HYPERICACE^. (ST. JOHN's-WORT FAMILY.) 57 



§ 1. Stamens numerous. 



* Capsules 3 - 5-ceUed : placentce central : styles connivent : shrubs. 



•t— Carpels {cells} united only at the axis : flowers in leaf y few-flowered axillary 



and terminal cymes : leaves narrow, and clustered in the axils, persistent. 



1. H. aspalathoides, Willd. Stem l° -3° Wgh, widely branched; 

 leaves 2" -6" long, liuear, obtuse, spreading, the margins revolute; sepals 

 like the leaves, half tlie length of the slightly 1-toothed petals, and the oblong- 

 linear obtuse-angled 3-celled capsule. — Wet pine barrens. July - August. 



2. H. fascieulatum, Lam. Stem 6° -18° high, strictly erect, and 

 with long erect straight branches; leaves 9"- 12" long, filiform, acute, erect; 

 sepals about the length of the sharply 1-toothed petals, and the oblong rather 

 acute-angled 3-celled capsule. — Shallow ponds near the coast. July. 



3. H. galioid.es, Lam. Leaves liuear-oblanceolate, obtuse, tapering to 

 the base, glossy above, rigid ; cymes lateral and terminal, few-flowered, or the 

 terminal ones compound ; sepals equal, liuear, acute, shorter than the petals ; 

 capsules acute. — Pine barrens, Florida to South Carolina, and westward. 



Var. ambiguum. Leaves oblanceolate, mucronate, pale and thin ; sepals 

 unequal, lanceolate, narrowed at the base, longer than the petals. — Eiver 

 swamps, Florida. July - August. — Stems 2° - 4° high. Branches often 

 elongated. Leaves I'-l^' long- 



4. H. lobocarpum, Gattinger. Stem erect, 5° - 7° high ; leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or barely acute, H'-2' long; cymes terminal, 

 naked, many-flowered; sepals linear-lanceolate, 2" -3" long, shorter than 

 the petals; capsule oblong, 5-celled, sharply 5-angled, scarcely longer than 

 the very .slender style. — Deep marshes. West Tennessee ( Gattiiu/er). 



5. H. densiflorum, Pursh. Stem 2° -4° high, much branched; leaves 

 lanceolate, fiat, obtuse, mucronate, 1'- 2' long; cymes simple or compound, 

 naked; sepals oblong or oval, i as long as the petals, and f the length of 

 the ovate 3 - 5-ceUed capsule. — Low ground in the middle and upper dis- 

 tricts. July - August. 



^— ^_- Carpels partly united, formin>j a 3-&-celled capsule. 



6. H. prolifleum, L. "Stem l°-4° high, with long rather simple 

 shoots ; leaves lanceolate-oblong, mo.stly obtuse, narrowed at the base ; fiowers 

 numerous in simple or compound clusters ; pods oblong, 3-celled." Gray, — 

 North Carolina {Curtis). Tennessee {Gattinger). 



7. H. ambiguum, FU. Stem 4° - 8° high, the long straight branches 

 erect, very leafy ; leaves linear-lanceolate, or linear, tapering to the base, 

 1'- 2' long; cymes axillary and terminal, 7- 14-flowered ; sepals unequal, 

 linear, acute, as long as the oblong petals ; capsule ovate, 3 -4-ceUed. — Banks 

 of streams, on the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. July - August. 

 — A low rigid form (1° - 2° high) occurs on the summit of Roan Mouutain 

 (J. D. Smith). 



* * Capsule 3-celled : placenta central : styles separate : flowers dotted with 

 black points. Herbs. 



8. H. perforatum, L. Stem much branched, slightly 2-edged ; cymes 

 corymbose, many-flowered ; leaves elliptical or linear-oblong, obtuse, with pel- 



