RUBIACEAE 1115 



corolla 3-4 mm. long ; tube narrowly funnelform ; lobes oblong or oblong-lanceolate, much 

 shorter than the tube. 



In sand, Florida. Native of South America. Spring to fall. 



19. ERNODEA Sw. 



Perennial shrubby plants, with decumbent stems and glabrous foliage. Leaves oppo- 

 site : blades leathery, rather narrow, entire : stipules fringed, persistent. Flowers perfect, 

 solitary and sessile in the axils. vSepals 4-6, persistent. Corolla yellowish, funnelform, 

 rather fleshy, naked in the throat : lobes 4-6, narrow, valvate. Stamens 4-6, adnate to 

 the corolla-tube. Disk fleshy. Ovary 2-celled : styles united, filiform : stigmas capitate 

 or slightly 2-Iobed. Ovule solitary in each cavity, amphitropous. Drupe somewhat 

 fleshy, 2-grooved, the carpels permanently united, with cartilaginous nutlets. Seeds flat- 

 tened on one side. Testa membranous. Endosperm fleshy. 



1. Ernodea littoralis Sw. A spreading or prostrate shrub, the foliage glabrous. 

 Stems 4-angIed, the branches alternate : leaves usually clustered ; blades fleshy-leathery, 

 linear-elliptic, varying to broadest above or below the middle, 1-2.5 cm. long, entire, ses- 

 sile or nearly so : sepals lanceolate-subulate or nearly so, longer than the tube : corolla 

 yellow ; tube 1 cm. long ; lobes curved, shorter than the tube : drupes oval or subglobose, 

 4-6 mm. in diameter, yellow. 



On or near the coast, southern peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in the West Indies. Spring. 



20. CRUSEA Cham. 



Annual or perennial caulescent herbs. Leaves opposite : blades flat : stipules sheath- 

 ing. Flowers perfect, in clusters subtended by involucres of 4 bracts. Hypanthium 

 flattened, ovoid or obovoid. Sepals 4, sometimes accompanied by several teeth, persistent- 

 Corolla pink, funnelform : tube slender : lobes 4, valvate, spreading. Stamens 4, adnate 

 up to the mouth of the corolla-tube : filaments bent : anthers exserted. Ovary 2-celled : 

 styles wholly or partially united, capillar}'. Ovule solitary in each cavity, amphitropous. 

 Capsule didymous, the carpels indehiscent but separating from each other, the walls very 

 thin. Seeds mainly oblong. 



1. Crusea tricocca (T. & G. ) Heller. Foliage hirsute or glabrate. Stems diffusely 

 branched at the base, the branches 2-15 cm. long, spreading or prostrate : leaf-blades 

 linear to oblong-lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm. long, acute or somewhat acuminate, often scythe- 

 shaped, sessile: sepals lanceolate, 1.5-2 mm. long: corolla 3-4 mm. long; tube funnel- 

 form ; lobes shorter than the tube : fruit ovoid-globose, 2-2.5 mm. long. [C allococca A. 

 Gray.] 



On plains or prairies, Texas and adjacent Mexico. Spring to fall. 



21. DIODIA L. 



Annual or perennial herbs. .Stems decumbent or procumbent. Leaves opposite : 

 blades entire, sessile, usually longitudinally striate : stipules sheathing. Flowers perfect, 

 axillary. Hypanthium obovoid or obconic. Sepals 2-4, sometimes accompanied by 

 smaller teeth. Corolla white or lilac, funnelform or salverform : lobes 4, short, valvate. 

 Stamens mostly 4, adnate to the throat of the corolla-tube. Disk obsolete. Ovary typi- 

 cally 2-celled : styles united : • stigma 2-lobed. Ovules solitary in each cavity, amphi- 

 tropous. Fruit oblong or globose, the 2 or rarely 3-4 indehiscent carpels separating, the 

 walls firm. Seeds elongated, free. Button-weed. 



Styles partially united : corolla salverform. 

 Foliage glabrous or sparingly pubescent. 



Leaf-blades narrowed at the base : capsules oblong. 1. D. Virginiana. 



Leaf-blades truncate or subeordate at the base: capsules ovoid. 2. D.Mragona. 



Foliage copiously hirsute. 3. D. hirsuta. 



Styles united to the entire or 2-lobed stigma: corolla funnelform. 4. D. teres. 



1. Diodia Virginiana L. Perennial, glabrate or hirsute. Stems branched at the 

 base, the branches prostrate, 1-15 dm. long, sometimes creei^ing : leaf-blades oblong, ellip- 

 tic or linear-oblong, or oblong-spatulate at the base of the stem, 3-8 cm. long, acute or 

 acuminate, attenuate to the base, sessile : flowers solitary in the axils or clustered : sepals 

 linear or linear-lanceolate, 4—6 mm. long : corolla white ; tube slender, 6-8 mm. long ; 

 lobes oblong or oblong-lanceolate, shorter than the tube : capsules oblong, 7-9 mm. long. 



In wet soil. New Jersey to Missouri, Florida and Texas. Spring to fall. 



