52 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



35. False Loosestrife. Seedbox 



L. alteniifblia. — Color, yellow. Leaves, alternate, pointed 

 at both ends, narrow. Twie, August, September. 



Calyx tube, short, with 4 lance-shaped and leaf-like lobes. 

 Petals, 4. Stamens, 4. Fruit, a square, box-like capsule, with 

 rounded base and wing-angles. 



A smooth, rather tall plant, with conspicuous flowers on pe- 

 duncles in the leaf-axils. 24 to 40 inches high. 



36 



A smaller species is Hairy False Loosestrife (Z. liirtella), with 

 blunt leaves. It has clustered roots, often thickened and 

 tuberous. It is found in moist pine barrens of New Jersey 

 to Florida and Texas. 2 feet high or less. 



Other species of Ludwigia have flowers with greenish petals or 

 none, and may be recognized by runners produced from the base 

 of the stem. The capsules of all are 4-sided and prominent. 

 Three — Ludwigia sphaeroccirpa, L. polycdrpa, L. linearis — are 

 found in swampy places. 



37. W^illow-herb 



Epilbbium lineare ("upon a little pod"). — Family, Even- 

 ing Primrose. Color, pale magenta. Leaves, lower ones op- 

 posite, numerous, with edges rolled back ; upper scattered, 

 all on short stems. Time, August. 



G7/)'.v tube, 5-lobed. /V/a/j-, 4-n etched. Stamens,^. Stigma, 

 club-shaped. 



A plant slightly hairy, i to 2 feet high, with pods on long 

 stalks, and seeds crowned with fine hairs, by which they are 

 blown about. 



38 



E. strictum, also a swamp herb, somewhat taller than the 

 last, is covered with minute whitish hnirs. It has broader 



