274 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



16. LESQUERELLA S. Wats. Bladder-pod. 



Low herbaceous annuals or perennials, stellate or lepidote-hoary; leaves entire or 

 repand-toothed; flowers mostly yellow, purplish white in one species; pods globose to 

 ovoid, inflated, with nerveless valves; seeds several, in two rows in each cell; septa 

 and styles persistent. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



Flowers purplish white 1. L. purpurea. 



Flowers yellow. 



Plants tall, 30 cm. or usually more, erect; pedicels reflexed from 



the base ; annual 2 . L. aurea. 



Plants lower, usually less than 20 cm., ascending, erect, or pros- 

 trate; pedicels erect, or reflexed from about the middle, 

 never from the base; perennials or rarely annuals. 

 Capsules lepidote-stellate. 



Pods compressed at the top. 



Plants densely cespitose, 6 cm. high or less; 



cauline leaves crowded 6. L. intermedia. 



Plants not densely cespitose, 15 cm. high; cau- 

 line leaves remote 7. L. valida. 



Pods not compressed at the summit. 



Capsules pointed at the apex, 7 to 8 mm. long; 

 cauline leaves narrowly oblanceolate, 



acutish 3. L. montana. 



Capsules rounded at the apex, 4.5 mm. long or 

 less; cauline leaves various. 

 Capsules 3 mm. long; cauline leaves broadly 



oblanceolate 4. L. lata. 



Capsules 4.5 mm. long; cauline leaves linear- 

 oblong or linear-oblanceolate 5. L. rectipes. 



Capsules glabrous. 



Plants annual; pedicels reflexed above the middle in 



age 8. L. gordoni. 



Plants perennial (sometimes blossoming the first year) ; 



pedicels erect, stout. 



Flowers not exceeding the leaves; pedicels arising 



from a common point, or axillary. (Plants 



densely cespitose, 4 to 6 cm. high; basal 



leaves linear-oblanceolate) 9. L. praecox. 



Flowers much exceeding the leaves, in more or 

 less elongated racemes. 

 Plants low, 5 cm. high or less; basal leaves 



ovate to orbicular, as broad as long 10. L. ovalifolia. 



Plants taller, usually more than 10 cm. ; basal 

 leaves broadly oblanceolate or narrower, 

 always much longer than broad. 

 Plants white with very dense lepidote 

 pubescence; leaves linear or linear- 

 oblanceolate, thick 11. L./endleri. 



Plants greener, the pubescence much less 

 dense; leaves oblanceolate or spatu- 

 late, thin 12. L. pinetorum. 



