XYRIDACEAE 253 
1. X. brevifolia Michx. Leaves TE 
linear, 2-8 cm. long, celuste red: scape 
8-30 cm. tall, nearly terete: spike 
globose, 4-6 mm. long; mt roded. 
lateral. ' sepals 3.5-4.5 mm. long.—Low 
pinelands, Coastal Plain, Fla. to N. C. 
2. X. flabelliformis Chapm. Leaves lin- 
ear or narrowly linear- EOT 1-2.5 
cm. long, spreading in a fan- shaped man- 
ner, often curved: scape ve ender 
8-30 em. tall, anges terete below, "ene 
flattened abov spike ovoid or ellip- 
soid, 4-8 mm. 
entire: lateral sepals 4—5 mm. long.— 
pinelands, Coastal Plain, Fla. to Miss. 
3. X. ambigua Beyr. Leaves linear, 14 dm long, tapering from a rather 
broad base, commonly roughish on the edges: sca ape 4—10 dm. tall, indo ridged, 
2-edged above, the edges often rough: spike ovoid or ellipsoid. -ovoid, 2.5 
em. long, often acute: lateral sepals 5- -8.5 mm . long: wing ciliolate. sees amps 
or open de Coastal Plain, Fla. to Tex. and N. C.—An infusion of the 
herbage of this, and doubtless other, species of Xyris is rubbed on the chest 
by the Seminoles, in cases of colds and pulmonary diede 
4. X. stricta Chapm. Leaves linear or slightly e ir 1-4 dm. long, 
quite narrow, smooth-edged, often diseolored in drying: seapes 4—10 dm. tall, 
2-edged and 'margined above, the margins roug zi peo narrowly ellipsoid or 
CAN 2-3.5 em. long: lateral sepals 5. 5-7 mm long; wing ciliolate, 
2 Ee middle to the top.—Shallow pineland ponds, Coastal Plain, Fla. 
o Mis 
5. X. ad. Sm. Leaves dpud linear, 5-30 cm. long, acute, straight 
Or pan gr seape 2— . tall, more or less pud twisted, nearly 
terete below, 2-edged above, smooth: spike oval or subglobose, 5-10 mm. long: 
lateral sepals margined, 4-5 mm. lo ong; keel ciliate and bearded at the apex. 
LA. flexuosa Chapm. not Muh L]--Swamps damp banks, and wet soil, various 
Sou Ga. t o Tex., Minn., and Me. 
6. X. neglecta Small. Leaves few, o 3—10 cm. long, acute, straight or 
slightly curved, rather erect: scape 1—4 dm. tall, pudo twisted, e Adds. 
spike ovoid, 4-9 mm. long; bracts 35 a mm. long: ‘lateral s sepals m. long; 
wing with erose-serrate crest from near the base to the apex. ae prs e 
Coastal Plain, Fla. to Miss. and Ga. 
7. X. caroliniana Walt. Leaves linear, attenuate, smooth, the longer fully % 
as long as the scape: scape 1-6 dm. ta IÙ flattened and 2-e edged above, the edges 
smooth: spike oval or ovoid, 6-9 mm . lo ong, obtuse; braets sec imbricate in 
few series and splitting in age: lateral sepals 4-5 mm. long; wing narrower 
than the sepal-body, p toothed or eroded beyond: the middle voa 
ponds and swamps, Coastal Plain and New England Coast, Fla. to La., 
Me.; Great Lake PP owani Ind. 
8. X. communis Kunth. Leaves pondus attenuate, shorter than the scape: 
scape 2-7 dm. tall, 2-edged above: spike oval or globular, 8-15 mm. long: br acts 
closely imbricate in few series: lateral sepals 3—4 mm. long ; pra narrower 
