COMMELYXACK.E. (SITDEUWORT FAMILY.) 497 



1- S. graminea, WilM. Stom su'inicrscd, forkinj;, leaves tliin, pclhi-iil ; 

 flowers expanding ut the surface of tlic water; spatlie convolute; lo'ies of ilio 

 perianth linear, spreading. (Lcptanthus, Mir/ix.) — In Howing water, Nortli C.i.u- 

 lina, and northward. July and Aug. — Stems 1° - 2° long. Leaves 3' - G' lui.g. 

 Tube of the periantii 1.^' long. 



OiiDKU 155. C03IMELYNACEiE. (SrmERWOur Family.) 



Herbs, with chiefly fibrous roots, jointed and leafy stems, and perfect 

 or somewhat polygamous often irregular flowers. — Perianth of three her- 

 baceous or colored persistent sepals, and three fugacious petals. Stamens 

 6, hypogyno^s, perfect, or a part of them sterile : anthers 2-celled, often 

 of two forms. Styles single : stigma entire. Ovary free fi-om the jx-ri- 

 anth, 2-3-celled, with 1 -several orthotropous ovules in each cell. Cap- 

 sule loculicidally 2-3-valved, 1- several-seeded. Embryo pulley-shaped, 

 placed in a cavity of the albumen opposite the hilum. — Plants somewhat 

 succulent. Stems often branching. Sheaths of the leaves entire or open. 



1. COMMELYNA, Dill. Day-flower. 



Flowers irregular. Sepals mostly colored. Petals fugacious, two of tlicm 

 kidney-shaped and long-clawed, the other smaller. Stamens uucqusM, three of 

 them fertile, the others with 4-lobed sterile anthers : filaments beardless. Cap- 

 sule 1 - 3-celled, the cells 1 - 2-seeded, or one of them frequently empty. — Stems 

 branching. Leaves flat, oblong, or lanceolate, on sheathing petioles ; the floral 

 ones cordate and spathe-like, folded, and enclo-sing the few-flowered peduncle. 

 Flowers blue. 



I. C. communis, L. ' Stem smooth, filiform, and creeping; leaves short 

 (I'- 2' long), ovate-lanceolate, obtuse; sheaths fiinged at the throat; spathes 

 nearly crescent-shaped, obtuse at the base, lateral and terminal ; peduncles by 

 pairs ; one of them bearing 3-4 small fertile flowers, which are included in the 

 spathe ; the other long-exserted, filifonn, 1 -flowered ; odd petal lanceolate, sessile; 

 seeds reticulated — Low grounds, Georgia to J^orth Carolina. July -Sept. (i) ? 

 — Stem 10-2° long 



2 C. Virginica, L. Pubescent ; stem erect ; sheaths hairy ; leaves (4' - 

 6' long) oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, thin, rough above; spathe (when opened) 

 round ovate, contracted at the base ; sterile peduncle included ; petals large, tlic 

 odd one lanceolate ; capsule 2 -3-seeded. (C. erecta. Ell.) — Varies (C. angus- 

 tifolia, Mickr.) with the stems smooth, ascending; leaves narrowly lanceolate, 

 rather rigid, and, like the sheath, nearly smooth ; flowers smaller, seeds pulveru- 

 lent. — Light or sandy soil, Florida, and northward. Mav - Sept. U — Stem 

 1°- 2° high The spathes contain a viscid secretion until the sc( ds mature. 



3. C. erecta, L. Stem stout, erect; leaves (S'-.^' lon'j-) laiu-'nl-if or ob- 

 long, acute, verj' rough above, the sheaths fringed with brown hairs ; spathes 

 42* 



