Class Jill. Order V. 203 



ties shorter, so that the fruit is commonly concealed under the 

 leaves. Flowers white, appearing in May. 



Wild strawberries are frequently sour from the circumstance 

 of their ripening in the shade among the high grass. 



208. COMARUM. 



COMARUM PALUSTRE. L*. Marsh dnquefoil. 



A genus nearly related to the last, with only one species. Stem 

 round, rising from one to two feet. Leafets three, five, or sev- 

 en, oblong, serrate, whitish underneath. Flowers dark, dull pur- 

 ple, every part permanent. Calyx ten cleft, every other seg- 

 ment larger. Corolla of five small petals. Fruit enclosed in the 

 flower, resembling a strawberry, but spongy and permanent. 

 Found in Neponset river and in Brighton. June. Perennial. 



209. POTENTILLA. 

 POTENTILLA FLORiBUNDA. Pursh. Bushy Potent ilia. 



Shrubby, erect, branching, hairy ; stipules ovate, 

 entire ; leaves five-pinnate, leafets linear-oblong, revo- 

 lute ; corymbs terminal, dichotomous, dense-flowered, 

 calyx-segments subequal, as long as the petals. 



Stems erecfor ascending, shrubby, a foot high, covered with 

 a deciduous, reddish bark, and with long fine hairs. Stipules at 

 the base of the leaves and branches ovate, nerved, scarious, 

 clasping, some bifid. Leaves pinnate, with slender, hairy peti- 

 oles ; leafets five, in a sort pf tuft, sessile, lanceolate, revolute at 

 the edges, hairy, paler underneath. Flowers in close, compound 

 corymbs on the ends of the branches. Calyx hairy, its segments 

 subequal. Petals obovate, as long as the calyx. In low grounds, 

 Danvers ; sent by Dr. Nichols. 



On comparison with specimens of P. fruticosa, it has smaller 

 and more numerous flowers. 



POTENTILLA ANSERINA. L. Silver Weed. Wild Tansey. 

 Leaves interruptedly pinnate, serrate, silky under- 

 neath, stem creeping, peduncles one flowered. Sm. 



A handsome plant, common on the marshes at South Boston 

 and Cambridge. Stems hairy and reddish, creeping extensively 



