Native of the West Indies; by road-sides and cultivated 
lands : 
Introduced in 1690 by Lord Portland. 
A hothouse plant. 
Stem 2-3-feet high, herbaceous, branched, smooth. 
Branches subdivided, round, surrounded at their base by 
small bristles with glandular tips. Leaves digitate, 5-parted; 
_ lobes ovate, pointed, serrate, toothedly ciliate: hairs glan- 
dular. Common peduncle terminal: partial ones cymose, 
dichotomous. Male flowers more abundant: female placed 
singly in the fork of the common peduncles. Matz riow- 
ERS. Calyz'5-leaved. Leaflets ovate, pointed, ciliate. Co- 
‘rolla deeply 5-parted, dark purple; segments ovate. Necta- 
riferous glands youndish, placed at the feet of the stamens. 
Filaments 10-12, united from the base to the middle, the 
length of the corolla. Anthers deep yellow, 2-cleft, ovate. 
FemaLe rrowers. Calyx and corolla the same as in ‘the 
male flower. Nectary 0. Germen nearly round. Style 
3-cleft from the base. Stigmas: widened, 2-fid. Capsule 
ovate, 3-cornered, retuse, 3-coccous, 3-celled. Seeds so- 
litary. 
According to Swartz this genus is of very difficult defini- 
tion, including widely varying anomalous species; but still 
so natural that it cannot be conveniently divided. Comes 
next to Ricinus, differing by little else in technical cha- 
racter, ‘than the number of the stamens. 
