138 



WEEDS AXD rSEEUL PLAXTS. 



Oeder XXX. CUCUEBITA'CE^. (Gourd F.^mu.t.) 



Herhaaous mostly succulent vines -svith. tendrils, alternate palmately veined or lobcd 

 leave? and monoecious or dioecious (often monopetalous) flovsers. Cahjx of 4-5 (rarely 6) 

 sepals, united into a tube, and in the fertile ilowers adherent to the ovary. Petals as 

 many as the sepals, more or less unit -I'd. and C':ihering with the calyx. Stamens 3-d in- 

 serted into the base of the corolla or • -laict or variously united by their filaments 

 and long, mostly tortuous, antfiers. : - 3-celled, — the thick fleshy 2 Z'T^t^te often 

 filling the cells : stigmas thick. 1 : ; i .red. Fruit (Pepo) usually fleshy, with a 

 firm (sometimes a hgneous and occasiLrialiy a membranous) rind. Seeds flat, destitute of 

 albumen : cotyledons fohaceous. 



This Order — so well known for its culinary products — contains sr-m-:' whMi arc pos- 

 sessed of active medicinal properties (such as the Colocynth^ of the sh' ' - — ' Colocyn- 

 this. L.) ; but few, if any, of Agricultural interest, beyond those h:-: 



* Petals connected at the base o'nhj. 

 1. LAGEXA'EIA, Ser. Goued. 



[Greek. Lagenos. a flagon or bottle ; from the shape of the fruit.] 



Calyx campanulate or subturbinate. 5-toothed. — the segments siibnlate- 

 lanceolate. shorter than the tube. Petals 5. obovate. inserted within and 

 beneath the margin of the calyx. Stamens 5, triadelphous. the fifth one 

 free. Stigynas 3, subsessile. thick, 2-lobed, granular. Fruit at first 

 fleshy and pubescent, finally with a smooth ligneous rind. Seed.s com- 

 pressed, obovate, somewhat 2-lobed at apex, the margin tumid. 

 1. L. yulga'eis, Ser. Softly pubescent : stem climbing ; leaves round- 

 ish-cordate,, acuminate, denticulate, with two glands at base ; fruit cla- 

 vate-ventricose. 



CoMMOx Lagexaeia. Cakbash. Bottle Gourd. 



Fr. Calebasse. Germ. Der Kuerbiss. S^an. Calabaza. 



Whole plant somewhat viscid, and emitting a fetid musky odor. Stem 10-1.5 or 20 feet 

 long, slender, branching, clini'^iaa by f-ndrUs which are "i-i-cleft. Leaves 4-6 or S in- 

 ches long : petioles 2-Q inches I' li, J-'l'irers axillary, on long peduncles : corolla white, 

 with green nerves and veins. iV-r 1:^-18 inches long, and 4-6 or S inches in diameter^ 

 unequally bi-ventricose, finally nearly hollow or partiaUy fiUed with the loose dry sube- 

 rose placentcE. — the rind yellowish or pale brown, thin and hard. Seeds in a dry mem- 

 branous ariUus. 



Gardens and lots : cultivated. Xative of the tropical regions. i^Z. July -August. Fr. 

 September - October. 



06.5. The thin firm woody shell of the fruit affords a very convenient 

 kitchen utensil. — and the plant is sometimes cultivated for the sake of 

 that finiit. by cottas'ers and farmers who cannot afford, or do not choose 

 to purchase more costly utensils. 



There is cultivated occasionally, for the table, a cucurbitaceous fruit 

 of extraordinary length, called " Vegetable Marrow." — which seems to 

 belong to this species, and perhaps may be the var. da rata of Seringe. 



2. CU'COnS, L. CucoiBEE AXD Melon. 



[Said to be derived from the Celtic, Cucc, a hollow vessel.] 



G// ijx tubidar-campanulate. 5-toothed, — the teeth subulate, scarcely aa 

 long as the tube. Petals 5, nearly distinct and but slightly adnate to 



