582 ELAEAGNACEAE 



1. E. commutata Bernh. Shrub or small tree, 2-5 m. high, with brown- 

 scurfy twigs; leaf -blades oblong or elliptic, densely silvery, scurfy on both sides, 

 2-10 cm. long; flowers 1-3 in the axils, fragrant, 12-16 mm. long; perianth silvery 

 without, yellowish within; sepals ovate, 2 mm. long; fruit ellipsoid, silvery, 8-12 

 mm. long; stone 8-striate. E. argentea Pursh. Banks and hillsides: Que. — ■ 

 Minn. — S.D. — Utah — Yukon. Plain — Submont. Je-Jl. 



2. LEPARGYRAeA Raf. Buffalo-berry, Bull-berry. 



Shrubs, with silvery or brown, scaly or stellate pubescent. Leaves opposite, 

 petioled. Flowers small, dioecious, in small clusters at the nodes of preceding 

 season. Hypanthium of the pistillate flowers urn-shaped or ovoid, bearing an 

 8-lobed disk at its mouth. Stamens 8, alternate with the lobes of the disk. 

 Fruit drupe-Uke. [Shepherdia Nutt.] 



Leaves green above; shrub not thorny. 1. L. canadensis. 

 Leaves silvery wliite on both sides; plant usually thorny. 



Leaves oblong; fruit ellipsoid; tall shrub or small tree. 2. L. argentea. 



Leaves rounded-oval or ovate; fruit globular; low shrub. 3. L. rotundifolia. 



1. L. canadensis (L.) Greene. A thornless shrub, 1-3 m. high, with brown 

 scurfy branches; leaves ovate or oval, silvery stellate and brown-scurfy spotted 

 beneath; flowers brown without, greenish yellow within; fruit rounded-ellipsoid, 

 red or yellowish, 4-6 mm. long, insipid. Shepherdia cariade?isis (L.) Nutt. 

 Woods and banks: Nevvi. — N.Y. — Mich. — Colo. — Utah — Ore.— Alaska. Sub- 

 mont. — Subalp. Ap-Je. 



2. L. argentea (Nutt.) Greene. A shrub or small tree, 2-7 m. high, with 

 whitish, more or less thorny branches; leaves oblong, 2-5 cm. long, rounded at 

 the apex, acute at the base; flowers brown; fruit rounded-ellipsoid, sour, scarlet, 

 red, or golden yellow, 4-6 mm. long'. S. argentea Nutt. River banks: Sask. — 

 Man. — Ivans.— N.M. — Nev. — Alta. Plain— Submont. Ap-My. 



3. L. rotundifolia (Parry) Greene. Low densely branched shrub, with 

 silvery tomentose branches; leaves persistent, rounded-oval or ovate, 1-3 cm. 

 long; staminate flowers in 3's, the pistillate solitary, silvery without; fruit globu- 

 lar, scurfy. S. rotundifolia Parry. Bare clayey soil: s Utah. Son. Mr. 



Family 90. LYTHRACEAE. Loosestrife Family. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, with opposite or alternate, mostly entire 

 leaves. Flowers perfect, solitary or in axillary clusters or cymes. Hypan- 

 thium from globose or campanulate to cylindric, enclosing but free from the 

 ovary. Sepals 4 or 5, often accompanied by as many accessory teeth. 

 Petals 4 or 5, or wanting. Stamens few or many, in one or several series. 

 Gynoecium of several united carpels; ovary 2-6-ceIled, rarely 1-celled; 

 styles united. Fruit a capsule, rarely indehiscent. 



Hypantliium campanulate or turbinate, in fruit becoming globose or hemispheric. 



Capsule bursting irregularly. 1. Ammania. 



Capsule septicidal. 2. Rot.\la. 



Hypantliium cylindric. 3. Lythrum. 



1. AMMANIA (Houston) L. 



Annual herbs, with 4-angled stems. Leaves opjjosite, entire, usually auricled 

 at the base. Flowers solitary or cymosely clustered in the axils. Hypanthium 

 campanulate, 4-angled, becoming subglobular. Se])als 4, usually with as many 

 small teeth in the sinuses between them. Petals 4, early deciduous. Stamens 

 4-8. Ovary subglobose, usually 2-4-celled; styles filiform; stigmas capitate. 

 Capsule membranous, bursting irregularly. Seeds angular, with coriaceous coat. 



1. A. coccinea Rottb. Annual; stem erect, glabrous, branched below, 1.5-5 

 dm. high, glabrous; leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, acutish at the apex, aur- 

 iculate at the base, entire, 3-7 cm. long; flowers 1-5 in each axil, sessile or nearly 

 so; petals purple, early deciduous; style elongate, very slender, usually more 



