BURMANNIACIwE. (bURMANNIA FAMILY.) 451 



1 • V. spiralis, L- — Slow-flowing streams and ponds, Florida, and north- 

 ward. July-Sq)t. IJ. — riant crccpin<^, proliferous. Leaves strap-sliapcd, 

 obtuse, 5-9-ncrved, sharply serrulate, l°-3° lonLr, 6"- 12" wide. Scape of 

 the sterile flowers l'-4' long, of the fertile ones 2° -5° long. Fruit l'-3' long, 

 often curved. 



3. LIMNOBIUM, Richard. 



Flowers monoecious, from a membranaceous mostly sessile spathc, pedunclcd. 

 Sterile spathe entire, 2-3-flowored; the fertile 3-leaved, l-flowered. Sepals 

 and petals 3, united in the fertile flower, and cohei-ent with the ovary. Stamens 

 6 - 12, monadclphous : anthers linear. Ovary 6 - 9-cclled, with as many central 

 placenne, forming a many-seeded berry in fruit. Stigmas 6-9, each 2-partcd. 

 — A floating ntpiatic herb, with copious pendent roots, long-pctiolcd round- 

 cordate and many-ncrvcd leaves, and small white flowers. 



I L. Spongia, Richard. Stems extensively proliferous ; leaves purplish 

 beneath, and witii air-cells near the base ; sterile peduncles tender, soon vanish- 

 ing ; the fertile ones commonly short and thick, recurved in fruit ; petals oblong, 

 alternating in the fertile flower with a pair of minute sterile filaments. (Ilydro- 

 charis spongiosa, Bosr.). — Still water, Florida, and northward. July and Aug. 

 y. — Leaves 2' - 4' wide. 



Order 141. BURMANNIACE^. (Burmannia Family.) 



Small herbs, with filiform stems, scale-like leaves, and regular perfect 

 flowers. — Sepals and petals united to form a tubular unequally G-cleft- 

 corolla-like perianth, with the tube coherent with the 1 or 3-celled many- 

 ovuled ovary. Stamens 3 or 6, inserted on the tube of the perianth : 

 anther-cells separate, 2-lobcd, opening crosswise. Style slender : stigmas 

 3, dilated. Placentae 3, central or parietal. Capsule many-seeded. Seeds 

 minute, with a loose or reticulated testa. 



I. BURMANNIA, L. 



Tube of the perianth mostly 3-angled or 3-winged, 6-cleft, withering-persist- 

 ent ; the three interior lobes smaller. Stamens 3, very short, inserted opposite 

 the interior lobes of the perianth. Ovary 3-celled, with three thick 2-lobed cen- 

 tral placenta;. Stigmas globose, dilated or 2-lobed. Capsule splitting at the 

 apex into 3 valves. — Radical leaves crowded and grass-like, or none ; those of 

 the stem minute, scale-like. Flowers raqemose or clustered. 



1. B. biflora, L. Stem simple, or forked above, 1 - several-flowered ; leaves 

 subulate, scattered ; perianth blue, broadly 3-winged, the exterior lobes erect, 

 ovate, acute, the interior linear and incurved; seeds oblong, striate. (Tripte- 

 rella coerulea, Michx.) — Grassy or mossy margins of swamps and ponds, Flor- 

 ida to North Carolina. Sept. -Nov. — Stem l'-5' high. In this and the 

 following species the seeds escape through irregular fissures at the sides of the 

 capsule. 



