Am?nannia LYTHRACEAE Lagerstroemia 



fr. a many-seeded capsule. 23 genera with 475 species, mostly tropical, but a few 

 in temperate regions; 6 genera and 17 species in China. 



Key to the Genera 



Plants herbaceous: brs. quadrangular. 



Fls. minute; hypanthium membranous; calyx lobes not appendaged. . . 1. Ammannia 

 Fls. large; hypanthium coriaceous; calyx lobes with many appendages 2. Lythrum 



Trees or shrubs: fls. 6-merous; petals clawed; limbs often fringed: seeds 



winged 3 . Lagerstroemia 



1. Ammannia Linn. ?K%MM (Shui Hsien Ts'ai Shu) 



Slender erect branched glabrous annuals with 4-angled stems and narrow decus- 

 sate lvs., growing in wet places: fls. small, in dense axillary clusters, 4-parted; 

 hypanthium rnembranous, becoming globose after fig.; calyx not striate, ivithout 

 appendages; petals sometimes wanting; stamens 2-8: capsule membranous, dehiscing 

 irregularly. 20 species, chiefly in the tropics of Africa and Asia; 6 in China. (For 

 Paul Ammann, 1634-1691, a German botanist before Linnaeus.) 



Key to the Species 



Lvs. broad and auricled at base, 3-8 cm. long: style longer than the ovary: 



capsule 2.5-3 mm. in diam 1. A. auriculata 



Lvs. tapering to a narrow base: style shorter than the ovary. 



Capsule about 2 mm. in diam.: lvs. 1-7 cm. long 2. A. baccifera 



Capsule about 1.5 mm. in diam.: lvs. 0.5-2.5 cm. long 3. A. multiflora 



1. Ammannia auriculata Willd. ^i]i% (Erh Shui Hsien; Ear-like Water Amaranth 

 (G.M. 1046). Erect robust herb, to 6dm.; fls. purple, IX; fr. X. America, Asia,) 

 Africa; locally in Hup., Ku. Wet fields. 



2. Ammannia baccifera Linn. (M.F. 343). Erect slender herb, to 8dm.; fls. IX; 

 fr. X. Old World tropics; locally in Hup., Ki. Wet fields. 



3. Ammannia multiflora Roxb. (H.F. 2:570). Brg. herb, to 3dm.; fls. IX; fr. X. 

 Persia to Australia; locally in Ku. Wet fields. 



2. Lythrum Linn. Loosestrife ^f-fgjgg (Ch'ien Ch'ii Ts'ai Shu) 



Herbs with 4-angled stems and large di- or trimorphous fls. ; hypanthium coriace- 

 ous, cylindrical, 8-12-ribbed; calyx 4-6-lobed, ivitli appendages in the sinuses; petals 

 4-6, or 0; stamens 4-12; ovary 2-celled: the dehiscent capsule enclosed by the hypan- 

 thium. 24 species, widely distributed; 2 in China. (Greek: lythron, blood, referring 

 to the color of the flowers or perhaps to the styptic quality of some of the species.) 



1. Lythrum salicaria Linn. Spiked Loosestrife ^p/SH (Ch'ien Ch'ii Ts'ai; All- 

 bending Herb) (G.M. 1048). Erect herb, to lm.; fls. purple-red, VII-X. Eurasia; 

 locally in An., Che., Hup., Ku. Wet meadows. Fig. 255. 



3. Lagerstroemia Linn. %fi% (Tzu Wei Shu) 



Trees or shrubs with opposite (or the upper alternate) lvs.: fls. large and showy t 



regular, in axillary or terminal panicles, perfect, on bracted pedicels; hypanthium 



funnel-shaped or hemispherical, often ridged or winged; calyx lobes 6-9; petals usually 



6, with long slender claw and crisped or fringed blade; stamens numerous, with long 



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