Ordbr 52.— ONAGRACEiE. 353 



often minute or none; stamens 4, opposite the sepals; style short; 

 capsule short, often perforated at top, 4-celled, 4-valved, many-seeded, 

 and crowned with the persistent calyx lobes. — "H Herbs in wet grounds. 

 Lvs. entire. 



$ Leaves alternate, sessile, (a) 



a Petals large, yellow. Fruit pedicellate, short Nos. 1 3 



a Petals small, yellowish. Fruit sessile, elongated, smooth Nos.4, 5 



a Pet. or minute.— Fruit elongated, hairy or smooth Nos. 6, 7 



— Fruit short, smooth. — Stem winged No. 8 



—Stem teretish.— Fls. axillary. Nos. 9—11 



— Fls. capitate No. 12 



§ Leaves opposite, petiolato. — Fls. sessile, mostly apetalous Nos. 13—15 



—Fls. pedicellate, with showy petals No. 16 



1 L. alternifolia L. Seed-Box. Erect, branched, glabrous; lvs. lanceolate, 

 acute, sessile, pale beneath ; ped. axillary, solitary, 1-flowered, 2-bracted above 

 the middle; petals scarcely as large as the spreading, acuminate sepals; cups, 

 large, with 4, winged angles, crowned with the colored calyx. — Shady swamps. 

 St. 1 to 3f high, round, with a strong bark, and several branches. Lvs. with 

 marginal veins, 2 to 3' long, £ to 1' wide. Caps, convex at apex, the angles 

 conspicuously winged. Sep. large, purplish. Petals large, yellow, showy. 

 Jl., Aug. 



2 L. hirtella Raf. Hairy, erect, sparingly branched ; lvs. ovate-oblong, sessile, 

 obtuse ; fls. axillary, solitary, pedicellate, with 2 bractlets below it ; sep. nearly 

 as long as the pet. ; caps, subglobous, 4-augled and winged. — Moist soils, N. J. 

 to Fla. St. 1 to 3f high. Lvs. numerous, hairy on both sides, \ to If by 2 to 

 8'. Fls. yellow, about |' diam. Cal. spreading, and, with caps, villous. Jn. — 

 Sept. (L. hirsuta Ph.) 



3 L. virgata Ph. Nearly glabrous, erect, virgate; lvs. oblong, closely sessile, 

 obtuse, the upper linear; fls. large, on a slender pedicel ; petals longer than the 

 leafy calyx lobes ; caps, roundish-cubical, with winged angles, and finally as long 

 as the reflexed cal. lobes. — In dry soils, S. States. Sts. 2 to 3f high. Lvs. 1 to 

 2' long. Fls. spreading 1'. on pedicels 6'' long. May — Sept. 



4 L. linearis Walt. Glabrous, slender, with angular, erect branches ; lvs. lance- 

 linear, acute at each end; fls. axillary, solitary, sessile; pet. obovate-oblong, 

 slightly longer than the triangular-ovate sep. wbich are much shorter than the 

 elongated, obovoid-clavate, 4,-sided capsules. — Swamps, N. J. and S. States. Plant 

 1 to 2f high, with the habit of Lythrum alatum, often sending out runners at the 

 base, with obovato leaves. Fls. sometimes apetalous. Jl. — Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



5 L. linifolia Poir. Glabrous, mostly simple, creeping at base, then erect; 

 lvs. spreading, linear, rather acute, tapering to a slender base ; fls. closely sessile ; 

 cal.-lobes ovate, acuminate, about the length of the petioles and of the oblong, 4- 

 sided capsules. — Muddy places, N. Car. to Fla. Plant If high, with much the 

 habit of Proserpinaca palustris. Lvs. 1' long. 



6 L. cylindrica Ell. Glabrous, erect, much branched; lvs. lanceolate, acute; 

 fls. minute, 1 to 3 together, apetalous ; cal. lobes much shorter than the rather 

 slender, cylindrical, abrupt capsule. — S. Car. to Fla. and Tex. St. 3f high. Lvs. 

 veiny and somewhat denticulate. Capsules 2 to 4" in length, 1" wide. Jl. — 

 Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



7 L. pilosa Walt. Villous-pubesceni, erect, much branched ; lvs. lanceolate, acute; 

 fls. axillary and spiked above ; caL lobes ovate-acuminate, about as long as the 

 oblong, 4-sided, villous capsule. — Swamp. S. Car. to Fla. and La. Plant 2 to 3i 

 high. Lvs. 2 to 3' long, those of the branohe3 much diminished, of the stolons 

 spatulate. Caps, about 4" by 2 or 3". Jl. — Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



8 L. alata Ell. Glabrous, few-branched, erect ; st. winged by the decurrent bases 

 of the lanceolate lvs. ; fls. solitary, apetalous ; cal. lobes broadly ovate, nearly as 

 long as the small, 4-sided, obconic capsule. — Swamps, S. States. Plant about 21 

 high. Lvs. 1 to 3' long, the lower broad-oval. Jl. — Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



9 L. sphaerocarpa Ell. Erect, smooth, or nearly so ; lvs. lanceolate, acute, at- 

 tenuate at base ; fls. axillary, subsolitary, on very short pedicels ; pet. minute or 

 wanting, as well as the bractlets ; sep. as long as the small subglobous caps. — In 



