160 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 7 



74. Lauraceae Lindl. — Laurel Family 



1. Flowers appearing with or before the leaves in corymbose racemes; anthers 

 4-loculed ; leaves often lobed ; fruit blue-black 1. Sassafras 



1. Flowers in small roundish nearly sessile umbel-like clusters on bare twigs; 

 anthers 2-loculed; leaves always entire; fruit red 2. Lindera 



1. Sassafras Nees — Sassafras 



S. albidum (Nutt.) Nees. Rich woods, common throughout 111., 

 except the extreme northern counties. May. [S. variifolium (Salisb. ) 

 Ktze; S. officinale Nees & Eberm.; S. albidiun \ar. inolle (Raf. ) Fern.]. 



2. Lindera Thunb. — Spice-bush 

 L. benzoin (L.) Blume. In moist woods and along streams, com- 

 mon. Mar. -Apr. [Benzoin aestivale (L.) Nees]. Specimens with 

 petioles and lower surface of blades more or less pubescent [L. ben- 

 zoiii var. pubescens (Palmer & Steyerm.) Rehd.], have been mistaken 

 for L. rn e lis sae folium (Walt.) Blume, a species of more southerly range 

 which does not occur in our limits. 



75. Lythraceae Lindl. — Loosestrife Family 



1 . Flowers regular; petals equal. 



2. Calyx campanulate or hemispherical. 

 3. Flowers small, axillary, solitary or few. 



4. Petals 4; calyx with appendages in the sinuses. 



5. Flowers solitary; capsules 4-loculed, septicidal 1. Rotala 



5. Flowers usually more than 1 in each axil; capsules 2- to 4-loculed, 



irregularly dehiscent 2. Ammannia 



4. Petals absent; calyx without appendages; flowers solitary; capsules 



indehiscent 3. Peplis 



3. Flowers large (2 cm in diameter), in axillary clusters, triniorphous; 



petals usually 5; plants semi-shrubby 4. Decodon 



2. Calyx cylindrical, striate; petals 5-7, usually 6 5. Lythrum 



1. Flowers irregular and unsymmetrical; petals o\'ate, purple, unequal; plants 

 glandular-pubescent 6. Cuphea 



1. Rotala L. 



R. rarnosior (L.) Koehne. Wet ground tliroughout 111. July-Sept. 



2. Ammannia L. 

 A. coccinea Rottb. Muddy banks and shores, local; common 

 throughout 111., except the extreme nt)rthern counties. July-Aug. 



3. Peplis L. — Water-purslane 

 P. diandra Nutt. Wet ground or shallow water, rare. Jime-Aug. 

 [Ammannia nuttallii (T. & G.) A.Gray: Didiplis diandra (Nutt.) 

 Wood]. 



4. Decodon J.F.Gmel. — Swamp Loosestrife 



D. verticillatus (L. ) Ell. Swamps, not common. July-Aug. 



