Veratrum. CLV. MELANTHACEiE. 557 



ments unguiculato, with 2 glands at base, the claws bearing the sta- 

 mens ; ovary often abortive ; capsule exsertcd, subovoid, summit tri- 

 fid and tipped with the 3 persistent styles ; seeds margined. — »SV. 

 crcd, pubcruIc/U abucc. Lvs. alternate^ nariuw. Fanidc Icrminal. 



1. M. ViRGiNicuM. (Leimanthiuin. Willd. Veratrum. Ail. Helonias.) 

 Lvs. linear-lanceolate ; panir/c pyramidal ; scirmenta of the pcnnnlh sul)- 



orbicular, hastate or auriculale at biisc. — Native ol' wet meadows and margins 

 of swamps, N. Y. to Flor. Stem 3 — If high, lealy. Leaves about a loot long, 

 and an ineh wide, sessile on a contracted and subclasping base. Flowers green- 

 ish-yellow, becoming brown, on short pedicels, arranged in simple, alternate 

 lacemes, and together constituting a pyramidal panicle 10 — 15' in length. 

 Lower Uowers generally sterile. July, Aug. 



2. M. nvDRiDUM. Walt. (Leimanthium. Rocm. tf« Sch.) 



Lvs. long-linear-lanceolate, upper ones lew and i^hort ; pnmde long, of 

 simple racemes, pedicels filiiorm, much longer than the flowers; segments of the 

 perianl/i narrowly unguiculate, roundish-rhomboidal ; glands connivent ; claws 

 channeled, stameniferous below the middle. — Woods, Penn. to Ga. ! Stem 2 — 

 4f high, somewhat leafy. Leaves varying from lanceolate-linear to lanceolate, 

 the lowest contracted to the base or subpetiolate, shorter than the stem. Perianth 

 very open, yellowish-green, segments acuminate, the long claws adhering to 

 and involving the filaments. June, July. 



/?. robustior. Gray. Lower lvs. lanceolate-oval; lower branches paniculate, 

 compound. 



3. VERATRUM. 



Lat. vcre, atrum, truly black ; alludiiif? to the dark color of the flowers or root. 



Flowers by abortion d^$ 9; segments of the perianth united at 

 base, petaloid, spreading, sessile and without glands ; sta. 6. shorter 

 than the perianth and inserted on its base ; ovaries 3, united at base, 

 often abortive ; styles short ; capsule 3-lobed, 3-partible, 00-seeded. 

 — Lvs. altcniatc, broad aiul plicate.^ or narrow and grass-like. Fls. 

 jmniculate. 



1. V. viRiDE. (V. album. Michx.) Poke. White Hellebore. 



Lvs. broad-oval, acuminate ; panicle compound, racemose ; bracts oblong- 

 lanceolate, bracteoles longer than the downy pedicels. — Can. to Ga. — A large- 

 leaved, coarse-looking plant, of our meadows and s\vamps. Root large, fleshy, 

 with numerous long fibres. Stem 2 — 4f high, striate and pubescent. Leaves 

 strongly veined and plaited, the lowest near a foot long and half as wide, 

 sheathing at the base. Flowers numerous, green, in many axillary (or bracted) 

 racemes, which together form a very large, pyramidal, terminal panicle. July. 

 The root is emetic and stimulant, but poisonous, and should be used with cau- 

 tion. When powdered it causes violent sneezing. 



2. V. WooDii. Robbins. (Nov. sp.) Indiana Veratrum. 



Lvs. mostly radical, lanceolate and linear-lanceolate, glabrous, veined and 

 plicate, acute, tapering to a long, winged, sheathing petiole ; st. or scape terete, 

 tall, erect, with remote, lance-linear bracts; panicle simple, slender, pyramidal, 

 many-flowered ; y?.s-, J^ $, subsessile ; segments of perianth oblanccolate, dark 

 brownish-purple within.— Woods, Linton, Green Co., la. ! Root fasciculate. 

 Leaves 10 — IG' long (including the 4 — 8' petiole), 2 — 4' wide. Bracts 1 — 3' 

 long. Scape 3 — Gf liigh, paniculate ^ its length. Flowers f diam., nearly 

 black, Avith red stamens, upper and lower sterile. Ovary oblong, crowned with 

 3 spreading styles half its length. Seeds compressed, winged with the broad, 

 loose, membranous testa. July. 



3. V. ANGusTiFOf.iuM. Punsh, Grass-leaved Veratrum. 



Lvs. narrowly linear, flat, very long, lowest obtuse, upper ones diminish- 

 ing to subulate bracts; fls. in a slender panicle of racemes, tho.sc of the termi- 

 nal raceme (except a few of the highest) perfect and fertile, those of the lateral 

 racemes mostly sterile ; segments narrowly lanceolate, subulate, acuminate. — A 



