418 ROSACEiE. GiLLENiA. 



pended : seeds 1-2 .• stems very shart, ctespitose, woody, imbricated vnth 

 spatulate entire exstipulate leaves : scapes, or flowering stems, sparsely 

 leafy : sjnke dense, cylindrical. — Petrophytum, Nutt. rnss. 



13. S. ceespitosa (Nutt. ! mss.) : " low, shrubby ; leaves rosulate on the 

 very short tufted branches, small, spatulatc-oblong, entire, silky-villous ; 

 those of the scape scattered and much smaller ; flowers white, in a dense 

 spike ; calyx silky-villous ; the segments ovate, acute. 



" On high slielving rocks in the Rocky Mountains, towards the sources of 

 the Platte. July. — A singular dwarf aljiine plant, with scarcely the habit of 

 Spiraea. Leaves about one-third of an inch long. Scapes 3—5 inches high ; 

 the cylindrical spikes an incli or two in length, obtuse. Bracts as long as the 

 flowers. Carpels linear, a little curved at the apex, dehiscent along the in- 

 side and 2-cleft. The taste of the plant scarcely percejnible." Nuttall. 



S. hypericifolia (Linn.) was erroneously said by Linnaeus to come from North 

 America. The plant so called by Muhlenberg in his own herbarium is a variety 

 of S. salicifolia, although we believe a specimen of the true plant, sent by Muhlen- 

 berg, exists in the herbarium of Willdenow, probably a cultivated plant. Pursh 

 has committed some error in stating S. hypericifolia to grow in dry swamps of 

 Canada and New York. 



iS. crenata (Linn.) must also be excluded from our flora. 



S. sorhifolia (Linn.) is doubtless wrongly given by Pursh as a native of the 

 North West Coast. 



6. GILLENIA. Manch, supiA. p. 286 ; Nutt. gen. 1. p. 307. 



Calyx tubular-campanulate, the orifice somewhat contracted, 5-toothed ; 

 the teeth glandular-ciliate, erect. Petals 5, linear-lanceolate, very lopg, 

 somewhat unequal, inserted in the orifice of the calyx. Stamens 10-15, 

 mostly included, 5 of them sometimes shorter. Carpels 5, distinct or at first 

 connate, follicular or 2-valved : styles filiform, terminal : stigmas subcapi- 

 tate. Seeds 2-4 from near the base of each carpel, ascending, oval ; the 

 testa rather crustaceous. — Perennial herbs, with trifoliolate stipulate sub- 

 sessile leaves : leaflets membranaceous, doubly serrate and incised, petiolu- 

 late. Flowers (rose-color) axillary and terminal, paniculate-corymbose : 

 peduncles and pedicels elongated. — Roots emetic and cathartic, also said to 

 be tonic. — Indian-physic. Boiemati's Root. 



•-'1. G. trifoliata {Mcench, \. c.) : stipules linear-setaceous, entire; leaflets 

 ovate-oblong, acuminate. — Nutt.! gen. I. c. ; DC! prodr. 2. p. 546; Dar- 

 lingt. fl. Cest.p. 300. Spirfea trifoUata, Linn. ! spec. 1. p. 489 ; Michx. ! 

 fl. 1. p. 294 ; Bot. mag. t. 489 ; Willd. ! spec. 2. p. 1063 ; Mill. ic. t. 

 252 ; Bigcl. med. bot. 3. p. 11, t. 41 ; Bart. veg. mat. med. 1. t. 5. 



Canada and Western part of NewYork ! to the upper districts of Georgia! 

 in shady woods : scarcely found west of the Alleghany Mountains. (South 

 Western part of Missouri, Dr. Engelmann.) June-July. — Stem 2-3 feet 

 high. Flowers large, nearly white. The seeds are intensely bitter to the 

 taste. 



-r" 2. G. stipulacea (Nutt.): stipules ovate, foliaceous, doubly incised; 

 leaves lanceolate, deeply incised. — Nutt.! I. c, ; Ell. ! sk. 1. p. 562; DC! 



