500 Order 79.— PLANTAGINACELE. 



12. SAM'OLUS, L. Water Pimpernel. (Celtic san, salutary, mos, 

 a pio- ; a specific for the diseases of swine, says Pliny.) Calyx partly ad- 

 herent, C-cIcft; cor. hypocrateriform, 5-cleft; sta. 5, alternating with 5 

 scales (sterile filaments) ; caps, dehiscent at top hy 5 valves, rnany-seeded. 

 — Herbs with alternate lvs. Fls. corymbous or raccmous. (Fig. 272.) 



S. valerandi L. /?. americanus (Gray). St. simple or branched ; lvs. obtuse, 

 ovate or obovate, the radical petiolate ; fls. in a raceme or panicle of racemes, pe- 

 dicels with a minute bract near the middle; pet. longer than the sop. — In wet, 

 gravelly places, frequent throughout the country. Sis. 6' to If high, simple when 

 first flowering, becoming often much branched. Lvs. thin, about l' long. Fed. 

 less than 1', with small (near 2" diam.) milk white fls. A white spot in the axils 

 of the branches. JI. — Sept. (North), Apr.— Jl. (South). (S. floribunda of authors.) 



Order LXXIX. PLANTAGINACE^E. Ribworts. 



Herbs rarely shrubby, with radical leaves and the flowers in a spike on a seapo. 



Flowers regular, tctramerous. Stamens 4, alternate with the. lobes of the corolla 



and inserted on its tubo. Anthers versatile, filaments usually slender and exserted. 



Fruit a membranous pyxis, with 1, 2, or many albuminous seeds. 



Genera 3, zpeeiex 200, most abundant in temperate, climates, scattered throughout all coun- 

 tries of the globe. Properties unimportant. 



PLANTA'GO, L. Plantain. Ribwort. Sepals 4, membranous, 

 persistent ; corolla monopetalous ; border 4-toothcd, spreading, per- 

 sistent and withering on the fruit ; stamens 4 (rarely 2), the long, slen- 

 der filaments exserted, or in some of the fls. included ; ovary 2 (-4). 

 celled ; pyxis membranous, opening below the middle by a lid, when 

 the loose dissepiment falls out with the seeds. — (Herbs acaulescent.) 

 Fls. small, whitish, in a slender spike raised on a scape. 



§ Stamens uniformly exserted. Corollalobesspre.itlin.gr. Flowers rcnlform. (a) 



a Seeds 7 to 16. Leaves broadly ovate, T- veined. Spike dense ..No. I 



a Seeds 4 only. Leaves oblong or cordate, 8 to 7-veined Nos. 2, 8 



a Seeds 2 only. Leaves lanceolate. Scape tall Nos. 4, 6 



a Seeds 2 or 4. Leaves linear, fleshy Nos. 6, 7 



§ Stamens mostly included, with short anthers. Flowers dimorphous? (b) 



b Seeds 2 only. Corolla lobes roundish, reflexed. Leaves linear No, 8 



b Seeds 2, rarely 3 or 4. Corolla lobes erect. Leaves lanceolate No. !) 



b Seeds 1 to 20. Leaves linear. Plants very small Nos. 10, 11 



1 P. major L. Common Plantain or Ribwort. Las. ovate, smoothish, some- 

 what toothed, palmately 1 -veined, with long, channeled footstalks; scape round; 

 fls. densely spiked; seeds 7 to 1G. — If. Commou always at the door and by tho 

 wayside. The leaves are reputed a good external application for wounds, &c. 

 The seeds are oaten by sparrows and other small birds. Lvs. broad, flat, with 

 about 7 veins, each containing a strong fibro which may be pulled out. Scape 1 

 to 3f high, with a very long (5 to 20'), cylindric spike. Fls. white, inconspicuous, 

 appearing in succession all summer. § Eur., <fcc. 



2 P. Ritgelii Dcue. Lvs. oblong or oblong-elliptical, obtuse, 3 to 5-veincd, atten- 

 uated to a petiole ; ped. slender, terete ; spike cylindrical, moro or less loose-flow- 

 ered; bracts acutish, shorter than tho smooth sepals. — Ala. (Decaisno in Prod. 

 DC. XIII, p. 700). Allied to P. major, perhaps too nearly. 



3 P. cordata Lam. Lvs. cordate-ovate, broad, smooth, subpinnatcly 5 to 7-veined, 

 obscurely toothed ; fls. loosely spicate, lower ones scattered, with ovate, obtuse, 

 bracts; pyxis 4-seeded. — ZC Can. to Tenn. and Ga., along streams. Our largest 

 native species, nearly as largo as P. major. Spikes 6 to 8' long, on scapes twice 

 as high. Lvs. 3 to 6' long, moro or less cordate at base. Cor. white, with obo- 

 vate sognssats. Pyxis a third longer than tho calyx, with 2 margined seeds in 

 each coll. Jn., Jl. 



4 P. lanceolata K Lvs. lanceolate, tapering at each end, petiole channeled; 

 spike ovate or cylindric, dense; scape angular ; brads and cor. lobes acuminate. — 



