4. CAPPARIS. Stamens numerous, free. Leaves entire. 



1. POLANISIA, Raf. 



Petals clawed. Stamens 8-32: filaments free, unequal, filiform. Torus 

 short, bearing a truncated or emarginatc gland on the upper side. Ovary sessile 

 or short-stipitate. Style filiform. Capsule silique-like, many-seeded. — Annual 

 clammy herbs, with palmately trifoliolate petioled leaves, and racemose flowers. 



I. P. temiifolia, Torr. & Gray. Stem slender, erect, branching ; leaflet- 

 filiform, longer than the petiole ; petals oval, entire, short-clawed, unequal ; sta- 

 mens 12-15; capsule linear, smooth, short-stipitate, pointed with the persistent 

 style ; seeds minute, circular. — Georgia (Le Conte) and South Florida (Blodrjelt). 

 — Stem l°-2° high. Flowers white. 



2. CLEOME, L. 



Petals long-clawed, nearly equal, entire. Stamens 6. Filaments filiform, 

 elongated, 1-3 often shorter, rarely all abbreviated. Torus short, hemispherical. 

 Stigma sessile. Capsule silique-like, stipitate or almost sessile, many-seeded. — 

 Herbs with palmately 8 - 7-foliolate leaves, and bracted racemose flowers. Stip- 

 ules, when present, spiny. 



