494 ONAGRACEAE. [Von II. 
above; stigmas filiform. Capsules ovoid-pyramidal, sessile, attenuate into a curved beak, 
sharply 4-angled, the faces swollen. Seeds obovoid, angled, delicately striate. [Diminutive 
of Gaura.] 
A monotypic genus of the west-central United States. 
1. Gaurella guttulata (Geyer) Small. Spotted Primrose. (Fig. 2598.) 
J 4 OLnothera canescens Torr. Frem. Rep. 315. 1845. 
\ w/ VG Not OF. biennts var. canescens T. & G. 1840. 
WV : UY Wa OEnothera guttulata Geyer; Hook. Lond. 
\ V 5 SY AX (RR Journ. Bot. 6: 222. 1847. 
Z Zz 
IZ 
Gaurella guttulata Small, Bull. Torr. Club, 23: 
183. 1806. 
SY 
\\ 
NN’, 
N 
Diffusely branched from near or at the 
base, 4’-S’ high, canescent with appressed 
hairs, the branches decumbent or ascending. 
Leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, nearly 
sessile and narrowed at the base, obtusish at 
the apex, 4/’-8’’ long, 14’-2’’ wide, repand- 
denticulate or entire; flowers axillary, white 
or pink, 9/’-12/’ wide; calyx-lobes lanceolate, 
canescent, the tube longer than the ovary; 
petals obovate, entire; capsule ovate, canes- 
cent, 4/’-5’’ long, angled, not winged, ses- 
sile; seeds angled, slipper-shaped. 
Prairies, Nebraska to New Mexico. June-Sept. 
15. MEGAPTERIUM Spach, Hist. Veg. 4: 363. 1835. 
Low perennial herbs with stout sparingly branched stems. Leaves numerous, alternate, 
narrow, entire or slightly toothed. Flowers perfect, few, but large and showy, axillary, 
yellow. Calyx-tube much elongated, dilated toward the throat; calyx-segments narrow, the 
tips free in the bud. Petals 4, spreading. Stamens 8, the alternate ones longer; filaments 
filiform; anthers linear. Ovary 4-celled, 4-angled or 4-winged; united styles filiform; stigma 
4-cleft; ovules few, sessile in rows. Capsules broadly 4-winged. Seeds few, crested. 
{Greek, broad-winged. ] 
About 3 species, in North America and Mexico. 
Flowers 3'-6' broad; capsules suborbicular, 2'-2' long. 1. M. Missouriense. 
Flowers 1'-2' broad; capsules oblong, 9’’-14'' long. 2. M. Fremontii. 
1. Megapterium Missouriénse 
(Sims) Spach. Missouri Prim- 
rose. (Fig. 2599.) 
OEnothera Missouriensis Sims. Bot. Mag. 
pl. 1592. 1814. 
OEnothera macrocarpa Pursh, Fl. Amer. 
Sept. 734. 1814. 
Megaplterium Missouriense Spach, Hist. 
Veg. 4: 364. 1835. 
Tufted, stems decumbent or ascending, 
finely and densely canescent, 6’—12/ long. 
Leaves thick, linear-lanceolate or oblong- 
lanceolate, acuminate or acute at the apex, 
narrowed at the base into a slender petiole, 
or the uppermost nearly sessile, entire or re- 
motely denticulate, 2’-6’ long, 2//-8’’ wide; 
flowers axillary, yellow, 3’—6’ broad; calyx- 
lobes broadly lanceolate, spreading, the tube 
2’-6’ long, 6-12 times the length of the 
ovary; capsule short-stalked, nearly orbicu- 
lar, very broadly winged, finely canescent, 
or glabrate when mature, 1/-3’ long; seeds 
with an incised crest. 
In dry soil, Missouri and Nebraska to 
Texas, May-July. 
