376 



MELAXTHACEAE 



4. Zygadenus paniculatus (Nutt.) 

 S. Wats. 

 Panicled Zygadene. 



Fig. 919. 



Hcionias paniculatus Nutt. Journ. Acad. Philad. 7: 57. 



1834. 

 Zyyadenus paniculatus S. Wats. King Expl. 344. 1871. 

 To.vlcoscordioii paniculatum Rvdb. Bidl. Torrey Club 



30: 171. 1903. 



Plants Z-7 dm. tall, rather stout; bulb 

 ovoid, about 4 cm. long. Basal leaves 3-5 

 dm. long, 8-12 mm. wide, the cauline sheath- 

 ing at base ; inflorescence rather a dense 

 panicle, often 15 cm. long, the lower branches 

 elongated, the others shorter and bearing 

 several closely crowded flowers ; bracts lax 

 and scarious ; perianth-segments 4 mm. long, 

 acute or acuminate, deltoid, the sepals sessile, 

 the petals subcordate and distinctly clawed; 

 stamens exceeding the perianth-segments ; 

 anthers slightly over 1 mm. long ; capsule 

 ellipsoidal, 1 cm. long ; seeds 4-5 mm. long. 



Open grassy places or rocky slopes, mainly Transi- 

 tion Zone; Great Basin region, ranging from eastern 

 \\'ashington- to Modoc County, California, eastward to 

 Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. 



5. Zygadenus micranthus Eastw. 

 Small-flowered Zygadene. Fig. 920. 



Zygadenus micrantlius Eastw. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 483. 1903. 

 Toxicoscordion micranthum Heller, Muhlenbergia 6: S3. 1910. 



Plants slender, 1-5 dm. tall, scabrous ; bulbs ovoid, 

 15 mm. thick. Basal leaves two-thirds to nearly as 

 long as the stem, falcate, 4-7 mm. wide, scabrous ; 

 inflorescence a simple raceme or with a few branches 

 at base, 10-25 cm. long ; bracts long-attenuate ; pedi- 

 cels widely spreading and rigid, becoming 3-5 cm. 

 long; perianth-segments 4-5 mm. long, the sepals 

 ovate, obtuse, sessile, the petals oblong, narrowed at 

 base to a short claw ; gland toothed on the upper 

 margin ; stamens scarcely equalling the perianth-seg- 

 ments ; anthers 1.5 mm. long; capsule becoming 12 

 mm. long, slightly narrowed at the apex ; seeds 4.5 

 mm. long. 



Wooded slopes in dry situations, Upper Sonoran and Transi- 

 tion Zones; Siskiyou Mountains, southern Oregon, through the 

 Coast Ranges east of the fog belt to Mendocino County, Cali- 

 fornia. Type locality: road between Cahto and the Eel River, 

 Mendocino Countv, California. 



6. Zygadenus brevibracteatus (Jones) Hall. 

 Desert Zygadene. Fig. 921. 



Zvgadeiiiis frenionti brevibracteatus M. E. Tones, Contr. West. 



Bot. 12: 78. 1908. 

 Zygadenus brevibracteatus Hall, Univ. Calif. Pub. Bot. 6: 



165. 1915. 



Plants erect, 4-6 dm. tall, glabrous ; bulbs ovoid, 

 2-2.5 cm. thick. Basal leaves 15-20 cm. long, 6-8 

 nun. wide, scabrous only on the margins ; cauline 

 leaves not sheathing at base ; bracts scarious, 5 mm. 

 long, abruptly short-acuminate ; inflorescence a 

 simple or compound open raceme, 10-25 cm. long; 

 pedicles horizontally spreading, rigid, 1-3 cm. long; 

 perianth-segments 7 mm. long, the sepals broadly 

 elliptic, narrowed to a very short claw, the petals 

 narrowly elliptic, narrowed to a distinct claw; sta- 

 mens 5 mm. long; capsule oblong, 15 mm. long. 



Gravelly or rocky situations. Lower Sonoran Zone; Mojave 

 and Colorado Deserts, southern California. Type locality: 

 Victor, California, on the Mojave Desert, altitude about 800 

 meters. 



