282 PAPAVERACEiE. 



and subdivided foliage, besides an abundant sliort-setose pubescence 

 under the armature. 



3. PLATYSTEMON, Benlham. Annual glaucescent glabrous or hir- 

 sute herbs, with entire leaves ; the cauline opposite or verticillate. 

 Flowers rather small, white or cream-colored, on slender peduncles. 

 Sepals 3, caducous. Petals 6. Stamens 6 — oo ; filaments filiform or 

 flattened; anthers oblong to linear. Carpels 3 — oo , in maturity variously 

 more or less united, or quite distinct. Seeds smooth and shining. — As 

 here received this is a good genus as to agreement of the species in habit 

 and floral characters; but the gynoecium is extremely different in the 

 different species, and even within the limits of the same species; so that 

 no constant characters for these genera are found; and Meconella has 

 better claims to generic rank than PlatysHgma. 



* Carpels 6 — S5, iorulose, jointed between the seeds, usually distinct, hut 



not rarely coherent andforming a central seed-hearing cavity which 

 is open at top; stigmas linear. — Platystemon proper. 



1. P. Californicus, Benth. Trans. Hort. Soc. n. ser. i. 405 (1834); 

 Lindl. Bot. Reg. t. 1679; Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3579. Branching from the 

 base, 6 — 12 in. high, sparingly hirsute: lowest leaves alternate; cauline 

 opposite, all linear, entire, 2 — 4 in. long, sessile or clasping, obtuse: 

 flower-buds ovoid; sepals hirsute : petals Jg in. long or more, pale yellow 

 with a deep greenish-yellow spot at base, sometimes reddish-tinged on 

 the outside; stamens oo ; filaments flattened and ligulate: torulose 

 carpels breaking transversely into 1-seeded indehiscent joints. Var. 

 criuitus. P. crinitus, Greene, Pitt. ii. 13 (1889). Less branching, nearly 

 acaulescent, the whole plant even to the calyx densely crinite-hirsute: 

 flower-buds globose: petals of a deep greenish yellow almost throughout: 

 torulose pods very short, scarcely longer than the stigmas. — Throughout 

 the western parts of the State, and extremely variable as to size, color 

 and duration of the petals, and as to fruit-structure. Far southward the 

 pods, few and wholly distinct, are, like the flower buds, nodding. In the 

 middle sections the fruit is always erect, and the follicular jointed pods 

 sometimes cohere to form a capsular cavity which itself bears a few 

 naked seeds. This form was first detected by the author in Contra Costa 

 Co., where it is prevalent. The variety is of very singular aspect; but 

 under cultivation at Berkeley, far from its home (mountains of Kern Co.) 

 it scarcely retains the characters I had assigned it as specific. 



* * Carpels 3 only, partly united and forming a 3-lohed 1-celled ovoid 



capsule open at top; stigmas ovate. — Genus Platystigma, Benth. 



2. P. linearis, Curran, Proc. Calif. Acad. 2 ser. i. 242 (1888); Benth. 

 Trans. Hort. Soc. n. ser. i. 407 (1834), under Platystigma. Acaulescent, 

 3-12 in. high, sparsely hirsute: leaves narrowly linear, 1 — 3 in. long, 



