WATEB-WOBT FAMILY 



511 



1. E. americana Arn. American Water-wort. Steins % to II/2 inches long, 

 often fistulous; leaf -blades obovate, 1 to 3 lines long; flowers mostly 2-inerous; 



capsule valvate-dehiscent ; seed with 9 or 10 rows of 

 areoles, 20 to 30 areoles in a row. 



Wet soil or shallow water, 5000 to 7000 feet : San 

 Bernardino Mts.; Tuolumne Co. Exceedingly rare 

 in California. North to British Columbia, east to 

 Quebec. June-July. 



Locs. — San Bernardino Mts. (PI. World 20:222); Salt 

 Log Mdw., Mather, Tuolumne Co., Mason 608. 



Eefs. — Elatine Americana Am. Edinb. Jour. Sci. 1:430 

 (1830) ; Jepson, Man. 639 (1925). Peplis americana Pursh, 

 Fl. 238 (1814), type loc. Penn. 



2. E. brachysperma Gray. Yerba Fango. 

 (Fig. 244.) Plants forming little mats (2 to 3 inches 

 across) ; leaf -blades oblong or narrowly ovate, nar- 

 rowed at base, 1 to 2 lines long; flowers sessile, mostly 

 3-merous ; sepals commonly 3 (or 2) , unequal ; petals 

 3, pink, roundish-obovate, commonly unequal; sta- 

 mens 3 to 6; capsule valvate-dehiscent or bursting 

 irregularly; seed with about 8 longitudinal rows of 

 areoles, about 11 or 12 areoles in a row. 



Wet places, late vernal beds of winter pools, or 

 lake borders, 25 to 5600 feet : Coast Ranges and south- 

 ward to Southern California, mostly toward the 

 coast, occasional. May. 

 Locs. — Walnut Creek, 

 Jepson 13,954; Mountain 

 Lake, San Francisco, Jep- 

 son 13,447; Lake Pilarcitos, San Mateo Co., Davy 5d; Crystal 



Lake, San Gabriel Mts., Peirson 2470; Eamona, T. Brandegee 



(capsules 3 or 4-valvate) ; La Jolla, Jepson 11,899. 



Eefs. — Elatine brachysperma Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 



13:361 (1878), based on spms. from Tex. and 111. (E. Hall) 



and Cal. (Kellogg 4- Harford) ; Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 234 



(1901), ed. 2, 264 (1911), Man. 639 (1925). Alsinastrum 



irachyspermum Greene, Man. Eeg. S. F. Bay 62 (1894). 



3. E. californica Gray. Yerba Estera. (Fig. 

 245.) Thickly branched, forming a dense mat i/^ to 

 1% inches across; leaf -blades obovate or oblanceolate, 

 the lower ones petioled; flowers on short pedicels; 

 sepals 4, oblong, equal; petals 4, obovate, equal; sta- 

 mens 8; seeds curved into a partial ring, with about 

 10 longitudinal rows of areoles and about 25 areoles 

 in each row. 



Water borders, 5 to 5000 feet: little known but 

 widely scattered in cismontane California. North to 

 Washington. June-July. 



Locs. — Cuyamaca, T. Brandegee; Laguna Canon, Orange Co. (Bull. S. Cal. Acad. 17:65); 

 Menifee Valley (Eiverside Co.), (Bull. S. Cal. Acad. 22:9); Hemet Valley (Eiverside Co.), 

 Munz 5520 ; Ken,-wortliy, San Jacinto Mts., Mum 5460 ; Sierra Valley. 



Eefs. — Elatine californica Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 13:361 (1878), type loc. Sierra Valley, 

 Lemmon; Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 234 (1901), ed. 2, 264 (1911), Man. 639 (1925). 



Fig. 244. Elatine brachy- 

 sperma Gray, a, habit, X 3 ; 6, 

 cross sect, of ovary, X 9 ; c, seed, 

 X 30. 



a 



Fig. 245. Elatine califor- 

 nica Gray, a, habit, X 3; b, 

 cross sect, of ovary, X 10; c, 

 seed, X 25. 



