Platystemon. PAPAVERACE^. 6S 



10. PLATYSTIGMA. Benth. inhort. trans. I. c. p. 407; Ilvok.ic. t. 38. 



Sepals 2-3, pilose. Petals 4-6. Stamens numerous : filaments filiform 

 {Benth. Hook.) [dilated and membranaceous, acute at the apex] : anthers 

 linear. Stigmas 3, sessile, oval, somewhat spreading. Capsule ovoid-ob- 

 long, attenuate at the base, 3-valved ; valves dehiscing from the apex to the 

 base: placenta; filiform. Seeds smooth and shining (roundish kidney-shap- 

 ed. Hook.). — A small ca;spitose annual herb, with the stem abbreviated or 

 almost none, and mostly radical and crowded, linear, entire, glabrous or 

 slightly hairy leaves. Peduncles radical or nearly so, numerous, slender. 1- 

 flowered, clothed with spreading hairs. Flowers pale yellow, nodding before 

 expansion. 



P. lineare (Benth. ! 1. c.) — Hook. ! ic. I. c. ; Fisch. ^ Meyer, ind.sem. St. 

 Petersb. {Dec. 1835) p. 47; Lindl. bot. reg. i. 1954. 



Monterey, California, Douglas .'--Scapes a span high. Flowers nearly 

 as large as in Ranunculus acris : petals obovate. — There is a genus Platy- 

 stigma of R. Brown: but we have not the means of ascertaining Avhich has 

 the priority. — The filaments in our specimen are manifestly dilated, and li- 

 near-oblong or lanceolate instead of filiform. The same thing is remarked by 

 Fischer &. Meyer, who examined the living plant raised from seeds sent 

 from the Russian settlement in California. The 3 outer petals, according to 

 these botanists, are golden yellow with a transverse white band ; the inner 

 ones white with pale yellow claws. 



2. Papaverace(2 Ranunculincoi. 



11. PLATYSTEMON. Benth. in hort. trans. I. c. p. 405. 



Sepals 3, pilose. Petals 6. Stamens numerous: filaments dilated, mem- 

 branaceous, oblong or obcordate : anthers linear. Ovaries 10-14, distinct ! 

 oblong-linear, cro-wned with a linear sessile stigma. Fruit consisting of 10- 

 14 distinct, linear, indehiscent, torulose carpels, which are articulated or 

 transversely strangulated between each seed. — A small pale-green annual 

 herb(destituteof colored juice, Mi^^.), sparsely clothed with shaggy spreading 

 hairs. Leaves half-clasping, oblong-linear, obtuse, entire, alternate, often 

 crowded so as to appear opposite or whorled at the origin of the branches 

 and peduncles, 3-5-nerved. Peduncles axillary, elongated, 1-flowered. 

 Flower ochroleucous. 



P. Californicum (Benth. ! I. c.)— Lindl. bot. reg. t. 1679 ; Don, in Brit. 

 fl. gard. {ser. 2.) t. 394 ; Hook. bot. mag. t. 3579. 



a. Stem somewhat elongated, nearly glabrous; leaves linear-oblong, very 

 obtuse; carpels pilose-hispid. 



p. lineare: stem abbreviated ; leaves narrowly linear, 1-3-nerved. 



y. leiocarpitm: carpels glabrous. — P. leiocarpum, Fisch. ^ Meyer, ind. 

 sem. St. Petersb. (Dec. 1835) p. 47. 



California, Z>oi«g-/as .' Nuttall! — Plant 8-12 inches high. Leaves 1-2 

 inches long, with scattering hairs on the nerves and margins. Flower 10-12 

 lines in diameter when expanded : petals obovate. sometimes orange-velloAV 



9 



