226 FIGWORT FAMILY 



Capsule plainly notched (obcordate), broader at sum- 

 mit 4. V. serpyllifolia. 



Stem solitary, annual; leaves narrow, oblong or linear. 5. V. peregrina. 



1. V. americana Schw. American Brooklime. Stems 

 creeping at base and rooting from the lower joints, usually 

 branching and 1 to 3 ft. long, the whole plant glabrous. 

 Leaves ovate or broadly oblong, often toothed, ^ to 2 in. 

 long, from nearly y 2 to 24 in - broad. Flowers bluish, in loose 

 spreading racemes. Capsule orbicular, many-seeded. — Grows 

 in shallow water. 



2. V. scutellata L. Marsh Speedwell. Stems slender, 

 mostly erect, connected by creeping stolons, 3 in. to 1 ft. 

 high, the whole plant glabrous. Leaves numerous, lanceolate 

 or narrower, nearly entire, ^ to 2 in. long (much exceeding 

 the internodes), less than %. in. wide. Flowers pale blue, in 

 slender flexuous racemes. Capsule pendulous on a slender 

 pedicel, flat, deeply notched at apex, several-seeded. — Yo- 

 semite Valley and northward. 



3. V. alpina L. Alpine Speedwell. Stems usually erect, 

 from slender creeping rootstocks, 6 to 12 in. high, simple, 

 hairy. Leaves sessile, ovate to oblong, shallowly toothed or 

 entire, J / 2 to l l / 2 in. long. Raceme dense when young, the 

 pedicels then shorter than calyx. Corolla blue or violet. — 

 A common species. Yosemite and Little Yosemite valleys, 

 Lake Tenaya, etc. 



4. V. serpyllifolia L. Thyme-leaf Speedwell. Stems 

 creeping and branching at base, becoming 3 to 9 in. high, 

 glabrous or obscurely pubescent. Lower leaves short-peti- 

 oled, upper sessile, roundish, nearly or quite entire, % in. or 

 less long. Pedicels longer than calyx. Corolla bluish, or pale 

 with blue stripes. — Widely distributed. 



5. V. peregrina L. Neckweed. Stem simple or nearly so, 

 3 to 12 in. high, glabrous or somewhat glandular. Leaves 

 thick, the lowest pair petioled and broad; the others sessile, 

 oblong to linear or spatulate, mostly alternate and entire, 

 about ]/ 2 in. long. Pedicels shorter than the calyx which is 

 exceeded by the leaf-like bracts. Capsule orbicular, obscurely 

 notched. — Yosemite Valley, Hog Ranch, etc. 



7. CASTILLEJA. Painted Cup. 

 Perennial herbs with alternate sessile leaves passing above 

 into reddish bracts of the showy terminal spike. Calyx tubu- 

 lar, flattened, cleft before and behind, the lobes either entire 

 or again cleft. Corolla tubular; upper lip much elongated 



