124 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. XIII, No. 6, 



2. Heteranthera R. & P. 



Aquatic herbs with creeping, ascending or floating stems with 

 petioled cordate, ovate, oval or reniform leaves ; or with grass-like 

 leaves. 



1. Heteranthera dubia (Jacq.) Mac. M. Water vStargrass. 

 A slender forked herb, often rooting at the nodes. Leaves flat, 

 elongated, acute, with thin sheathes and stipule-like appendages; 

 spathe 1-2 flowered, flowers light yellow, stigma lobed, fruit a 

 unilocular capsule. Growing in still water. Rather general. 



CoMMELiNACEAE. Spidcrwort Family. 



Perennial or annual leafy herbs. Inflorescence an umbel-like 



cyme of bisporangiate, showy, flowers, subtended by spathe-like 



or leafy bracts; sepals 3, persistent; petals 3, membranous, dele- 



quescent; stamens 6, sometimes 3 of them sterile; ovulary bi- or 



tri-locular; capsule loculicidal; endosperm copious and meah'. 



1. Bracts leaf-like, stamens 6, petals all alike. Tradescantia. (1) 

 1. Bracts spathe-like stamens 3. Commelina. (2) 



1. Tradescantia L. Spiderwort. 



Herbs with simple or branched stems, somewhat mucilaginous; 

 leaves rather narrow and elongated; inflorescence in tenninal or 

 axillary cymes subtended by bracts; perianth of 3 sepals and 3 

 petals; stamens 6, usually all alike, bearded; ovulary triolcular; 

 capsule loculocidal. 

 1. Leaves linear, 12-50 times longer than broad, stems elongated. 2. 



1. Leaves lanceolate, 2-10 times longer than broad, and zigzag. T. pilosa. 



2. Foliage glaucous pedicle glabrous, sepals often with a tuft of hairs at 



the apex. T. reflexa. 

 2. Foliage bright green, peduncles and sepals villous with non-glandular 

 hairs. T. vir^inidna. 



1. Tradescantia reflexa Raf. Rcflexcd Spiderwort. A slender, 

 glabrous, glaucous herb. Leaves narrow, linear-attenuate, strong- 

 ly involute, rather rigid with sheaths; inflorescence a densely- 

 flowered cyme; 2 involucral bracts rcflexcd; sepals glabrous 

 except the tips which are tipped with tufts of hairs; petals blue. 

 In sandy or loamy soil. Ashtabula, Erie, Mahoning, Richland, 

 Coshocton, Licking, Franklin, Auglaize. 



2. Tradescantia virginiana L. Virginia Spiderwort. A stout 

 bright-grccn herb, glabrous or slightly ])ubcsccnt; leaves nearly 

 flat, linear-lanceolate, long acuminate; bracts leaf-like, inflores- 

 cence usually a solitary, terminal cynic; pedicels and sepals 

 villous; petals blue or purple, showy. In rich soil in woods and 

 along railrf)ads. General as far north as Auglaize and Stark. 



