MELANTHACE^. 367 



Shady woods. Penn. to Car. June, July. %. — Stem 2 feet high, obtusely 

 angular. Leaves slightly channelled above. Flowers greenish-white, in a sim- 

 ple terminal raceme which is sometimes 9 inches long, but mostly shorter. The 

 root is said to be poisonous. Purple-seeded Helonias. 



3, H, dioica Pursh. : stem leafy ; leaves lanceolate ; racemes dioecious, 

 the sterile nodding at first, the fertile mostly erect ; segments of the perianth 

 linear ; stamens exserted. H. lutea Alt. Veratrum hUeum Linn. 



Damp grounds. N. Y. and Conn, to Geor. W. to Miss. June. %.. — Ste- 

 rile plant 1 — 2 feet, the fertile one often 3 ieet high. Leaves becoming broader 

 near the root, and often spatulate and somewhat obtuse. Flowers white, in a 

 spike-like raceme which is 6 — 12 inches long. The root is a popular tonic. 



Unicorn Plant. 



6. VERATRUM. Z,m?i.— Veratrum. 

 (From the Latin vere atrum, truly black ; in allusion to the color of the root.) 



Polygamous. Perianth calyx-like, deeply 6 -parted, spread- 

 ing, persistent; segments sessile and without glands. Stamens 

 6, inserted upon the receptacle. Styles 3, short, subulate. 

 Capsule ovoid, membranaceous, 3-lobed ; the carpels distinct at 

 the summit. Seeds numerous, with a broad membranaceous 

 margin. 



V. viride Ait. : leaves broad-ovate, plaited ; panicle pyramidal, with com- 

 pound racemose branches ; bracts of the branches oblong-lanceolate ; par- 

 tial bracts longer than the pedicels. V. album Mich. 



■ Meadows and swamps. Can. to Car. May, June. '~l\.. — Stem 3 — 4 feet 

 high. Leaves large, sheathing the stem at base. Flowers yellowish-green, in a 

 large terminal panicle. Medicinal and poisonous. 



Poke Root. American Hellebore 



II. UVULARI^. 



7. UVULARIA. Lin7i.—Be\\woTt. 



(From the Latin diminutive of uva, a cluster, or uvula, the appendage to the 

 palate ; perhaps in allusion to the inflorescence.) 



Perianth inferior, deeply 6 -parted, erect ; segments with a 

 nectariferous cavity at base. Stamens 6. Filaments very short, 

 growing to the anthers. Stigmas 3, reflexed. Capsule 3-an- 

 gled, 3-celled. Seeds nearly globose, arillate at the hilum. 



1. U. perfuliata Linn. : leaves perfoliate, elliptic-lanceolate, mostly acute; 

 perianth subcampanulate, tuberculate, rough within; anthers awned. U. 

 perfoliata, var. minor Mich. 



Moist woods. Can. to Car. W. to Miss. May, June. %.—Stem 8—12 

 inches high, forked near the top. Flowers pale-yellow, mostly solitary, from 

 one of the forks of the stem. Perftdiate BellwoH. 



2, U. flava Smith. : leaves perfoUate, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, undulate at 

 base ; perianth tapering at base, rough within ; anthers awned. 



Sandy soils. N. J. to Car. May, June. %■. — Flmvers larger and of a deeper 

 yellow than in the preceding. Pursh. Perhaps only a variety. 



Yellow Bellwort. 



