366 ASCLEPIADACE^. (mILKWEED FAAIILY.) 



gium, with their rounded summits connivent over it — Wet pine ban-ens, Florida 

 and Georgia. June and July. — Stem l°-2° high. Leaves l'-2' long, some 

 Avhat fleshy. Corolla 8"- 10" wide. 



* * Leaves alternate. 



3. A. paniculata, Decaisne. Closely pubescent ; stem angular, often 

 branching ; leaves oblong or lance-oblong, acute or obtuse at each end, short- 

 petioled ; umbels corymbose, often compound ; corolla large, greenish, spread- 

 ing or nearly erect; leaves of the crown oblong, obtuse, ascending, shorter than 

 the nearly sessile gynostegium. (Podostigma viridis. Ell.) — Dry pine barrens, 

 Florida to South Carolina. July. — Stem 1°-1^° high, leafy to the summit. 

 Leaves 3'- 4' long. Corolla 1' wide. 



4. A. longifolia. Ell. Pubescent ; stem terete ; leaves linear and linear- 

 lanceolate, acute at each end, slightly petioled, rough-margined, the lowest com- 

 monly opposite, sometimes whorled ; umbels pubescent, slender-peduncled, 

 many-flowered, alternate, opposite or whorled ; flowers small, pale purple ; 

 corolla reflexed ; leaves of the crown deep purple, oval, shorter than the gy- 

 nostegium, and adnate to its stalk; follicle lanceolate, tomentose. (A. longi- 

 folia, Michx. in part.) — Low pine barrens, Florida, and northward. July. — 

 Stem l°-l|°high. Leaves 3' -6' long. Corolla 4" wide. 



3. PODOSTIGMA, Ell. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 5-parted, with the lobes erect. Leaves of the crown 

 destitute of a horn, ascending, incurved-bcaked at the apex, united with the base 

 of the long and slender gynostegium. Stigma small, depressed. Seeds comosc 

 — A low pubescent simple-stemmed perennial herb, with opposite lanceolate 

 sessile leaves, and few-flowered umbels on lateral peduncles. 



1. P. pubescens, Ell. — Low pine barrens, Florida to North Carolina. 

 June -Oct. — Root tuberous. Stem 6' -12' high. Leaves erect, l'-2' long. 

 Umbels of 4 - 6 orange-colored flowers. Corolla 4" - 5" long, as long as the 

 pedicel, longer than the short peduncle, the oblong lobes wavy on the margins. 

 Follicles linear-lanceolate, tomentose, 4' - 6' long, many-seeded. Seeds oval, 

 winged. 



4. METASTELMA, R.Brown. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla bell-shaped, the lobes mostly hoary-pubescent within 

 Crown 5-leaved. inserted on the base or on the summit of the gynostegium. 

 Stigma flat- Follicles slender, smooth. Seeds comose. — Twining shnibs, with 

 smooth leaves. Umbels few-flowered. Flowers small, white. 



1. M. Schlectendalii, Decaisne. Branches pubescent; leaves oblong 

 or obovate, cuspidate, rather acute at the base, on slender petioles ; peduncles 

 3 - 6-flowered, as long as the petiole, shorter than the pedicels ; sepals obtuse, 

 ciliate ; lobes of the corolla ovate-lanceolate, incurved, densely pubescent within ; 

 leaves of the crown oblong, inserted on the summit of the slender gynostegium, 

 as long as the stigma. — South Florida. — Leaves ^'-1^' long, the margins rev- 

 olute. Corolla 2" long. Gynostegium 5-winged at the base. 



