Menyanthes. C. GENTIANACE^. 455 



single large, terminal, blue flower. Jn. — I understand that this interesting plant 

 has been rediscovered on the White Mts. by Mr. Abel Storrs. 



9. FRASERA. Walter. 



In honor of John Fraser, an American cullivator of exotics. 



Flowers mostly tetramerous ; petals united at base, oval, spread- 

 ing, deciduous, each with 1 or 2 bearded, orbicular glands in the mid- 

 dle ; style 1 ; stigmas 2, distinct ; capsule compressed, 1 -celled ; seeds 

 few, imbricate, large, elliptic, margined. — % Shoioy and tall, tvith oppo- 

 site or verticillate leaves. 



F. Carolinensis. Walt. (F. Walteri. Mx. and 1st edit.) Coluvibo. 

 St. tall, erect, glabrous, bi-anched above; lis. verticillate, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, acutish, sessile, feather-veined, entire or wavy ; panicle compound, pyra- 

 midal, leafy, verticillate ; cat. segments acute, shorter than the oblong, obtusish 

 petals; gland solitary, oval-orbicular. — A tall and showy plant, in moLst woods, 

 Western N. Y. to Car. W. to Ohio! la. ! Ky., 111. Stem dark purple, 4— 7— 9f! 

 high, perfectly straight, 1 -2' thick at base. Leaves smooth, subcarnose, 3 — 12' 

 by 1 — 3', in whorls of 4 — 6, rarely opposite. Branches of .the panicle also 

 whorl ed, spreading-erect. Flowere tetramerous, 1^' diam. Petals, greenish 

 with blue dots and a large purple gland near the base. June, July. — Highly 

 valued as a tonic. 



Tribe 2. MEXYANTHE.E.— iEstivationof thecorollainduplicate. Aquatic 

 or marsh herbs. Sheaths of the leaves alternate. 



10. LIMNANTHEMUM. Gmel. 

 Gr. ^ijivn, a lake, avSros, a flower; from its aquatic habitat. 



Calyx 5-parted ; corolla subcampanulate, with a short tube and 

 spreading, 5-lobed limb, deciduous, segments obtuse ; stamens 5, alter- 

 nating with 5 glands ; capsule 1 -celled, without valves ; placentae 

 fleshy, many-seeded. — % submersed.^ generally in stagnant water. Lvs. 

 Jloating^ on long j^etioles. 



L. LACUNosA. Gmel. (Villarsia. PL V. trachysperma. Mc.) Lake-fiower. 



Floating; lis. reniform, subpeltate, scabrous above, spongy and lacunose 

 beneath; fis. umbellate, from the summit of the stem (petiole 1) ; car. smooth; 

 glands from the base of the petals, stipitate ; cat. shorter than the capsule ; seeds 

 muricate. — A curious aquatic, in ponds and lakes, N. Y. ! to Car. The stems 

 are 1, 2 or 3f long, according to the depth of the water, bearing at the top three 

 kinds of organs ; the summit is prolonged into a petiole bearing a leaf about an 

 inch in diameter, resembling that of Nymphcea ; on the upper side is an umbel 

 of small wh ite flowers, blossoming successively at the smlace of the water, and 

 beneath, a cluster of short, simple, tuberous radicles, each of which is capable 

 of producing a new plant. July. 



11. MENYANTHES. Tourn. 

 Gr. lilvTj, a month; avSroi ; in alkision to its supposed properties as an emenasfogue. 



Calyx 5-parted ; corolla funnel-form, limb spreading, 5-lobed, vil- 

 lous within ; stamens 5 ; style 1; stigma bifid ; capsule 1 -celled. 



M. TRiFOLiATA. Buck Bean. 



Lrvs. trifoliate. — Grows in swamps, margins of ponds, &c., N. Am. N. of 

 latitude 38°. This fine plant arises from large, black roots descending deep 

 into the boggy earth. Stem 8 — 12' high, roimd. Leaves on long, round foot- 

 stalks .stipuled at base. Leaflets obovate. Peduncle long, naked, terminal, 

 bearing a pyramidal raceme of flesh-colored flowers. Pedicels thick, bracte-te 

 at base. Sepals obtuse, about a third as long as the corolla. Petals ac 

 about as long as the stamens, remarkably and beautifully distinguished b 

 soft, fringe-like hairs at the base and in the throat of the tube. Bitter ' 

 actively medicinal, sometimes substituted for hops. May. 

 39 



