crane's-bill family 99 



4.* L. usitatissimum (Common Flax), though not a native plant, 

 is not unfrequently found as an escape from cultivation. It is 

 distinguished from the preceding by its stems being mostly solitary, 

 instead of several from the same root, by its somewhat broader 

 and more distant leaves, by its ciliate, ovate, 3-veined, pointed 

 sepals, by its notched, blue petals, and by its larger size. — Fl. June, 

 July. Annual. 



a/ 



lJnum angustif6lium and l. catharticum. 



Ord. XX. Geraniace/e. — The Crane's-Bill Family 



A considerable Order, two tribes of which, the Oxalidece and 

 Balsaminece, are sometimes treated as distinct Orders. They are 

 mostly herbaceous ; their leaves are usually stipulate ; flowers 

 conspicuous, either polysymmetric or monosymmetric, and usually 

 pentamerous ; sepals, petals, and carpels 3 — 5 each ; stamens 

 5 — 10; ovary 3 — 5-chambered, with 1, 2, or more seeds in each 

 chamber. The Order takes its name from the elongated axis or 

 carpophore, to which the styles of the members of the Tribe 

 Gerdniece adhere in the flower, and from which they separate and 

 curl up when the carpels are ripe. The members of this tribe are 

 often astringent and aromatic, abounding in volatile oil ; those of 

 the Oxalidece are remarkable for the quantity of oxalic acid con- 

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