PUNICACEAE 829 



8. PARSONSIA P. Br. 



Herbs or woody plants, mostly clammy-pubescent. Leaf -blades entire. Flowers 

 axillary, or in terminal spikes or racemes. Sepals 6, alternating with small teeth. 

 Petals 6, unequal. Stamens adnate to near the top of the hypanthium. Embryo with 

 orbicular cotyledons. 



Calyx-limb prominently 2-lipped: posterior pair of stamens not reduced. 



Style glabrous: stamens 11; anthers of the longer pair densely woolly. 1. P. procumbens. 



Style pubescent: stamens 12; anthers not woolly. 2. P. petiolata. 



Calyx -limb with 5 equal lobes: posterior pair of stamens often much reduced. 

 Petals about as long as the hypanthium and calyx, spatulate: flowers long- 



pedicelled. 3. P. lythroides. 



Petals much shorter than the hypanthium and calyx, oblong: flowers short- 



pedicelled. 4. P. glutinosa. 



1. Parsonsia procumbens (Cav.) Small. Plants perennial, 10-12 dm. tall: leaf- 

 blades lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 2-6 cm. long: hypanthium and calyx 18-22 mm. 

 long: upper lip of the calyx about as long as broad: upper petals 12-14 mm. long: 

 capsules 9-10 mm. long. 



In waste places, western North Carolina. Naturalized from Mexico. Summer and fall. 



2. Parsonsia petiolata (L.) Rusby. Plants annual^ 1-7 dm. tall: leaf -blades 

 lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1-1.5 cm. long: hypanthium and calyx 8^10 mm. long: 

 upper lip of the calyx much broader than long: upper petals 4.5-5.5 mm. long: 

 capsules 6-8 mm. long. 



In dry rocky soil or on hillsides, Rhode Island to Ontario, Kansas, Georgia and 

 Louisiana. Summer and fall. Tar-weed. Wax-weed. 



3. Parsonsia lythroides Small. Plants perennial, 2-6 dm. tall: leaf -blades 

 oblong or elliptic, 1-2 cm. long: hypanthium and calyx 8-10 mm. long: calyx-lobes 

 deltoid: petals spatulate, 5-6 mm. long, or the upper ones 7-8 mm. long: capsules 

 3.5-4.5 mm. long. 



In low pine lands, near Apalachicola, Florida. Spring and summer. 



4. Parsonsia glutinosa (Cham. & Sehleeht.) Heller. Perennial by slender root- 

 stocks, the roots fibrous. Stems assurgent, 1-2 dm. tall, simple or sparingly branched, 

 minutely viscid-villous : leaf -blades ovate to oblong-lanceolate, about 1.5 cm. long or 

 less, acute, sessile or nearly so : pedicel shorter than the hypanthium : hypanthium 7-8 

 mm. long, curved, gibbous and villous near the base: sepals ovate to deltoid: petals 

 violet or mainly so, oblong, 5-6.5 mm. long, obtuse. 



In wet places, western Louisiana. Also in South America. Spring. 



Family 3. PUNICACEAE Horan. Pomegranate Family. 



Shrubs or trees. Leaves opposite or nearly so, persistent : blades entire. 

 Flowers pei'fect, solitaiy or in short peduncled axillary clusters. Hypanthium 

 leathery. Calyx of 5-7 sepals. Corolla of 5-7 wrinkled petals. Androeeium of 

 numerous stamens in several series : anthers versatile. Gynoeeium of several 

 united carpels. Ovai-y inferior. Fruit a several-celled berry crowned with the 

 calyx, the seeds in a watery pulp. 



1. PUNICA L. 



Characters of the family. Pomegranate. 



1. Punica Gran^tum L. Shrub or small tree: leaf -blades oval, elliptic or 

 oblong, varying to broadest above or below the middle, 1-8 cm. long: sepals triangular 

 or triangular-lanceolate: petals scarlet, 1.5-2.5 cm. long: berries subglobose or sphe- 

 roidal, 5-10 cm. in diameter. 



In woods and waste places, Florida. Cultivated in the tropics. Native of southern 

 Europe. 



Family 4. TERMINALIACEAE J. St. Hil. White Mangrove Family. 



Shrubs or trees, or vines in tropical regions. Leaves alternate or opposite : 

 blades simple, leathery: stipules wanting: petioles often bearing two glands. 

 Inflorescence racemose or capitate. Flowers often apetalous, regular, perfect 



