GENTIAN AC EiE. (GENTIAN FAMILY.) 357 



of the valves. — Small annual herbs, with erect filiform stems, scale-like subulate 

 leaves, and white flowers. 



1. B. verna, Muhl. Stem (2' -6' high) simple or spai'ingly branched, suc- 

 culent, few-flowered ; calyx-lobes lanceolate-subulate, one third as long as the 

 oblong or obovate obtuse spreading white lobes of the corolla ; anthers oblong ; 

 capsule roundish. (Centaurella verna, Mic/(.r.) — Damp pine barrens near the 

 coast, Florida to North Carolina. Feb. - April. 



2. B. tenella, Muhl. Stem (C'-12' high) branched; the branches, like 

 the leaves, opposite or alternate, many-flowered ; calyx-lobes subulate, as long 

 as the tube of the greenish-white corolla; lobes of the corolla erect, acute; 

 anthers globose ; capsule oblong-lanceolate. (Centaurella paniculata, Michx.) — 

 Swamps, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. Sept. and Oct. — Flowers 

 much smaller than in No. 1. 



5. OBOLARIA, L. 



Calyx of 2 spatulate bract-like sepals. Corolla bell-shaped, 4-cleft, imbricated 

 in the bud. Stamens 4 : anthers round-cordate. Style short : stigma 2-lipped. 

 Capsule ovoid, 1-celled. Seeds numerous, covering the valves. — A low spar- 

 ingly branched perennial herb, with opposite wedge-obovate leaves, and single or 

 clustered axillary and terminal purplish flowers. 



1. O. Virginica, L. — Rich shady woods, South Carolina, and northward. 

 March and April. — Plant smooth, purplish, 3' -8' high. Branches generally 

 3-flowercd. 



6. PRASERA, Walt. American Columbo. 



Calyx 4-partcd. Corolla wheel-shaped, 4-parted, the lobes each with a de- 

 pressed fringed gland on the upper face. Stamens 4 : anthers nodding. Style 

 persistent : stigmas spreading. Capsule compressed. Seeds few, large, winged, 

 borne on the margins of the valves. — Tall and smooth perennial herbs, with 

 whorled or opposite sessile leaves and branches, and cymes of greenish-yellow 

 flowers, disposed in a large terminal panicle. 



1. F. Carolinensis, Walt. Stem (3° - 8° high) erect ; leaves and branches 

 mostly four in a whorl, lance-oblong, the lowest spatulate; panicle pyramidal; 

 corolla-lobes oblong, mucronate, dotted with purple. — Rich soil in the upper 

 districts of Georgia, and northward. July. — Lowest leaves 1° long. Corolla 

 1' wide. Root large and bitter to the taste. 



7. LIMNANTHEMUM, Gmel. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla wheel-shaped, 5-parted, the lobes infolded in the bud, 

 ciliate, and glandular-crested at the base. Stamens h. Style short or none : 

 stigma 2-lobed, persistent. Capsule 1-celled, opening irregularly. Seeds few or 

 many. Testa woody. — Perennial aquatic herbs, with floating circular or cor- 

 date spongy leaves, and white peduncled flowers clustered near the summit of 

 the long petiole. 



