Class V. Order IV. 121 



129. STAPHYLEA. 



STAPHYLEA TRIFOLIA. L. Bladder tree. 



Leaves trifoliate, racemes pendulous ; petals cili- 

 ate below ; fruit ovate. 



A handsome shrub from six to ten feet high, remarkable for its 

 large inflated capsules. Leaves ternate, somewhat hairy; lea- 

 fets oval, serrate, acuminate, paler underneath. Flowers in a 

 short, nodding panicle or raceme. Bractes minute, lanceolate, 

 scarious. Calyx five parted, erect, tinged with red, its segments 

 oblong, obtuse ; its base contracted into a stalk which forms a 

 joint with the peduncle. Petals white, obovate, obtuse, concave. 

 Stamens erect, with downy filaments. Germ oval, triangular. 

 Styles three, cohering into one. Capsule large, inflated, ovate, 

 triangular, three parted at top, supporting the three styles, three 

 celled ; seeds obovate, fixed to the central receptacle. In woods 

 at Weston ; also in the western parts of the state. May, June. 



130. SAROTHRA. 



SAROTHRA GENTIANOIDES. L. Pine weed. 



Syn. HrpERjcuM SAROTHRA. Mich. 



A small, erect, branching plant. Leaves appressed, scale-like, 

 so small, that the plant appears leafless. Branches numerous, 

 subdivided, erect. Flowers small, yellow, with from five to ten 

 stamens and three styles. Capsule oblong, coloured. On sandy 

 soils exposed to the sun. July, August. 



TETRAGYNIA. 



ISO. PARNASSIA. 

 PARNASSIA CAROLINIANA. J\lv. Grass of Parnassus. 



Radical leaves suborbiculate, nectaries of three 

 bristles. MX. 



Radical leaves roundish-ovate, entire, smooth, veined, tapering 

 at base. Scape a foot high, smooth, with five sharp angles, fur- 

 nished about its middle with one ovate, half clasping leaf. Calyx 

 leaves oblong, obtuse, nerved, brown at the tips. Petals ovate, 

 much longer than the calyx, white, with ten or twelve green 

 nerves, reticulated on the sides at base. Nectaries five, alter- 

 16 



