Menyanthes. C. GENTIANACEiE. 455 



single large, terminal, blue flower. Jn.— I understand that this interesting plant 

 has been rediscovered on the White Mts. by Mr. Abel Starrs. 



9. FRASfiRA. Walter. 



In honor of John Fraser, an American cultivator of exotics. 



Flowers mostly tetramerous ; petals united at base, oval, spread- 

 ing, deciduous, each with 1 or 2 bearded, orbicular glands in the mid- 

 dle ; style 1 ; stigmas 2, distinct ; capsule compressed, 1 -celled ; seeds 

 few, imbricate, large, elliptic, margined. — % Showy and tall., with oppo- 

 site or verticillate leaves. 



F. Carolinexsis. Walt. (F. Walteri. Mx. and \st edit.) Colutriio. 



S'. tall, erect, glabrous, branched above; lis. verticillate, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, acutish, sessile, feather- veined, entire or wav)^; panicle compound, p}Ta- 

 midal, leaty, veriicillate ; cal. segments acute, shorter than the oblong, obtusish 

 petals; gland solitarv, oval-orbicular. — A tall and showy plant, in moist woods, 

 W estern N. Y. to Car. W. to Ohio ! la. ! Ky., 111. Stem dark purple, 4— 7— 9f! 

 high, perfectly straight, I -2' thick at base. Leaves smooth, subcarnose, 3 — 12' 

 by 1 — 3', in whorls of 4 — 6, rarely opposite. Branches of the panicle also 

 whorled, spreading-erect. Flowers tetramerous, 1^' diam. Petals greenish 

 with blue dots and a large purple gland near the base. Jime, July. — Hignly 

 valued as a tonic. 



Tribe 2. 3IEXYA]VTHE^.—iEstivation of the corolla induplicate. Aquatic 



or marsh herbs. Sheaths of the leaves alternate. 



10. LIMNANTHfiMUM. Gmel. 



Gr. Xifivn, a lake, ap^os, a flower; from its aquatic habitat 



Calyx 5-parted ; corolla subcampanulate, with a short tube and 

 spreading, 5-lobed limb, deciduous, segments obtuse ; stamens 5, alter- 

 nating with 5 glands; capsule I-celled, without valves; placentae 

 fleshy, many-seeded. — % submersed, geiierally hi stagnant water. Lvs. 

 floating, on long petioles. 



L. LACUN-osA. Gmel. (Villarsia. Ph. V. trachysperma. Mx.) Lake-flower. 



Floating; Us. reniibrm, subpeltate, scabrous above, spongv and lacunose 

 beneath; fls. umbellate, from the summit of the .stem (petiole V) ; arr. smooth; 

 glands fro'm the base of the petals, stipitato ; cal. shorter than the capsule; seeds 

 muricate. — A curious aquatic, \\\ ponds and lakes, N. Y. ! to Car. The stems 

 are 1, 2 or 3f long, according to the depth of the water, bearing at the top three 

 kinds of organs ; the summit is prolonged into a petiole bearing a leaf about an 

 inch in diameter, resembling that of Nymphaea; on the upper side is an umbel 

 of small white flowers, blossoming successively at the surface of the water, and 

 beneath, a cluster of short, simple, tuberous radicles, each of which is capable 

 of producing a new plant. July. 



II. MENYANTHES. Tourn. 



Gr. finvn- a month ; av^og ; in allusion to it.s supposed properties as an emenairo^e. 



Calyx 5-partcd ; corolla funnel-form, limb spreading, 5-lobed, vil- 

 lous within ; stamens 5 ; style 1 ; stigma biUd ; capsule 1 -celled. 

 M. TRiFOMATA. Biic/c Bcau. 



Lvs. trifoliate.— Grows in swamps, marcrins of ponds, &c., N. Am. N. of 

 latitude 38°. This flne plant arises from large, black root.s descending deep 

 into the boggy earth. Stem 8—12' high, roimd. Leaves on long, round foot- 

 stalks stipuled at base. Leaflets obovate. Peduncle Ions,', naked, terminal, 

 bearing a pyramidal raceme of flesh-colored flowers. Pedicels thick, bracteate 

 at base. Sepals obtuse, about a third as long as the corolla. Petals acute, 

 about as long as the stamens, remarkablv and beautifully distinguished by the 

 solt, fringe-like hairs at the base and in the Vhroat of the tube. Bitter herbs, 

 activelv medicinal, sometimes substituted for hops. Mav 

 39 



