156 HYPERICACEiE. Ascyrdm. 



The so-called albumen of Sarothra is more properly only the thickened inner 

 tegument of the seed, which readily separates from the testa in all the species we 

 have examined, and is more or less fleshy in several. 



Tribe I. HYPERICE^. Chois. 



Fruit capsular. Seeds terete or roundish. — Herbs, or shrubby 

 plants. Leaves mostly sessile. 



1. ASCYRUM. Linn.; Chois. prodr. Hyper., <^ in DC. prodr. 1. p. 55. 



Sepals 4; the 2 exterior usually broad and foliaceous; the inner much 

 smaller. Petals 4. Filaments slightly united at the base into several par- 

 cels. Styles 2-3 (rarely 4), sometimes united. Capsule 1-celled, 2-3 valved : 

 placentEe parietal. — Shrubby or suffruticose plants. Leaves sprinkled with 

 black dots. Flowers 1-3 at the summit of the branches, yellow : a pair of 

 opposite subulate bracteoles a little below each flower. 



' 1. A. Crux- Andr ecu (Linn.) : stem much branched at the base, assurgent ; 

 leaves obovate-oblong or linear-oblong, obtuse ; flowers cymulose or solitary, 

 on short pedicels ; exterior sepals ovate ; the inner ones very minute ; petals 

 linear-oblong; styles 2, at length distinct. — Pursh, ji. 2. p. 373; Ell. sk. 2. 

 p. 22 ; DC. prodr. 1. p. 555. A. multicaule, Michx.Jl. 2. p. 77. 



0. angustifoUa (Nutt.): leaves oblong-linear, crowded; exterior sepals 

 elliptical-ovate, acute. Nutt. gen. 2. p. 16. 



Sandy pine woods. New Jersey ! to Florida ! and Louisiana! P. Caroli-- 

 na Nuttall! July. — Stem 8-12 inches high (in the southern plant taller, 

 ' 2-3 feet', Elliott), distinctly ancipital above. Leaves variable in width, 

 usually obovate-oblong and about J of an inch in length, crowded ; the lower 

 ones in robust specimens H inch long. Flowers usually in threes : pedicles 2-3 

 lines long : bracteoles very close to the flower, alternating with the exterior 

 sepals. Inner sepals scarce a line long, petaloid. Petals pale yellow, approx- 

 imated by pairs opposite the exterior sepals, and a httle exceeding them in 

 lensth. Stamens about 20, half as long as the corolla. Styles erect, very 

 short. Capsule ovate-oblong, compressed, 2-valved. Seeds roundish-ob- 

 lonp-, attached to slightly prominent parietal placentae. The placentae coa- 

 lesc'e at the base into a spongy body, which fills up the lower part of the cap- 

 sule, enclosing a number of perfect seeds. 



2. A. pumilum- (M.\c\iyi.) : very low ; leaves small, oval, obtuse ; pedicels 

 long, reilexed ; styles 2, united or distinct. Mirhx. fi. 2. p. 11 ; Ell. sk. 2. 

 p. 2 i ; DC. prodr. 1. p. 555. A. pauciflorum, Nutt. gen. 2. p. 15; DC. I. c. 



Dry pine barrens, Cxeorgia, Michaux, Elliott, (^ Nuttall. March- April. — 

 Stem somewhat woody, slightly winged, 6-10 inches long. Leaves linear- 

 oblong. Flowers solitary. Peduncles i-1 inch long. Exterior sepals ovate, 

 somewhat acute. Petals obovate, a little longer than the calyx. Filaments 

 not distinctly polyadelphous. Styles united. Capsule ovate. Elliott. 

 Style unusually long. Nuttall. — Among our numerous specimens of Ascy- 

 rum from the Southern States, there is not one that agrees in all respects 

 with either Michaux's or Elliott's description of this plant. In many respects 

 it seems closely allied to the preceding species, especially with the dwarf 

 form of the plant so common in New Jersey ; but in that the peduncles are 

 never long and reflexed. 



