COMMELINACEAE |. 299 
2-3-carpellary. Styles united. Fruit a loeulieidally 2-3-valved capsule. 
—About. 30 genera and 350 species, most abundant in tropieal regions. 
Polleniferous stamens 6, or rarely 5. 
etals, or both sepals and petals, distinct Tribe I. TRADESCANTIEAE. 
Petals, or sepals and petals, partly coherent or ad- 
nate into a tube. Tribe II. ZEBRINEAE. 
Polleniferous stamens 3, or rarely 2. Tribe III. COMMELINEAE. 
I. TRADESCANTIEAE 
Flower- enu. subtended by minute or leaf-like bra 
C r cymules subtended by small or minute E very ps: the leaves. 
In flo Poor ence simple: filaments pubescent. UTHBERTIA. 
Inflorescence dichotomously compound: filaments gla- 
brous. 2. TRADESCANTELLA. 
Cymes subtended by an involucre of 1-3 bracts similar to 
the leaves. 3. n 
Flower-clusters subtended by specialized boat-like involucres. 4. RH 
. Z 
Succulent herbs with plain green or variegated leaves. 5. ZEBRINA. 
COMMELINEAE 
Flower-clusters not subtended by folded bracts. ANEILEMA, 
Flower-clusters subtended by a folded spathe-like involucre. 7. COMMELINA. 
1. CUTHBERTIA Small. Stems upright or sometimes ultimately diffuse, 
often tufted, from a dense cluster of cord-like naked or fuzzy roots. Leaf- 
lades narrow, elongate, flat or half-terete. Cyme simple, terminating a long 
peduncle, with scale-like bracts. Petals pink or purplish equal. Stamens 6: 
filaments pubescent.—Represented only by the following species.—ROSELINGS. 
Leaves erect; blades half-terete or channeled, slender: capsule subglobose. 
Petals entire: corolla 2—2.5 em. wide. 1. C. ee: 
Petals crenate: corolla 3-4 cm. wide. 2. C. ornata. 
Leaves loosely spreading ; blades fat: capsule obovoid or globose- 
obovoid. 3. C. rosea. 
C. E Small. Plant 0. Va dm. tall, densely tufted, the stem slender, 
s fili- 
form-s Eu eoroll em i 
capsule subglobose, about 4 mm. in diam- 
eter: seed t wide, promi- 
ter pro 
nently r ribbed. —Sandy woods, pinelands, 
and sandhills, Coastal Plain and adj. 
Piedmont, Fla. to N. C.—Spr.-sum 
C. ornata Small. Plant 3-6 dm. tall, 
diameter: seed about 1.5 mm. in diam- 
eter, rather shallowly ribbed.—Serub, pen. Fla.—4All year. 
3. C. rosea (Vent.) Small. Plant erect, single or sparingly tufted, often be- 
coming diffuse: leaves lax; blades narrowly linear and somewhat attenuate: 
eorolla 2-2.5 em. wide: capsule obovoid or globose-obovoid, 3.5—4 n in diame- 
r: seed about 1.5 mm. in diameter, Joes sharply ribbed. adescantia 
rosea Vent. |—Oak- pes aap age and r ver-swamps, Coastal piis and Pied- 
mont, Fla. to N. C. (or Va.?)—Spr 
