COMMELYNACEJE.. (SPIDERWORT FAMILY.) 497 
l. S. graminea, Willd. Stem submerged, forking, leaves thin, pellucid ; 
flowers expanding at the surface of the water; spathe convolute; lobes of the 
perianth linear, spreading. (Leptanthus, Michx.) — In flowing wate’ North Caro- 
lina, and northward. July and Aug. — Stems 1°-2° long. Leaves 3'—6/ long. 
Tube of the perianth 1}! long. 
Orver 155. COMMELYNACEZ. (Srrpxgwonr FAMILY.) 
Herbs, with chiefly fibrous roots, jointed and leafy stems, and perfect 
or somewhat polygamous often irregular flowers. — Perianth of three her- 
baceous or colored persistent sepals, and three fugacious petals. Stamens 
6, hypogynous, perfect, or a part of them sterile: anthers 2-celled, often 
of two forms. Styles single: stigma entire. Ovary free from the peri- 
anth, 2—3-celled, with 1—several orthotropous ovules in each cell. Cap- 
sule loculicidally 2—3-valved, 1—several-seeded. Embryo pulley-shaped, 
placed in a cavity of the albumen opposite the hilum. — Plants somewhat 
succulent. Stems often branching. Sheaths of the leaves entire or open. 
1 COMMELYNA, Dil. DAY-FLOWER. 
Flowers irregular. Sepals mostly colored. Petals fugacious, NN em 
kidney-shaped and long-clawed, the other smaller. Stamens unequal, three of 
them fertile, the others with 4-lobed sterile anthers: filaments beardless. Cap- 
sule 1 — 3-celled, the cells 1 - 2.seeded, or one of them frequently empty. — Stems 
branching. Leaves flat, oblong, or lanceolate, on sheathing petioles; the floral . 
ones cordate and spathe-like, folded, and enclosing the few-flowered peduncle. 
Flowers blue. 
1. C. communis, L.? Stem smooth, filiform, and creeping ; leaves short 
(1'- 2' long), ovate-lanceolate, obtuse; sheaths fringed at the throat; spathes 
nearly crescent-shaped, obtuse at the base, lateral and terminal; peduncles by 
pairs; one of them bearing 3-4 small fertile flowers, which are included in the 
spathe ; the other long-exserted, filiform, 1-flowered ; odd petal lanceolate, sessile ; 
seeds reticulated. — Low grounds, Georgia to North Carolina. July - Sept. Go? 
— Stem 1? - 2? long. 
2. C. Virginica, L. Pubescent; stem erect; sheaths hairy ; leaves (4'- 
6' long) oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, thin, rough above ; spathe (when opened) 
round ovate, contracted at the base; sterile peduncle included; petals large, the 
odd one lanceolate ; capsule 2 - 3-sceded. (C. erecta, Ell.) — Varies (C. angus- 
tifolia, Michr.) with the stems smooth, ascending ; leaves narrowly lanceolate, 
rather rigid, and, like the sheath, nearly smooth; flowers smaller, seeds pulveru- 
lent. — Light or sandy soil, Florida, and northward. May- Sept. Y —Stem 
1?- 2° high. The spathes contain a viscid secretion until the seeds mature. - 
..3. C. erecta, L. Stem stout, erect; leaves (3 5' long) lanc 
ligni, Ee o MEC iR 
