JEFFERSONIA 



Stamens. — Eight, shorter than the petals, opposite 

 them; anthers cxtrorse. 



Pistil. — One; ovary one-celled; stigma peltate. 



Fruit. — Capsule obovoid, opening with a lid, called a 

 pyxis; seeds many, crowded. 



Jeffersonia is a 

 smooth, perennial 

 herb with matted 

 fibrous roots, long- 

 pet io led root-leaves 

 that are parted into 

 two half-ovate leaflets, 

 and bears in early 

 April white flowers 

 very similar to those 

 of Bloodroot. It is a 

 plant of the Middle 

 West, is not reported 

 east of the Hudson 

 valley and is to be 

 looked for on calcare- 

 ous soil ; consequently 

 it is not very well 

 known, nor is it in its 

 habitat very abun- 

 dant, though it is not , 

 rare. 



Its botanical name 

 is in honor of Thomas 



Jeft'erson, but its common name, Twinleaf, is due to 

 the fact that the leaf is parted into two similar leaflets. 

 From its supposed medicinal qualities it is sometimes 

 called Rheumatism-Root. The fruit of Jeffersonia is 



89 



XWII 



inleaf. Jeffersonia diphylla 

 After Gray's "Genera Planta; Americae" 



