176 



EUPHORBIACEiE. 



Euphorbia. 



even ; seeds obovate, obtusely 4-angled, smooth. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 454 ; Michx.fl. 2. p. 212; 

 Pursh, fl. 2. p. 605 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 653 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 90 ; Torr. compend. p. 331 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 312; Hook. exot. fl. t. 36, and fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 140; Darlingt. fl. Cest. 

 p. 516. 



f3. hirsuta : stem hairy, more slender, often nearly prostrate. — Torr. I. c. E. maculata, 

 Michx. I. c. ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 605 ; Ell. I. c, not of Linn. 



Annual. Stem 8-18 inches high, nearly smooth or pubescent, with unequal forked 

 branches from near the root, sometimes almost prostrate. Leaves half an inch to nearly an 

 inch long, unequal at the base, often marked with blotches of a dark purplish color above, 

 rather obtuse, sharply serrate : petioles about half a line long, with very short stipules between 

 them. Involucres on short peduncles, cylindrical -turbinate, 4-lobed ; the lobes laciniate. 

 Glands 4-5, seated on very small, shortly pedicellate, white, roundish or emarginate 

 appendages. Styles deeply 2 -cleft ; the segments slender. Capsule even, sometimes 

 pubescent. Arillus of the seed emitting a mucus when placed in water. 



Dry fields, hill-sides, and cultivated grounds ; common. July - September. 



5. Euphorbia maculata, Linn. Milk Purselane. Small Spurge. 



Prostrate, pubescent, dichotomously much branched ; leaves opposite, oval, remotely 

 serrulate ; peduncles axillary, solitary or somewhat clustered, very short ; glands 4, seated 

 on small petaloid appendages, transversely elliptical ; capsule even ; seeds obovate - oblong, 

 smooth. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 455 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 189 ; Torr. compend. p. 331 ; Beck, hot. 

 p. 312; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 316. E. depressa, Torr. in Ell. sk. 2. p. 655. E. thymifolia, 

 Michx. fl. 2. p. 212, also of Linn.? 



Annual. Stem lying flat on the ground, and forming patches often a foot or more in 

 diameter. Leaves 3-6 lines long, closely approximated, mostly obtuse, unequal at the base, 

 smoothish and marked with dull purplish blotches above, more or less hairy underneath : 

 petioles scarcely a line long. Stipules subulate, between the petioles, distinct. Involucres 

 somewhat crowded on short lateral branches, turbinate, 4-lobed ; the glands sessile ; their 

 appendages white, somewhat reniform, obscurely 3-toothed : proper lobes minute, incurved. 

 Staminate flowers few (4 - 5). Capsule hairy ; the carpels rather acutely angled on the back. 

 Arillus of the seeds emitting a gelatinous coat when moistened. 



Fields, cultivated grounds and roadsides, usually in dry soils ; common. July - September. 



Many years ago, 1 sent specimens of this and the preceding species to Sir J. E. Smith, who 

 assured me that the former agrees precisely with the original E. hypericifolia of Herb. Linn., 

 and that the latter is as certainly E. maculata. He also stated, that "Linnseus seems sub- 

 sequently to have confounded his original smooth specimen of E. hypericifolia (numbered 17, 

 as in sp. pi. ed. 1) with E. maculata ; not that they are at all alike, nor is there any foundation 

 for his remark in the 2nd mantissa, p 392. The 1st edition of the Sp. pi. is here decisive 

 authority. The original specimen of E. maculata is smooth, but there is a downy variety 

 from Jamaica, from Browne's herbarium." 



