franco a

[Named by Cavanilles, after F. Franco, of Valentia, a promoter of botany in the sixteenth century.] Bot.: The typical genus of the order Francoacese (q.v.). It consists of herbaceous plants with ly. rately pinnatifid, mostly radical leaves, and racemes of fine flowers. Four or five species are known. Their juice is said to be cooling and sedative. Their roots are used for dyeing black. frăn-co-ā-çě-æ, s. pl. [Mod. Lat. franco a, and Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -aceœ.] Bot.: An order of Hypogynous Exogens, alliance Ericales. It consists of stemle herbaceous plants, with lobed or pinnate exstipulate leaves. Stems, scape-like; inflorescence, a raceme; calyx, deeply four-cleft; petals, four, long persistent; stigma, four-lobed se ile; ovary, superior four-celled; ovules many, seeds minute. Lindley enumerated genera, estimated the known species at five, all from Chili. They are used in medicine and for dyes.