30-i acanthacete. (acanthus family.) 



6. D. strepens, Neos. Smooth, pubescent, or hairy ; leaves rarving from 

 lanceolate to orbicular, mostly narrowed into a petiole ; flowers sessile or pedun- 

 cled ; tube of the corolla barely longer than the linear or linear-lanceolate hairy 

 calyx-lobes, and about the length of the funnel-shaped throat ; capsule smooth. 

 (Ruellia strepens, L.) — Dry rich soil, Florida, and northward. June - Sept. — 

 Stem 2' -3° high. Leaves r-4' long. Corolla l'-2' long, blue or purple. A 

 polymorphous species. Later flowers sometimes fruiting in the bud. 



7. D. noctiflorus, Nees. Closely pubescent ; stem simple, rigid ; leaves 

 oblong or lanceolate, sessile, entire or slightly toothed ; flowers solitary, pedun- 

 cled ; corolla large ; the elongated tube twice as long as the linear hairy calyx- 

 lobes ; capsule pubescent. — Low grassy pine barrens, Florida, Georgia, and 

 westward. July and Aug. — Stem 1° high. Corolla 2'- 4' long, white. 



3. DIANTHERA, Gronov. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla bilabiate; the upper lip cmarginatc ; the lower 3- 

 lobed, rugose or veiny in the middle, spreading. Stamens 2 : anther-cells sep- 

 arated, one placed lower down than the other. Stigma simple, acute. Capsule 

 flattened, narrowed downward, bearing the seeds above the middle. Seeds 

 mostly 4, supported by the appendages of the placenta;. — Perennial smooth 

 herbs, with opposite entire leaves, and short-bracted mostly alternate flowers in 

 long-pedundcd axillary spikes. 



1. D. Americana, L. Stem tall, angled ; leaves long, linear-lanceolate ; 

 spikes oblong, dense or somewhat capitate, on peduncles as long as the leaves. 

 (Justicia ensiformis. Ell.? J. pedunculosa, il//c/(x.) — In slow-flowing streams. 

 South Carolina, and northward. July and Aug. — Stem 2° high. Leaves and 

 peduncles 4' -6' long. Spike ^' long. Flowers pale purple. 



2. D. ovata, Walt. Stem low (4'-8'high), 4-angled; leaves ovate-lance- 

 olate, rather acute, narrowed into a short petiole ; the lowest small, lanceolate ; 

 spikes 3 -4-flowered, on simple peduncles shorter than the leaves ; corolla small, 

 pale purple, the lower lip striped with deeper lines. (Justicia humilis, Michx.) — 

 Muddy banks of streams, Florida to South Carolina. — Leaves 2' -4' long, 

 I'-U' wide. 



Var. lanceolata. Stem taller (1°- 1^^) ; leaves smaller, lanceolate, acu- 

 minate, nearly sessile ; peduncles longer than the leaves ; spikes many-flowered, 

 1-sided, often branching, — River-banks, Florida. July. 



Var. ? angUSta. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, reflexed, the lower ones 

 very remote ; peduncles as long as the leaves ; s|)ikes several-flowered, the 

 lower flowers often opposite. — Pine-baiTcn ponds, Florida. May. — Stem 1° 

 high. Leaves 1 ' - 2' long. Corolla 4" - 5" long. 



3. D. erassifolia, n. sp. Stem rigid, angled ; leaves fleshy, linear, chan- 

 nelled, acute ; the lower distant, small and obtuse ; peduncles stout, erect, longer 

 than the leaves, exceeding the stem ; spike few-flowered ; corolla large, bright 

 purple ; the lower lip striped with deeper lines ; capsule 2-seeded ; seeds circular, 

 smooth. — Wet pine banens, Apalachicola, Florida. April and May. — Stem 

 6' - 12' high. Leaves 4' - 6' long. Peduncles 4' - 9' long. Corolla and capsule 

 1' lonsr. 



