Vor. II.] DIAPENSIA FAMILY. 583 
short and broad; anther-cells pointed, divergent, obliquely 2-valved; staminodia none. 
Style slender; ovules numerous in the cells, anatropous. Seeds oblong-cubic, the testa 
close, reticulated. [Greek, by fives, alluding to the stamens and corolla-lobes. ] 
Two species, 1 of wide distribution in the colder parts of the northern hemisphere, the other 
Himalayan. 
1. Diapensia Lapponica L. Diapensia. 
(Fig. 2802.) 
Diapensia Lapponica \,. Sp. Pl. 141. 1753. 
Glabrous, forming dense cushion-like tufts; stems 
simple or branched, erect or ascending, 1/-3/ high. 
Leaves crowded below, thick, spatulate, sessile, obtuse 
or acutish, often curved, entire, 3/’-6/’ long, about 1// 
wide, the margins usually revolute; peduncles rather 
stout, becoming 1/—2’ long in fruit; sepals and bracts 
oval; corolla usually white, 3/’-4’’ long, its tube about 
the length of the sepals and of its oval or oblong 
obtuse lobes; capsule ovoid, 2’/-3/” high. 
Summits of the Adirondack Mountains, and of the 
mountains of New England; Mt. Albert, Quebec; Labra- 
dor and arctic America. Also in northern and alpine Eu- 
rope and Asia. June-July. 
2. PYXIDANTHERA Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 0525 2. Lf. 180. 
A creeping tufted much branched evergreen shrub, with small narrow alternate imbri- 
cated leaves, and numerous white or pinkish sessile flowers, solitary at the ends of the 
branches. Calyx bracted at the base, the sepals oblong, ciliate. Corolla short-campanulate, 
5-lobed, tardily deciduous. Stamens inserted at the sinuses of the corolla; filaments broad 
and thick; anthers 2-celled, the sacs globose, transversely 2-valved, the lower valve cuspi- 
date; staminodia none. Style columnar. Seeds globose-oblong, amphitropous, the testa 
black, cancellate. [Greek, box-anther. ] 
A monotypic genus of eastern North America. 
1. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Pyxie. Flowering Moss. (Fig. 2803.) 
Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am, 1: 152: 
pl. 17. 1803. 
PDiapensia barbulata Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 229. 1817. 
Glabrous, or sparingly pubescent, very leafy, 
growing in mats or large patches on the ground, 
the main branches sometimes 1° long. Leaves ses- 
sile, linear, lanceolate or linear-oblong, acuminate 
or subulate-tipped, entire, pubescent at the base 
when young, 2/’-4’’ long, about 1/’ wide, densely 
imbricated toward the ends of the branches, more 
scattered below; flowers usually very numerous, 
2//-3/’ broad, mostly white; corolla-lobes cuneate- 
obovate, obtuse, retuse or eroded; capsule about 1/” 
high, globose, sessile, surrounded by the upper 
leaves. 
In dry sandy pine-barrens, southern New Jersey and 
in North Carolina. Called also Pine-barren Beauty. 
Flowers sometimes pinkish. March-May. 
By GALAX Mey fSjoy Jel welsh a7} 
An acaulescent perennial herb, with orbicular cordate crenate-dentate long-petioled basal 
leaves, and numerous small white flowers, spicate-racemose at the ends of tall mostly naked 
slender scapes. Calyx minutely 2-bracteolate at the base, 5-parted, the sepals neryeless. 
Corolla 5-divided, the petals oblong, entire, adnate to the bases of the monadelphous sta- 
mens. Stamen-tube to-lobed at the summit, the lobes which are opposite the petals petaloid 
(staminodia), those alternate with the petals antheriferous; anthers nearly sessile, granular 
on the back, 1-celled, transversely 2-valved. Style very short. Seeds ovoid, the testa loose. 
[Greek, milk; name not characteristic of this genus. ] 
A monotypic genus of southeastern North America. 
