polyctAlace^.. (milkavout family.) 83 



3. P, Baldwinii, Nutt. Stem angled, simple ; leaves alternate, lanceolate, 

 acute, the lowest spatulate ; corymbs compound ; spikes dense ; wings ovate- 

 lanceolate, tapering into a long and slender point ; seeds very small, globose, 

 hairy; caruncle minute. — Low pine barrens, Georgia, Florida, and westward. 

 July and August. — Stem 1°- 1|° high. Leaves j'- 1' long. Flowers white, 

 fragrant. 



* * Spikes solitary : leaves alternate. 

 *- Flowers yellow : biennials. 



4. P. luteE, L. (Yellow Bachelor's-Button.) Stem simple or with 

 spreading branches ; leaves lanceolate, acute, the lowest clustered, spatulate- 

 obovate, obtuse ; spikes dense, globose or oblong ; wings elliptical, abruptly 

 pointed ; lobes of the caruncle nearly as long as the obovate sparse-haiiy seed. 

 — Low pine barrens, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. June - August. — 

 Stem 6'- 12' high. Flowei-s orange-yellow. 



5. P. nana, DC. Low ; stems divided at the base into several short pe- 

 duncle-like branches ; leaves chiefly radical, clustered, spatulate or linear, obtuse ; 

 spikes thick, at length cylindrical, the earliest ones sessile ; wings ovate-lance- 

 olate, acuminate ; lobes of the caruncle half as long tis the obovate hairy seed. 

 (P. viridescens, Nutt.) — Low sandy pine barrens, Florida to South Carolina, 

 and westward, flowering throughout the year. — Stems 2' -4' high. Spikes 

 l'-2' long. Flowers yellow. 



•^ -i- Flowers pur/ile or rose-color : annuals: stems hrancldng. 



6. P. sanguinea, L. Leaves oblong-linear, acute ; sjtikes ovate or round- 

 ish, obtuse ; flowers imbricated; wings broadly ovate, obtuse, sessile: lobes of 

 the caruncle rather shorter than tlie pear-shaped sparse-hairy seed. (P. pur- 

 purea, Nutt.) — Low grounds, North Carolina and northward. July -Sept. — 

 Stems 1° high. Flowers reddish-purple. Bracts persistent. 



7. P. fastigiata, Nutt. Stems slender, at first simple ; leaves narrow- 

 linear, acute ; spikes globose, obtuse ; wings oblong-obovate tapering into a dis- 

 tinct claw at the base ; caruncle as long as the stalk of the sparse-hairy pear- 

 shaped seed. (P. sanguinea, Torr. ij- Gray.) — Low pine barrens, Florida to 

 North Carolina, and westward. July -Oct. — Stems 10' -15' high. Leaves 

 erect. Flowers small, bright rose-color. Bracts deciduous. 



8. P. Nuttallii, Carey. Leaves short, linear, obtuse ; spikes oblong, 

 acute, dense ; wings short, elliptical, slightly clawed ; lobes of the caruncle col- 

 lateral, one third as long as the oVjovate very hairy seed. (P. sanguinea, Nutt. 

 P. ambigua, Torr. ^- Gray.) — Dry sandy soil. North Carolina and northward. 

 August. — Stem 4'- 8' high, the branches fastigiate. Spikes and greenish and 

 purple flowers smaller than in No. 7. Bracts persistent. 



9. P. Chapmanii, Torr. & Gray. Stems slender, at length sparingly 

 branched ; leaves scattered, narrow-linear, acute ; spikes long, lanceolate, acute, 

 loose-flowered ; wings obovate, short-clawed ; lobes of the caruncle spreading, as 

 long as the stalked base of the pear-shaped very hairy seed. — Low pine baiTens 

 near the coast, West Florida and westward. June -August. — Stems 1°-1^° 

 high. Spikes 1'- 2' long. Flowers bright-purple. Bracts persistent. 



