RHIZOPIIORACEJE. (lIANGROVK FAMILY.) 135 



several-flowered ; petals 5, showy ; stamens 10, the alternate ones shorter. 

 (Decodon verticillatum, Ell.) — Marshes and margins of ponds, Florida and 

 northward. August. — Stems 3° -4° long. Flowers purple. 



5. CUPHEA, Jaeq. 



Calyx tabular, 12-ribbed, gihhous or spurred at the hase on the upper side, 

 6-toothed, and usually with as many little appendages in the sinuses. Petals 6, 

 unequal. Stamens 11-12, unequal. Ovary with a gland at the hase next the 

 spur of the calyx. Style filiform. Stigma 2-lobed. Capsule 1 - 2-celled, fow- 

 seeded. — Chiefly herbs, with branching stems and purplish flowers. 



1. C. viscosissima, Jacq. Annual, clammy-pubescent; leaves thin, op- 

 posite, ovate-lanceolate, long-petiolcd, rough ; flowers nearly sessile, borne be- 

 tween the petioles, solitary; petals violet-purple ; stamens 12. — Upper districts 

 of Georgia, and northward. August. — Stem 1° high. 



2. C. aspera, n. sp. Perennial; muricatc-hispid and clammy ; leaves 3-4 

 in a whorl, lanceolate, nearly sessile ; peduncles longer than the leaves, borne 

 between the petioles (whorlcd) ; petals white or pale-purple; stamens 11. — Low 

 pine barrens, St. Joseph's, Florida. Stem 1°-1^° high. Leaves l'long, rigid. 

 Root bearing small tubers. 



The Crape Myrtle (Lagerstrcemia Ixdica, L.), originally from Eastern 

 s Asia, is common in cultivation. 



RHIZOPHORACE^E. (Mangrove Family.) 



Trees or shrubs, growing in maritime swamps, with opposite, entire, co- 

 riaceous leaves, and deciduous stipules between the petioles. — Calyx 

 united with the ovary, 4-1 2-lobed, valvate or lid-like in the bud. Petals 

 as many as the calyx-lobes and alternate with them. Stamens twice or 

 several times as many as the petals, and inserted with them on the calvx. 

 Ovary 2-celled with the cells 2-ovuled, or 1 -celled and several-ovuled. 

 Ovules pendulous. Fruit 1-celled, indehiscent. Albumen none. Radicle 

 elongated. 



1. RHIZOPHORA, L. Mangrove. 



Calyx-tube obovate, the limb 4-lobcd, persistent. Petals 4, oblong, emargi- 

 nate, enfolding the alternate stamens in the bud, woolly on the margins. Sta- 

 mens 8. Anthers linear-oblong. Ovary 2-celled. Fruit encircled above the 

 base by the persistent calyx-lobes, at length perforated at the apex by the radicle 

 of the germinating embryo. — Flowers axillary, showy. 



1. R. Mangle, L. Leaves obovate-oblong ; peduncles 2-3-flowered # ; 

 germinating embryo clavate ; flowers pale yellow. — Muddy shores, South 

 Florida, forming dense low thickets. 



