ALLIONIACEAE 409 



limb spreading, 5-Iobed. Stamens 2-5, unequal : filaments very slender, imited into a 

 cup at the base. Style filiform : stigma peltate. Fruit 5-angled or 5-ribbed, constricted 

 under the apex. Seed filling the pericarp to which its testa adheres. P^ndosperm mealy. 



Calyx-tube over 11 cm. long: leaf-blades acuminate. 1. A. lovffiflora. 



Calyx-tube less than 6 cm. long : leaf-blades obtuse or merely acute. 



Stems copiously scabrous-pubescent or puberulent : leaf-blades gradually or ab- 

 ruptly narrowed at the base. 

 Leaf-blades barely ciliolate : fruit about 4 mm. thick, not ribbed. 2. A. crassifoliii. 



Leaf-blades conspicuously ciliolate : fruit about 3 mm. thick, strongly ribbed. 3. A. Wriyhtii. 

 Stems smooth and glabrous, or nearly so : leaf-blades truncate or cordate at the 



base. 4. A. Berlandieri. 



1. Aclelsanthes longiflora A. Gray. Stems more or less branched at the base, the 

 branches slender, glabrous, trailing, 2-6 dm. long, forking: leaf-blades thickish, lanceo- 

 late to rhombic-lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm. long, acute or acuminate at the apex, acute to rounded 

 at the base, short-petioled : calyx white or nearly so, 12-15 cm. long : fruit 8-10 mm. long, 

 with a constriction above the base and thence slightly narrowed. 



In sandy soil, Texas and New Mexico. Spring to fall. 



2. Acleisanthes crassifolia A. Gray. Stems stoutish, scabrous-pubescent, sparingly 

 branched, several dm. long: leaf blades thick, ovate, 1-3 cm. long, acute, undulate, mostly 

 rounded at the ba.se, scabrous on both sides ; petioles i as long as tlie blades or shorter : 

 calyx white, 4-5 cm. long : fruit oblong-oval, 6-7 mm. long, obtusely 4-angled, not ribbed, 

 densely scabrous-pubescent. 



In dry soil, along and near the Rio Grande, Texas. Summer and fall. 



3. Aclelsanthes 'Wrightil (A. Gray) Benth. & Hook. Stems branched at the base, 

 the branches scabrous-pubescent, spreading, 1-5 dm. long, forking : leaf-blades thickish, 

 ovate, oval or ovate-lanceolate, 1-4 cm. long, obtuse or acutish, undulate, acute or rounded 

 at the base, nearly sessile, or petioles h as long as the blades: calyx 4-5 cm. long: fruit 

 6-7 mm. long, strongly 5-ribbed, each rib ending in a knob. 



On stony plains or prairies, southern Texas. Spring and summer, 



4. Acleisanthes Berlandieri A. Gray. Stems slender, glabrous or puberulent near 

 the nodes, nu)re or less diffusely branched, the branches prostrate or spreading, 1-4 dm. long : 

 leaf-blades deltoid-ovate, 1.5-6 cm. long, about as broad, rounded and apiculate at the 

 apex, truncate to cordate at the base, the petioles often as long as the blades: flowers fra- 

 grant : calyx white, 4-5 cm. long. 



In dry soil, southern Texas and northern Mexico. Summer and fall. 



7. BOERHAAVIA L. 



Slender, often diffuse, glabrous pubescent or glandular herbs, with forking stems. 

 Leaves opposite : blades unequal, thickish, entire or undulately toothed. Flowers very 

 small, variously disposed, subtended by minute bracts, on jointed pedicels. Calyx cam- 

 panulate or funnelform : tube short or elongated : limb often spreading, 5-lobed, deciduous. 

 Stamens 1-5, exserted : filaments very slender, united at the base. Ovary oblique : style 

 filiform : stigma peltate. Fruit club-shaped to obovoid, 5-10-ribbed. Seed filling the 

 pericarp to which it adheres. 



Leaf-blades linear to lanceolate : calyx-limb rotate. 



Stamens 3 : calyx-limb 6-8 mm. broad.; 1. B. tenuifolia. 



Stamens 5: calyx-limb 12-14 mm. broad. 2. B. linear ifolia. 



Leaf-blades deltoid or broadly oblong : calyx-limb campanulate. 

 Fruit rounded at the apex. 



Fruit shallowly grooved. 3. B. decumbens. 



Fruit deeply grooved. 



Leaves with like-colored surfaces. 4. B. hirsuta. 



Leaves white beneath. 5. B. viscosa. 



Fruit flat at the apex. 6. B. erecta. 



1. Boerhaavia tennlfolla A. Gray. Annual or biennial, very slender, glabrous 

 below, glandular-pilose above. Stem more or less branched at the base, the branches 

 prostrate or spreading, 4-10 dm. long, forking, wire-like, rigid : leaf-blades linear-lanceo- 

 late, 1-3 cm. long, acute, strongly revolute, glabrous or glabrate, sessile or nearly so: 

 peduncles slender : calyx sparingly pubescent ; limb rotate, 6-8 mm. broad : stamens 3, 

 exserted : fruit oblong-clavate, 3 mm. long, glabrous, strongly o-ribbed, rounded at the 

 apex. 



In arid places, Texas. Spring to falL 



