86 



POLYGALE^. \Fohjgala. 



north. — Stems arising- many from the same perennial root, scaly below, slightly downy, rounded, angled 

 above. The leaves, when seen under a microscope, are hairy with very short pubescence, and the edges are 

 decidedly scabrous with little, rigid setae pointing forward. Flower pale, greenish Avhite. Capsule orbicular, 

 scarcely notched, slightly compressed, containing two large, black, dotted, hairy seeds, having a broad white 

 caruncle at the hilum. Dr. Bigelow has well described this species in his Florula of Boston, and has 

 detailed its medical properties and history in his valuable American " Medical Botany." 



r 



5. P, polygama ; cristata, racemis terminalibus pedunculatis laxis, alls ovalibus patenti- 

 bus petala aequantibus obtusissimis, foliis alternis lineari-lanceolatis glabris superloribus 

 cuspidatisj caulibus erectis, aliis brevissimis radicaiibus sub subterraneis apetalis. (Tab. 

 XXIX.)— ^ra/^. J7. Carol p. 179. Fursh, FL Am. v. 2. p. 181. Nutt. Gen. Am. v. 2. p. 

 75. Elliott, Carol, v. 2. p. 181. Be Cand. Prodr. v. \. p. 330.— P. rubella. Willd. Sp. PL v. 

 3. p. 875. Pursh, Fl. Am. v. 2. p, 464. Bigel. FL Bast. ed. 2. p. 264, " Med, Bot. t 54." 

 De Cand. Prodr. v. \. p. 330. 



Radix gracilis, sublignosa, perennis? descendens, ramosa. Caules nunc solitarii, nunc plurimi ex 

 eadem radice, erecti, angulati, glabri, palmares ad spithamsei, sirapHces, virgati, foliati. Folia alterna, erecta, 

 sen erecto-patentia, unciam vel sesquiunciam longa, lineari-lanceolata, adulta subcoriacea, basi paululum 

 attenuata, inferiora subpetlolata, obtusissima, reliqua sessilia, superiora magis angusta, apice acutissima mu- 

 cronulata, etiam cuspidata. Racemi solitarii, terminales, pedunculati, laxi, unciam vix duas uncias longi. Pedi- 

 celli breves, graciles, patentes, demura recurvati, ad basin bractea minutissiraa suffulti. Flares cameo-rosei, 

 mediocres. Calyx; sepalis exterioribus minutis, ovalibus, viridibus, erectis, 2 interioribus seu alis, petala 

 aequantibus, late obovatis, obtusissimis, patentibus, pallide roseis. Carina purpurea, cristata. — Ad basin 

 caulium alii racrem? adsunt, pedunculati, sub-subterranei, pedunculis squamosis ; florihus apetalis, vel petahs 

 valde minutis iustructis, quorum capsulce omnino ut in racemis caulinis, sed sessihbus, late ovatis, com- 

 pressis, truncatis. 



H/VB. Upper Canada. Mr. Goldie, About Lake Hui'on. Mr, Todd. — The correctness of INIr, Nuttall, 

 in uniting the P. rubella of WiUdeuow with the P. pohjgama of Walter, can, I believe, scarcely be called 

 in question. The species is a very remarkable one, in many respects, as Pursh observes of his P. rubella, 

 approaching to P. vulgaris. From the base of the main stems there proceed short ^stalks, from two to four 

 inches long, beai-ing a raceme of flowers, which buries itself slightly in the earth. The uppermost blossoms 

 are exceedingly imperfect, and abortive j the lower flowers of the raceme have petals, and perhaps calycine 

 sepals, so altered as to represent a few small scales around a germen, which, to all appearance, comes 

 to perfection and bears seeds. In some of the many specimens I have received from Dr. Boott, the racemes 

 in question are upon leafy stalks, but this is by no means usually the case ; others, though more rarely, have 

 the upper flower of the perfect stem apetalous. 



Tab. XXIX. Plant: — natural size. Fig. 1, Flower; Jig. 2, The keel; Jig. 3, Raceme, which arises from 

 the base of the stem ; Jig. 4, Capsule, do. ; Jig. 5, Capsule, from the perfect raceme : — magnified. 



Sect. III. Cham^buxus. DHL Calycis sepalum inferius concavo-cuctdlatum intus ad 

 basin glandulam fovens. CorollcB carina suhcristata ant apice callosa. Flores pauci, 

 magni. Herbce aut suffnUices. DC. 



6. P. paucifolia; florlbus ternis terminalibus, carina cristata, foliis ovatis petiolatis, 

 caule simplici basi decumbente inferne nudo squamigero. — Willd. Sp. PL p. 880. Pursh, 

 FL Am. V. 2. p. 464. Elliott, CaroL v. 2. p. 180. De Cand. Prodr. v. I. p. 330. BigeL FL 

 Bost. ed. 2. p. 267, Hook, in Bot. Mag. t. 2852. Rich, in FrankL Ist Joum. ed. 2. App. 

 p. 27. — P. purpurea. Ait. HorL Kew. ed. 2. v. 4. p. 244. (non NutL) 



