DIAPENSIACEAE 897 



4, or rarely 5, broad. Petals 4-5, markedly united at the base, the narrow lobes curled 

 back. Stamens 8-10 : anthers conspicuously exserted : filaments pubescent. Ovary 4-5- 

 celled : style elongated. Berries subglobose, drooping, red. Mountain Cranberry. 



2. Hugeria erythrocarpa (Michx. ) Small. A widely branching shrub 1-2 m. tall. 

 Leaf -blades oblong or ovate-lanceolate, or ovate, 2.5-7.5 cm. long, rather thin, acuminate, 

 finely serrate with bristle-tipped teeth, flat, green on both sides but paler beneath, short- 

 petioled : pedicels solitary, axillary, recurved, less than i as long as the leaves : sepals 

 acuminate : corolla red ; lobes lanceolate, 8-10 mm. long, curled back : filaments villous, 

 about 2 as long as the anthers : berries subglobose, 4-6 mm. in diameter, deep red, acid. 

 [ Vaecinium erythrocarpon Michx. ] 



On mountain slopes or summits, Virginia to Tennessee and Georgia. Spring and summer. 



7. OXYCOCCUS Hill. 



Shrubs, with trailing or creeping stems. Leaves alternate, persistent: blades entire, 

 leathery. Flowers solitary or several together, nodding from axillary or terminal stalks. 

 Sepals 4-5. Petals 4-5, pink or red, conic in bud, distinct, narrow, recurved. Stamens 

 8-10. Anthers converging into a conspicuous long-exserted cone : sacs prolonged into 

 slender tubes opening by apical pores. Ovary 4-5-celled. Berries globose or somewhat 

 elongated or rarely depressed, red, very juicy, sour or tart. Cranberry. 



1. Oxycoccus macrocirpus (Ait.) Pers. Foliage glabrous. Stems creeping, elon- 

 gated, sometimes 1 m. long, branched : leaves numerous ; blades oblong, or rarely 

 varying to ovate or orbicular, 6-14 mm. long, obtuse at both ends, entire, more or less 

 copiously glaucous beneath, revolute, short-petioled : pedicels slender, recurved at the tip : 

 flowers usually few, nodding : sepals acutish : petals white or pale pink, 7-8 mm. long, lan- 

 ceolate : filaments puberulent, about J as long as the anthers : berries subglobose or often 

 oval, ovoid or depressed, 1-2 cm. in diameter, red, acid. l_Vacchiium macrocarpon Ait.] 



In bogs or low sandy soil, Newfoundland to the Northwest Territory, south to North Carolina, 

 Michigan and Minnesota. Summer. 



Family 6. DIAPENSIACEAE Link. Diapensia Family. 



Perennial, caulescent shrubby herbs. Leaves alternate, sometimes numer- 

 ous and crowded, without stipules : blades mostly leathery, simple. Flowers 

 perfect, solitary or in terminal racemes. Calyx of 5 partially united sepals, per- 

 sistent. Corolla white, pink or purple, of 5 distinct or partially united equal 

 petals. Androecium of 5 stamens. Filaments adnate to the throat of the 

 corolla-tube. Staminodia wanting. Anthers 1-2-celled. Pollen of simple grains. 

 Gynoecium of 3 united carpels. Ovary superior, 3-celled, free. Styles united, 

 Stigma 3-lobed. Ovules many, anatropous or amphitropous. Fruit a 3-celled. 

 loculicidallj'^ 3-valved capsule. Seeds minute. Embryo terete, in fleshy endosperm. 



1. PYXIDANTHERA Michx. 



Evergreen herbs, with creeping stems. Leaves numerous, imbricated : blades entire, 

 ciliate at the base, sessile. Flowers solitary and sessile in an involucre of imbricated 

 bracts. Calyx-lobes parchment-like, imbricated, obtuse, ciliate. Corolla white or pink, 

 persistent : tube short : lobes 5, spreading, eroded. Stamens 5, near the sinuses of the 

 corolla : filaments broad : anther-sacs transversely 2-valved, the lower valve cuspidate. 

 Staminodia none. Ovary 3-celled : stigma obscurely 3-lobed. Ovules numerous in each 

 cavity, amphitropous. Capsule 3-celled, loculicidally 3-valved. Seeds few, the testa 

 pitted, close. 



1. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Depressed, nearly glabrous. Stems branched 

 at the base, the branches creeping, forming large mats, 1-4 dm. long, leafy throughout : 

 leaves numerous ; blades leathery, linear-oblanceolate, or linear-elliptic, imbricated, 3-8 

 mm. long, acute or spine-tipped, glabrous, except the ciliate base, sessile : bracts of the 

 involucre lanceolate, about 4 mm. long, densely ciliate, silky within : flowers about 9 mm. 

 broad: calyx campanulate, nearly 4 mm. high ; lobes 5, broadly oblong, concave, obtuse: 

 corolla white ; tube oblong-campanulate ; lobes 5, broadly spatulate or cuneate-obovate, 

 about as long as the tube, spreading : anthers yellow : capsules subglobose, about 2 mm. in 

 diameter, sessile. 



In sandy pine lands, New Jersey and North Carolina. Spring. Pyxik. Flowering Moss. 

 57 



