tues, medicinal and soothing, all which, except the unpleasant
odor and orange color, have disappeared in modern times. It is
raised for its beauty, bearing single and double flowers, continuing
to blossom for a long time, and having many varieties. It is less
a favorite, perhaps, than formerly, but is highly worthy of a conspicuous
place in every flower-garden. It is cultivated with great
ease ; and its seeds, found only round the outside of the flower,
are curiously heel-shaped, almost a semicircle when ripe.
A mbrosia. L. 19. 5.
The pleasant odor of the bruised leaves of some of the species
led to the application of the name of the food of the heathen
gods to this genus, some species of which are called in English by
very different names. It is almost wholly a North American
genus, of 8 or 10 species, only 3 of which are natives of this
State.- Most of the species are mere weeds.
A. elatior. W. Rag Weed. Wild Wormwood. Stem
2 - 4 feet high, with wand-like branches, and leaves bipinnatifid,
smooth ; flowers in paniculate racemes ; the staminate flowers
in long racemes looking like seeds, and supposed to be seeds
by those who partially examine ; fertile flowers below in little
aggregations ; bearing a small n u t; in waste places and over
fields. The bruised leaves were formerly in popular use as an
application to wounds and bruises. Plant very bitter, resembling
common Wormwood. Flowers insignificant, and the plant a
weed.
A. trifida. W. Under the same common names as the last,
which it much resembles, though it is a much larger plant, hence
often called Giant Ambrosia, with 3-lobed, serrate leaves ; a mere
weed; in fields.
A. heterophylla. Muhl. Grows on banks of streams, and less
common than the others, with cauline, pinnatifid leaves, and lanceolate,
sessile leaves ; long ciliate hairs on the petioles ; flowers
in July.
X anthium. L. 19. 5.
From the Greek for yellow, as the plant was anciently said to color
the hair yellow ; a genus mostly European, of only 4 species, one
of which has strayed to this country.
X. strumarium. L. Sea Burdock. Glott Burr. Stem
erect, 3 - 6 feet high, purple, spotted, bristly, rough ; leaves large,
cordate, serrate, hard and rough, 3-nerved ;, fruit in an oval burr,
armed with stiff spines or hooked thorns ; flowers axillary, insignificant;
grows on beaches near salt water, and widely over
the country in light soils ; flowers in August. Another species,
H. spinosum, has been found by Dr. Porter at Plainfield.
ORDER 189. S T E L L A T E . T he Madder T ribe.
Calyx divided into 4, 5, or 6 lobes, superior; contains the
1-petalled corolla, rotate or tubular, with, divisions the same in number
as the calyx, and having as many stamens as the divisions of
the corolla ; ovary inferior, 2-celled ; fruit a dry pericarp ; leaves
in a whorl, of a stellate appearance, giving name to the order,
without stipules ; stems square, roots giving a red dye, and flowers
minute. The genus Rubia belongs to this order, and formerly
gave name to a much larger family under the name of Rubiacese.
R ubia. L. 4. 1.
R. tinctoria. L. Madder. From the Latin for red, on account
of the coloring matter of the roots ; a native of Southern
Europe, and cultivated to great extent as a dyestuff; little cultivated
in this country. When eaten by animals, it tinges even the
bones red, and the hardest part first. It has a trailing or climbing
stem. Loudon. Cultivated in a few cases.
G alium. L. 4. 1. Bedstraw. Cleavers.
From the Greek for milk, as one species was used to curdle
it. Near 80 species have been described, which are widely spread
over the world, though most are indigenous to Europe ; 11 species
belong to this State. They are mostly inconspicuous plants,