PRIMULACE^E. (PRIMROSE FAMILY.) 273 



2. Li. quadrifolia, L. Somewhat hairy; stem simple (l°-2° high) ; 

 leaves whorled in fours or fives (rarely in threes or sixes) ovate-lanceolate ; flowers 

 on long capillary peduncles from the axils of the leaves ; lobes of the corolla 

 ovate-oblong. — Moist or sandy soil; common. June. — A variety has the 

 leaves varying to opposite and partly alternate, some of the upper reduced to 

 bracts shorter than the peduncles. (Near New York, Washington, &c.) 



§ 2. STEIRONEMA, Raf. — Leaves opposite, not dotted, glabrous, mostly ciliate at 

 the base : flowers nodding on slender peduncles from the axils of the upper leaves : 

 corolla light yellow, not streaked or dotted ; the lobes broadly orate, pointed, with 

 undulate or denticulate margins, little exceeding the sepals: filaments nearly 

 equal, scarcely monadelphous, with the rudiments of a sterile set interposed at the 

 base in the form of slender teeth or processes : anthers linear, at length curved: pod 

 5- 10-valved, or bursting irregularly, 10 - 20-seeded. 



3. L. ciiinta, L. Stem erect (2° -3° high), leaves lanceolate-ovate (3' -6' 

 long), tapering to an acute point, rounded or heart-shaped at the base, all on long 

 and fringed petioles ; corolla longer than the calyx. — Low ground and thickets ; 

 common. July. 



4. L. r»«iicailS, Hook. Stem slender, soon reclined, the elongated branch- 

 es often rooting in the mud ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, mostly rounded at the base, on 

 slender petioles : corolla about the length of the calyx. — Swampy river-banks, 

 W. Virginia (Aikin) and southward. — Leaves and flowers nearly one half 

 smaller than in the last. 



5. L. lanceolata, Walt. Stem erect (10' -20' high); leaves lanceolate, 

 varying to oblong and to linear, narrowed into a short margined petiole or tapering 

 base, or the lowest short and broad on long petioles. — Var. iiybrida is the 

 broader-leaved form. Var. angustifOlia (L. angustifolia, Lam.), a slender 

 branching form, with the upper leaves narrowly lanceolate or linear, and acute 

 at both ends. — Low grounds ; common, especially westward. June - Aug. 



6. L. loiigifolia, Pursh. Stem erect, 4-angled, slender (l°-3° high), 

 often branched below; stem-leaves sessile, narrowly linear, elongated (2' -4' long, 

 2" -3" wide), smooth and shining, rather rigid, obtuse, the margins often a little 

 revolute, the veins obscure; the lowest oblong or spatulate; corolla (§'-|' 

 broad) longer than the calyx, the lobes conspicuously pointed. (L. revoluta, 

 Nutt.) — Wet banks, W. New York and Penn. to Wisconsin. July -Sept. 



6. NAUMBIBGIA, Mcench. Tufted Loosestrife. 



Calyx 6- (5-7-) parted. Corolla 6- (5-7-) parted almost or quite to the 

 base ; the spreading divisions lance-linear, with a small tooth interposed between 

 each. Filaments exserted, distinct. Pod few-seeded. — Perennial, with a sim- 

 ple stem, and opposite lanceolate entire leaves, which are dotted, like the yellow 

 flower, &c, with purplish glands. Flowers small, densely crowded in stalked 

 spikes or close racemes, from the axils of the middle leaves. (Named for J. S. 

 Naumburg, an early German botanist.) 



1. N. tliyrsifldra, Reichenb. (Lysimachia thyrsiflora, L. L. capitata, 

 Pursh ) — Cold swamps ; common northward. June. (Eu.) 



