96 



CONVOLVULACEvE. 



Convolvulus. 



Order LXXVI. CONVOLVULACEtE. Juss. The Bindweed Tribe. 



Calyx of five imbricated more or less united sepals, persistent. Corolla regular, 

 plaited and twisted in aestivation ; the border 5-lobed, or nearly entire. 

 Stamens 5, inserted on the tube of the corolla near the base. Ovary free, 

 2 — 4-celled, with one or two erect ovules in each cell : styles united, or more 

 or less distinct : stigmas simple or capitate. Capsule 2-4- (or by abortion 

 1-) celled ; the valves separating from the dissepiments. Seeds large, with 

 but little mucilaginous albumen. Embryo curved ; the cotyledons leafy, folded 

 and crumpled. — Twining or trailing (rarely erect) herbs or shrubs, often with 

 milky juice. Leaves alternate, very often cordate, entire or lobed. Flowers 

 large and showy. 



1. CONVOLVULUS. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 3803. bindweed. 



[ From the Latin, convolvo, to entwine.] 



Sepals equal, naked at the base. Corolla campanulate-funnelform, obscurely 5-lobed. 

 Stamens mostly included : filaments dilated at the base. Style single : stigmas 2, linear, 

 flattened or globose. Capsule 2-celled. — Herbs, or rarely shrubby plants. Stem mostly 

 twining. Leaves usually cordate or sagittate. 



]. Convolvulus arvensis, Linn. Common Bindweed. 



Stem twining, angular and striate ; leaves sagittate and somewhat hastate at the base ; 

 peduncles usually one-flowered, with two small bracts towards the summit remote from the 

 flower ; sepals rounded ; lobes of the stigma linear and elongated. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 153 ; 

 Engl. hot. t. 312 ; Pursh,fl. 1. p. 144 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 50 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 224 ; Beck, 

 hot. p. 24S ; Darlingt. fl,. Cest. p. 181 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 77. 



Root perennial, creeping extensively. Stems 2-3 feet long, a little hairy, climbing over 

 other plants or spreading on the ground. Leaves 1 - l| inch long, ovate-oblong ; the lobes 

 at the base acute : petiole about half an inch long. Peduncles mostly longer than the leaves, 

 with two small bracts half an inch or more below the flower. Corolla pale red or nearly white, 

 about an inch long. 



Sandy fields and cultivated grounds : about Albany and in the northern part of the State. 

 Introduced from Europe. June - July. This is often a troublesome weed ; the roots being 

 very deep and spreading, as well as highly tenacious of life. 



