SAXIFRAGACEAE. 195 



none; flowers small, white or greenish, in a simple raceme; calyx 

 short, the broad tube 5-lobed, adherent to the base of the ovary 

 and dilated beyond it; petals 5, slender, pinnatifid or 3-cleft 

 into thread-like lobes; stamens 10 or 5, very short; styles 2, 

 short; ovary globose, 1-celled, with 2 parietal almost basal 

 placentae, partly superior; capsule globular or depressed, hardly 

 at all lobed ; seeds several to each placenta. 



Stems bearing 1-3 leaves. M. caulescens. 



Stems leafless. 



Petals mostly 3-cleft at apex. M. trifida. 



Petals pinnately 3-5-parted. 



Stamens opposite the petals. M. pentandra. 



Stamens alternate with the petals. 



Leaves broadly reniform. M. breweri. 



Leaves oblong-cordate. M. ovalis. 



Mitella caulescens Nutt. Stems slender, 25-40 cm. high, bearing 1-3 

 petioled alternate leaves; basal leaves broadly ovate, cordate, 5-7-lobed, 

 crenate-dentate, sparsely hairy; flowers greenish, in a loose raceme; petals 

 pinnately cleft into 7-9 filiform lobes; plants producing runners in summer. 



In moist woods, not common. 



Mitella trifida Graham. (Ozomelis pacifica Rydb.) Leaves all basal, their 

 petioles hairy, slender, 5-7 cm. long, their blades reniform, obscurely 7-9- 

 lobed, crenate-dentate, sparsely pubescent, 2-4 cm. broad; scapes 15-30 cm. 

 high; raceme often 1-sided; calyx campanulate; petals cuneate, deeply 3-cleft. 



In the mountains at about 2000 m. altitude, rare. 



Mitella pentandra Hook. Scapes 10-30 cm. high, puberulent; leaves all 

 basal, broadly cordate, coarsely crenate, sparsely pubescent, petioled; raceme 

 loose; calyx saucer-shaped, the lobes short and obtuse; petals pinnately divided 

 into 7-9 filiform lobes. 



In moist woods in the mountains. 



Mitella breweri Gray. Rootstock horizontal; leaves all basal, few, the 

 slender petioles sparsely hairy, the blades reniform-orbicular, obscurely 3-5- 

 lobed, crenate-serrate, somewhat shiny above, nearly glabrous, 3-8 cm. wide; 

 scapes about as long as the leaves; calyx saucer-shaped, 3-4 mm. in diameter; 

 petals greenish, pinnately 3-5-parted into filiform segments. 



Common in the mountains at about the limit of trees. 



Mitella ovalis Greene. (M. hallii Howell.) Rootstock short, creeping; 

 leaves all basal, their blades oval, cordate or reniform, obscurely 5-9-lobed, 

 crenate-dentate, sparsely hirsute, 2-4 cm. long, on slender hairy petioles 4-10 

 cm. long; scapes exceeding the leaves; calyx saucer-shaped, 2-3 mm. broad; 

 petals pinnate with 3-5 filiform segments. 



In moist ground near the coast, Vancouver Island to California. 



259. LEPTAXIS. 



Perennial herbs with scaly rootstocks and lateral leafy flower- 

 ing branches; stipules membranaceous; calyx- tube funnelform, 

 free from the ovary; sepals 5, ascending; petals 4, subulate, 

 persistent; stamens 3, opposite the upper 3 sepals; ovary 1-celled, 

 many-seeded, with parietal placentae, attenuate and slightly 

 stipitate at the base, each carpel long beaked. 



