528 



HYPER1CACKAE. 



VOL. II. 



of 1-7 carpels; styles as many as the carpels; ovules cc, in 2 rows in each cavity, 

 anatropous. Fruit mainly capsular ; seeds mainly straight ; endosperm none. 



About 10 genera and over 300 species, mostly of temperate and warm regions. 



Sepals 4, in unequal pairs; petals 4. i. Ascyrum. 



Sepals and petals 5. 



Petals yellow, convolute in the bud. 



Leaves normal, not reduced to scales. 2. Hypericum. 



Leaves reduced to minute appressed scales. 3. Sarothra. 



Petals pink or greenish purple, imbricated in the bud. 4. Triadcnum. 



i. ASCYRUM L. Sp. PI. 787. 1753. 



Leafy glabrous low shrubs, with the aspect of Hypericum. Flowers bright yellow. Sepals 

 4, in 2 pairs, the exterior ones broad and round, the interior smaller and narrower. Petals 4, 

 oblique or slightly contorted, deciduous. Stamens o, distinct, or united in clusters. Ovary 

 i-celled, with 2-4 parietal placentae; styles 2-4. Capsule i-celled, 2-4-valved, dehiscent at the 

 placentae. [Greek, not rough.] 



About 5 species, natives of eastern and southeastern North America, the West Indies and 

 Central America. Type species : Ascyrum hypericoides L. 



Erect, i-2 high; leaves clasping; styles 3-4. i. A.stans. 



Diffusely branched, s'-io' highjjeaves sessile; styles 2. 2. A. hypericoides. 



i. Ascyrum stans Michx. St. Peter's- 

 wort. Fig. 2879. 



Ascyrum stans Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2 : 77. 1803. 



Erect, simple or with a few upright branches, 

 i-2 high. Stems and branches 2-edged or slightly 

 winged; leaves clasping, erect or ascending, oval, 

 or broadly oblong, 9"-i8" long, 5"-7" wide, ob- 

 tuse, thick; cymes terminal, few-flowered; pedicels 

 4"-6" long, 2-bracted below the middle ; flowers 

 8-12" broad; outer sepals nearly orbicular, 4"-6" 

 long, cordate, the inner lanceolate, 3 "-6" long ; 

 petals obovate, longer than the sepals; styles 3 

 or 4. short; capsule ovoid, about 3" long. 



In dry sandy soil, especially in pine barrens, Long 

 Island to Pennsylvania, Florida, eastern Tennessee 

 and Texas. July-Aug. 



2. Ascyrum hypericoides L. St. Andrew's 

 Cross. Fig. 2880. 



Ascyrum hypericoides L. Sp. PI. 788. 1753. 

 Ascyrum Crux-Andreae L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 1107. 1763. 



Low, much branched from the base, diffuse or 

 ascending, 5'-io' high. Stems and branches flat- 

 tened and 2-edged; leaves oblong or obovale, 

 sessile, narrowed and 2-glandular at the base, 

 i'-ii' long, 2"-4" wide, thin, obtuse; flowers 

 terminal or also axillary; pedicels i"-3" Ion?"; 

 2-bracted near the summit ; flowers 6"-g" broad ; 

 outer sepals oval or ovate, sometimes cordate, 

 4"-6" long, 2"~4" wide, obtuse, the inner narrower 

 and mainly shorter; petals oblong-linear, about 

 equalling the outer sepals ; styles 2 ; capsule ovoid, 

 about 2 ' long. 



In dry sandy soil, Nantucket, Mass., to Florida, 

 Illinois, Nebraska and Texas. Ascends to 2800 ft. in 

 Virginia. Cuba ; Jamaica. July-Aug. 



2. HYPERICUM [Tourn.] L. Sp. PI. 783. 1753. 



Herbs or shrubs, with opposite punctate or black-dotted leaves, and mostly cymose yellow 

 flowers. Sepals 5, equal or nearly so. Petals 5, mainly oblique or contorted, convolute in 

 the bud. Stamens o, distinct, or more or less united in clusters, sometimes with interposed 



