380 



A POC Y N ACE M . 



Anthers cordate-ovate and unchanged after anthesis. Stigma of 2 

 fan-shaped lobes which at length separate. (Greek mikros. small, 

 and kalos, beautiful.) 



1. M. quadrangularis (Lam.) Griseb. Commonly 1 to 2 in. 

 high, with 1 to 3 pairs of oval or oblong leaves below, these 1£ to 3 

 lines long; peduncle naked, quadrangular; calyx short, strongly 

 quadrangular, and seeming as if truncaU' at base and apex, especially 

 in fruit, when it is 2 to 2£ lines long; corolla deep yellow, the lower 

 half membranaceous, twice as long as the calyx, open under a sunny 

 sky, closing in afternoon. 



Level or moist country in the neighborhood of low hills, or in open 

 woods, mostly of the outer Coast Ranges: "Noyo and Mendocino 

 Plains," Bolander, no. 4726; Santa llosa; Sonoma; Martinez and 

 Vallejo acc. to Bot. Cal.; Mt. Tamalpais; San Rafael; Berkeley; 

 Oakland; San Francisco. Thought by some not to be a native plant. 



81. APOCYNACE/E. Dogbane Family. 



Ours herbs with milky juice. Leaves simple, entire and opposite. 

 Flowers complete, regular, o-merous except the pistils which are 2. 

 Calyx nearly free from the ovaries, imbricated in the bud and persist- 

 ent. Corolla-lobes convolute in the bud. Stamens borne on the 

 corolla; anthers produced at base into a sterile appendage, connivent 

 around the stigma, alternate with its Lobes. Ovaries 2 and distinct 

 (though their styles and stigmas are united into one), both develop- 

 ing into follicles. Seeds in ours with a silky tuft of hairs at the end 

 (coma); embryo large, straight, in scanty albumen. An order closely 

 allied to the milkweeds. 



Vinca major L., Common Periwinkle, is found as an escape near 

 gardens, particularly along stream banks: it is known in California 

 chiefly under the erroneous name of " Myrtle." 



Calyx-tube adnate to back of ovaries below; style very short. 3. Apocynvm. 

 Calyx wholly free; style long and filiform 2. Cycladkxia. 



1. APOCYNUM L. Indian Hemp. 

 Flowers small in terminal cymes. Calyx small, deeply 5-cleft, its 

 tube by means of a disk adnate to the back of the ovaries below. 

 Corolla campanulatc, 5-lobed, bearing 5 small triangular-subulate 

 appendages alternate with the stamens. Stamens borne at base of 

 corolla; filaments short and broad; anthers sagittate, acute. Style 

 very short or hardly any; stigma ovoid, obscurely 2-lobed. Follicles 

 2 to 7 in. long, slender, pointed, terete. Seeds numerous, flattish. 

 (Greek apo, from, and kuon, dog, ancient name of the Dogbane.) 



Low pubescent herb; corolla pinkish white 1. A. androsxmifoliiuti. 



Tall glabrous yellowish green herb; corolla greenish .2. A. cannabinum. 



1. A. androsaemifolium L. var. pumilum Gray. Diffusely 

 branched, 7 to 12 in. high; herbage finely pubescent; leaves ovate to 

 oval, or some lowermost orbicular, varying from obtuse to cordate at 



