HYPEEICACE.fi. (ST. JOHN'S-WOBT FAMILY.) 39 



often acute, approximate in pairs ; styles 2 ; capsule as long as the sepals. — 

 Sterile soil, Florida and northward. June - September. — Shrub 1°- 3° high. 

 Leaves 1' long. Branches opposite. 



2. A. Starts, Michx. Leaves oval-oblong, obtuse, closely sessile ; outer 

 sepals orbicular-cordate, obtuse ; the inner ones lanceolate, acute ; petals obovate ; 

 styles 3 or 4 ; capsule shorter than the sepals. — Var. obovatlm, Torr. fy Gray, 

 is a dwarf state, with obovate leaves, and obtuse inner sepals. — Damp soil, 

 Florida and northward. July - September. — Shrub 2°- 3° high. Leaves and 

 flowers larger than in No. 1. 



* * Pedicels bractless : styles longer than the ovary. 



3. A. amplexicaule, Michx. Leaves and outer sepals cordate-ovate, 

 clasping; inner sepals lanceolate, as long as the outer ones ; petals obovate; 

 styles 3 ; capsule ovoid, barely half as long as the sepals. — Damp soil near the 

 coast, Florida, Georgia, and westward. April - September. — Shrub 2° -3° 

 high. Branches many times forking. 



4. A. pumilum, Michx. Dwarf ; leaves oblong-onovate, obtuse ; outer 

 sepals round-ovate, the inner ones minute ; petals obovate ; pedicels long and 

 slender, reflexed in fruit ; styles 2, united. — Dry gravelly soil, Florida, Georgia, 

 and westward. March and April. — Stems 3' -6' long, diffuse. Leaves 4" - G" 

 long. 



5. A. microsepalum, Torr. & Gray. Leaves very' numerous, small, 

 oblong-linear, narrowed at the base, obtuse ; flowers somewhat corymbose ; se- 

 pals small and ecpial. — Flat pine barrens, Florida and Alabama. March and 

 April. — Shrub bushy, 1° - 2° high. Leaves 6" - 9" long. Flowers 1' wide. 



2. HYPERICUM, L. St. John's-wort. 



Sepals 5, similar. Petals 5, oblique, convolute in the bud. Stamens mostly 

 numerous, and commonly collected in 3-5 sets, without intervening glands. 

 Styles 3-5, distinct or united. Capsule 1 - 5-celled. — Herbs or shrubs. Flow- 

 ers mostly cymose, yellow. 



§ 1. Stamens numerous. 



* Capsule 3-celled : styles united: shrubs. 



1. H. prolificum, L. Branches 2-cdged, the barren ones elongated ; 

 leaves lanee-oblong, obtuse or mucronate, narrowed at the base ; cymes axillary 

 and terminal, often few-flowered; capsule oblong, rarely 4 - 5-celled. — Varies 

 with a more branching stem, smaller and narrower leaves, and smaller and more 

 numerous flowers. (H. galioides, Ph.) — Swamps and banks of rivers in the 

 middle and upper districts. July and August. — Shrub 2° -3° high. Leaves 

 l'-2' long, paler beneath. 



2. H. Buckleyi, M. A. Curtis. Low, widely branching from the base ; 

 leaves oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base, paler beneath ; flowers solitary, ter- 

 minal, on rather long and bracted pedicels ; sepals obovate ; style and stamens 

 long and slender. — Mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. — Shrub 8'- 12* 

 high. Flowers 1 ' wide. 



