TALZEIA^s^ rAMILY. 



165 



06-5. The root of the madder abounds in coloring matter, and is per- 

 haps, the most valnable of all dyeing materials. Combined with proper 

 mordants it produces a great yarietv of colors and shades, varying from 

 the most delicate pink to the darkest brown, and even black. The great 

 supply is from Holland, though it is cultivated to some extent in this 

 country, especially in Ohio and Tennessee. Several species of Galium, 

 known as - Cleavers," Goose-grass or ••' Bedstraw," are botanically 

 allied to madder — but they are not sufficiently important even as weeds 

 to require notice. 



2. LoGAXiA St:b-oedee. Leaves opposite, with stipules between them. 

 Ovary free from the calyx. 

 2. SPIGE LIA, L. Caeolina Pink. 



[Named for Prcf. Spigdius, a Botanist of the serenteentli century.] 



Calyx 5-parted, persistent ; the lobes slender. CcroIIa tubular-funnel- 

 form, 5-lobed at the summit, valvate in the bud. Stamens 5 ; anthers 

 linear. Style slender, hairy above, jointed near the middle. Fed short, 

 twin, laterally flattened, separating at maturity from the base into two 

 carpels, which open loculicidally, few-seeded. Herbs with the opposite 

 leaves united by means of the stipules, and the flowers spiked in one- 

 sided cymes. 



1. S. Marilan'dica, L. Stem upright, simple ; leaves sessile, ovate- 

 lanceolate, acute ; spike 3 - 8-flowered ; tube of the corolla four times 

 the length of the calyx, the lobes lanceolate ; anthers and style exserted. 

 ^L\RYLA^-D Spigelia. Carolina or Indian Pink. Pink-root. TTorm- 

 grass. 



Root consisting of a great number of fibres. Stems annual, numerous, somewhat 4- 

 angled, purplish, 6-15 inches high. Leaves 2-3 inches long and about half as vride at 

 base, pubescent on the margins and nerves. Corolla an inch and a half long, crimson 

 outside, yellow within. 



Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and southward. June - July. 



Obs. A showy and beautiful plant, sometimes cultivated in the flower 

 garden, but is introduced here on account of its commercial value. The 

 root is extensively used as an anthelmintic or worm-destroying medicine, 

 and large quantities are collected for market in the southern and west- 

 ern states. It should l^e collected in autumn, and carefally dried before 

 packing. An infusion of the root, commonly known as "Worm Tea-," 

 is one of the most popular medicines of its class. * 



Order XXXYIQ. YALERIAXA'CEJE. (Yaleriax Family.) 



Herbs with opposite leaves without stipules. Calyz-tube coherent with the ovary ; corolla 

 tubular, mostly .5-Iobed ; stamens fevfev than the corolla lobes (usually 2-3) inserted on 

 the tube ; stigvias 1 - 3 ; fruit dry, indehiscent, 1-celled or with 2 empty cells and the other 

 1-seeded ; seM suspended, without albumen. 



The Valerian of xhe shops is produced by a species of the genus Valeriana, and the 

 roote of one of our native species are eaten by the Indians of the far west. The only plant 

 of interest to the agriculturist is the one described on the two following pages. 



