OROBANCHACE.E. (bROOM-RAPE FAMILY.) 305 



Order 89. OROBAIS^CHACE^:. (Broom-rape Family.) 



Low, leafless, scaly herbs, parasitic on roots, with bilabiate didyna- 

 mous flowers. — Calyx 4 - 5-toothed or parted. Corolla withering- 

 persistent, tubular, the upper lip 2-cleft or entire, the lower 3-lobed. 

 Stanieus inserted on the tube of the corolla : anthers persistent. Ovary 

 free, 1-celled, with 2-4 parietal placentae. Style simple, ciu'ved at 

 the apex : stigma thick, 2-lobed. Capsule 2-valved, many-seeded. 

 Seeds very small, anatropous, with the minute embryo at the base of 

 transparent albumen. — Flowers perfect or polygamous, solitary or 

 spiked. 



Synopsis. 



1. EPIPHEGTJS. Flowers polygamous, spiked ; the lower ones fertile, the upper sterile. 



Calyx '2-bracted, 5-toothed. Stem branching. 



2. CONOPHOLIS. Flowers perfect, spiked. Calyx 2-bracted, cleft on the lower side. 



Stem simple, thick and fleshy. 



3. APHYLLON. Flowers solitary, perfect. Calyx bractless, 5-cleft. CoroUa nearly 



equally 5-lobed. 



1. EPIPHEGUS, Nutt. Beech-drops. 



Flowers polygamous ; the upper ones slender and sterile, the lower abbrevi- 

 ated and fertile. Calyx 5-toothed. Capsule 2-valved at the apex, with 2 

 placentas on each valve. — Stem smooth, slender, much branched, purplish. 

 Flowers small, in loose slender spil<es. Corolla purplish. 



1. E. Virginiana, Bart — Under beech trees, in deep shades. August. 

 — Stems 6' - 12' high. Flowers scattered. Corolla of the sterile flowers 4"- 

 6" long, 4-toothed, curved. 



2. CONOPHOLIS, Wallr. Squaw-root. 



Flowers perfect, densely spiked. Calyx 2-bracted, tubular, 4-toothed, cleft 

 on the lower side. Upper lip of the corolla arching, notched ; the lower short, 

 3-toothed. Stamens exserted. Capsule 2-valved, with 2 placenta on each 

 valve. — A thick and fleshy whitish simple herb, covered with imbricated 

 scales. Flowers yellowish, spreading. 



1. C. Americana, Wnllr. — Shady woods. April. — Stems clu.stered 

 from matted roots, 4' -6' high, V thick. 



3. APHYLLON, ISIitchell. 



Flowers solitary, perfect. Calyx .5-cleft, bractless. Corolla tubular, curved, 

 nearh- equally 5-lobed. Stamens included. Capsule 2-valved, with 4 equi- 

 distant placentae. — Stemless or nearly so. Flowers purplish, on a long scape 

 or peduncle. 



1 . A. uniflorum, Torr. & Gray. — Stem very short and scaly ; peduncles 

 1- several, S'-n' high, jmbescent ; calyx lobes lanceolate-subulate. — Woods, 

 Florida, and northward. 



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