174 GENTIAN FAMILY 



Gelsemium sempervirens. Flowers yellow, 5-lobed, 1 in. 

 long or more, from leaf-axils. Stamens 5. Twining woody 

 vine. Leaves entire, pointed, broadest near base, 1-3 in. long. 

 Thickets and woods. Blooming from midwinter to spring. 

 Fla. to Va. and Texas. 



Polypremum procumbens. A homely weed forming bristly 

 mats a few inches high of many stiff, 4-angled, branching 

 stems. Leaves opposite, narrow, pointed. Flowers minute, 

 white, 4-lobed. Plants become reddish brown in autumn. 

 Dry soil. Blooming in spring and summer. Fla. to Texas, 

 Mo., and Pa. 



GENTIAN FAMILY (Gentmnaceae) 



Herbaceous plants. Leaves opposite. Flowers pink, white, or 

 blue, 4-12-lobed. Fruit a capsule. 



Marsh Pink. Sabbatia. Sea Star (Genus Sdbhatia) 



This beautiful genus is found only in North America, 

 but in no other part of the United States do the starry- 

 flowers bloom throughout the year, as they do in Florida. 

 At home in marshy meadows, on sandy lake shores, and 

 in pinelands, they blossom even in midwinter, though far 

 less abundantly than in summer, when acres upon acres 

 of low grounds are bright with the flowers. 



The white sabbatias are most often found in pinelands ; 

 the pink ones grow in sandy marshes and in the borders 

 of swamps. 



Sabbatia grandiflora. Flowers pink, wheel-shaped, nearly 

 2 in. across, with green and yellow center. Calyx and corolla 

 usually 5-parted, corolla lobes oval or elliptic, stamens as 

 many as lobes. Plants 2-4 ft. tall, slender, branched. Leaves 

 on stems very narrow, 1-3 in. long. Low grounds. Blooming 

 chiefly in spring and summer. Fla. 



Sabbatia campanulata. Flowers pink or rose, slightly more 

 than 1 in. across, lobes oblong. Stems 1-2 ft. tall. Leaves 

 oblong or linear, about 1 in. long. Low grounds. Fla. to 

 Mass. and La. 



