LEpraNnTHUs. CLIV. PONTEDERIACEZ. 555 
Trize 6. ASPARAGEZ.—Stem usually fully developed, or if not, the leaves 
are coriaceous and permanent. 
16. ASPARAGUS. 
GY. oTrapacow, to tear; some of the species are armed with strong prickles. 
Perianth 6-parted, erect; ovary turbinate; stamens erect; style 
_very short; stigmas 3; berry 3-celled, cells 2-seeded. 
A. OFFICINALIS. Asparagus. 
St. herbaceous, unarmed, very branching, erect; lvs. setaceous, flexible, 
fasciculate—2 Native of England, and other parts of Europe, naturalized on 
rocky shores. Stem 2—4f high. Leaves filiform, 3—13/ long, pale pea-green. 
Flowers axillary, solitary or in pairs. Berries globose, red. It is one of the 
oldest and most delicate of culinary vegetables, was no less praised in ancient 
Rome, by Pliny, Cato and other writers, than at the present day. Diuretic. Jl. 
Orver CLIV. PONTEDERACEA®.—Ponrteperaps. 
Plants aquatic or marsh. Lvs. sheathing, parallel-veined, mostly cordate or dilated at base. 
Inflorescence various, often spathaceous. Agel ; Ore z 
Perianth tubular, colored, 6-parted, often irregular, circinate in estivation. 
Sta. 3 or 6, unequal, perigynous. 2 AG Qt 
Ova. free or sometimes adherent to the perianth at base, 3-celled. Style1. Stig. simple. 
Fr.—Capsule 3 (sometimes 1)-celled, 3-valved, with loculicidal dehiscence. _ 
Seeds numerous (sometimes solitary), attached to a central axis. Albumen farinaceous. 
Genera 6, species 30, found exclusively in America, E. Indies and Tropical Africa. They are of no 
own use. 
Conspectus of the Genera. r 
poegue ee : ‘ 2 3 » 3 ‘ = : . Leptanthus. 2 
peal, 2—4togetherinaspathe.. . . . .«- . «. . . «. Heteranthera. 3 
Flow unequal, in a terminal spike. Basie Seete tay Oe Sh Aree NG 1st bikaces eane Ieaer ae bh 
op oe 1. PONTEDERIA. 
’ In honor of Julius Pontedera, a botanic author and professor, of Padua, about 1720. 
Perianth bilabiate, tubular at base, under side of the tube perfo- 
rated with 3 longitudinal clefts, the lower part persistent; stamens 
unequally inserted, 3 near the base and 3 at the summit of the tube; 
utricle 1-seeded.—F'ls. blue, mostly spicate. 
P. corpata. Pickerel-weed. 
Iws. subradical, cordate-oblong; fis. spiked—? Can. and U.S. A fine 
conspicuous plant, native of the borders of muddy lakes, &c., growing in patches 
extending from the shores to deep water. Stem thick, round, erect, arising 
1—2f above the water, bearing a single leaf. Leaves 4—7 by 13—3’, very 
smooth and glossy, almost sagittate, with veins beautifully arranged to conform 
to the margin. Flowers in a spike, arising above the spathe, very irregular. 
Perianth 2-lipped, each lip 3-cleft, always blue, appearing in July. 
8. angustifolia. Torr. Lvs. narrow, truncate and subcordate at base. 
2 LEPTANTHUS. Michx. 
Gr. XeTros, slender, avSos}; in reference to the long tube of the perianth. 
Spathe 1-flowered ; tube of the perianth very long and slender, 
limb 6-parted, equal; anthers of 2 forms; capsule !-celled, many- 
seeded.— Lvs. alternate, sheathing at base. 
L. craminea. Vahl. (Schollera graminea. Schred.) 
St. floating, rooting at the lower joints; /vs. linear—A grass-like aquatic, 
in flowing water, Northern States. Stem slender, dichotomous, 1—2f long. 
Leaves 3—6’ long, 1—2” wide, obtuse at apex, slightly sheathing at base. 
Flower solitary, issuing from a short (1’) spathe. Tube 14/ long, limb in 6, 
linear-lanceolate segments, yellow. Stamens 3 (4, authors); filaments broad, 
one of them abortive, the other 2 with linear anthers longer than the thick 
style. Jl. Aug. - 
47* 
