A large family, most abundant in the tropics; ours are herbs, usually
with twining or trailing stems; the leaves alternate, or mere scales,
without stipules; the flowers perfect, with five sepals; the corolla
with united petals, more or less funnel-form and more or less
five-lobed, folded lengthwise and twisted in the bud; the stamens five,
on the base of the corolla; the ovary superior, with from one to three
styles; the fruit usually a capsule, with from one to four large seeds.
[Illustration: Buck-bean--Menyanthes trifoliata.]
There are a great many kinds of Convolvulus, widely distributed; ours
are mostly twining or prostrate perennials; the flowers large, with a
slender style and two stigmas; the fruit a capsule, usually with two
large seeds. The name is from the Latin, meaning "to entwine." These
plants are often called Bindweed.
[Sidenote: =Field Morning-glory=
_Convólvulus arvénsis_
=White, pinkish
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
This is a troublesome weed, introduced from Europe, with very deep
roots and pretty flowers. The leaves are dull green and look roughish,
though they are smooth or nearly so, and the flowers are about an inch
across, white inside, striped with pink and tinged with yellow at the
base, and pink outside, striped with duller, deeper color. The stamens
and pistil are white and the buds purplish-pink. The flower stalks
usually have a pair of bracts near the middle.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Morning-glory=
_Convólvulus occidentàlis_
=Cream-color
Summer
Northwest=]
An attractive plant, with pretty foliage and large, pale flowers, the
stems trailing on the ground and climbing over low bushes. The leaves
are smooth and dark bluish-green and the flowers are about two inches
and a half across, very pale yellow, almost cream-color, with stripes
of slightly deeper yellow, tinged with pink. The anthers and the pistil
are pale yellow and the flower-stalks have two bracts just beneath the
calyx.
There are many kinds of Cuscuta, or Dodder, widely distributed and
difficult to distinguish; leafless parasites, without green coloring,
with twining, threadlike stems and inconspicuous flowers, in clusters.
The seed germinates in the soil and produces a twining stem, which
attaches itself to a neighbor by means of suckers. These plants are
easily recognized, for they look like tangled bunches of coarse thread,
and are often very conspicuous on account of their coloring, sometimes
making fine masses of bright orange-color, beautiful in tone, though
the plants are very unattractive. They have other names, such as
Love-vine and Strangle-weed.
[Illustration: Field Morning-glory--C. arvensis.