ELATINACE^. 69 ELATINE. 



2. CLAYTO'NIA. 



Calyx of 2 sepals ; corolla of 5, emarginate, obcordate pe- 

 tals; stamens 5, inserted on the claws of the petals; stigma 

 3-cleft; capsule 3-valved, 2 — Sseeded. 



In memory of John Clayton, a botanist of Virginia. Small, fleshy, delicate, 

 early-iowering plants. 



1. C. Carolinia'na. 



Leaves ovate-lanceolate ; sepals and petals obtuse ; root tuberous. A pretty 

 little plant, flowering in April, common among the rocky hills of N. England. 

 Root a compressed, brown tubercle, buried at a depth in the ground equal to 

 the heioht of the plant. Root-leaves very few if any, spathulale. Stem weak, 

 2—3 inches higli, with a pair of opposite leaves half-way up, which are ob- 

 long-ovate, entire, obtuse, tapering at base into the petiole. Flowers in a 

 terminal cluster, white, with a slight tinge of red, and beautifully penciled 

 with purple lines. Apr. May. Per. Spring beauty. 



2. C. Virgi'nica. 



Leaves linear-lanceolate ; petals obovate, mostly emarginate or retuse ; sepals 

 rather acute ; pedicels slender, nodding. Habits similar to the last, but less 

 common in the Northern States. Tubercle or cormus as large as a hazel-nut, 

 deep in the ground. Stem a few inches high, weak, with a pair of opposite, 

 very narrow leaves. Flowers 5 — 10, rose-colored, with deeper colored veins, 

 in a terminal raceme. Apr. May. Per. Virginian Spring Beautij. 



ORDER XXVI. ELATINACE^. The Water-pepper Tribe. 



Cal. — Sepals 2 — 5, distinct or slightly coherent at the base, persistent. 

 Cor. — Petals hypog^nons, as many as the sepals. 



Sta. — Equal m number to, or twice as many as the petals. Anthers introrse. 

 Ova. — i — 5-celled. Styles '2 — 5. Stigmas capitate ; placentce in the axis. 

 Fr. — Capsular. Seeds numerous. 



A very small order of annual marsh plants, found in every part of tlie globe, and having 

 no known peculiar properties. The only known Northern genus is the Elatine of Linnaeus, 

 the Crj'pta of Nuttall or the Peplis of Pursh. 



ELA'TINE. 



Stigmas sessile, minute. 



Gr iXarr), fir; the fine, slender leaves of some of the species have been 

 compared to those of the fir-tree. 



E. AmeRICA'NA. L. Cypta minima. JV. Peplys Americana. P. 



Stevi diffuse, procumbent, striate, rooting from the joints, with assurgent 

 branches; leaves cuneate-oval or obovate, obtuse, entire; stales 0; sepals, 

 petals, stamens and stigmas 2 or 3, as well as the cells and valves of the cap- 

 sule ; stipules very minute. A small mud plant, on the borders of ponds and 

 rivers. Flowers axillary, sessile, solitary. Corolla minute, closed. Jl. — Sept. 



Mud Purslane. 



