possessing a tenaceous and elastic centre. Leaves alternate, pinnati-
fid, somewhat succulent, and on the upper surface a little scabrous,
segments five or six pair, sub-ovate or lanceolate, acute, partly falcate,
and presenting a few incisions, petiole ciliated, its internal base
lanuginous. Peduncles one-flowered, terete, very long, sometimes
near upon a span, and attenuated towards their extremities, at first
remote, and coming out opposite the leaves, but at length as the
period of inflorescence advances, approximating into a kind of raceme,
which is primarily curved. Calix campanulate, ten-cleft, the segments
ovate and acute, ciliate, the larger connivent and erect, the
exterior much smaller and reflected. Corolla pelviform-campanu-
late, flax-flower-blue, the lobes oval and naked, obliquely emarginated,
before expansion convolute, the exterior base producing ten purple
spots, the internal base furnished with five foveolate, nectariferous
cavities, with tomentose margins, bearing the stamina. Stamina
about half the length of the corolla, the filaments filiform and
smooth. Anthers sagittate-oblong, brownish-yellow. Style one, bifid,
below hirsute. Capsule oval, covered by the connivent calix, somewhat
hirsute, one-celled, four-seeded; the seeds by pairs alternately immersed
in a fleshy, succulent receptacle, occupying the whole cavity
of the capsule.
Habitat. In the shady woods of Cedar prairie, ten miles from
Fort Smith, and from thence in similar situations to the sources of
the Pottoe. Flowering in May.
“ It is a hardy biennial. The seeds germinate in autumn, and the
seedlings, after surviving the winter, flower in the succeeding
spring.”
The new genus, of which the type is here figured, was discovered
in the situations already identified in the above quotation from Mr.
Nuttall’s manuscript, with which I have been favoured by that gentleman.
He has given it the name Nemophila, from »<>«;, a grcrve, and
pisu, I love, in allusion to the predilection the plant shows for shady
woods, in which places alone it is found. The drawing was made two
years ago, from specimens which flowered in this city from seeds
brought by Mr. Nuttall. The plant endures our winters well, thriving
and extending itself in cold situations. Hence it is well suited to
borders, and may be considered a curious and handsome addition to
the rich flora of our country.
The table represents a portion of the plant, of its natural size.
von. II. 20