AMAKANTHACEAE 397 



leaves opposite, or alternate below ; blades suborbicular or ovate, 0.5-1 cm. long, obtuse, 

 entire, rounded or truncate at the often oblique base, short-petioled : flowers incon- 

 spicuous : bractlets shorter than the calyx : sepals oblong or oblong-lanceolate, a little over 

 2 mm. long, obtuse or acutish, densely pubescent at least above the middle : utricle 

 included. 



In valleys, southern Texas. Spring to fall. 



10. FROEIifcHIA Moench. 



Annual or biennial herbs, with woolly or silky -pubescent foliage. Leaves opposite : 

 blades entire or merely undulate, thickish, sessile, except for the petiole-like bases of some 

 of the lower ones. Flowers perfect, inconspicuous, subtended by 3 bracts and occasionally 

 furnished with bractlets, in dense spikes usually disposed in panicles. Sepals 5, woolly : 

 tube longitudinally crested or tubercled at maturity. Stamens 5, included : filaments 

 united into a tube : anthers 1 -celled, situated between the projecting entire segments of the 

 filament-tube. Ovary 1-celled : style short or wanting : stigmas capitate or brush-like. 

 Utricle indehiscent, enclosed in the filament-tube. 



Calyx-tube with lateral crests of distinct spines or tubercles at maturity. 



Mature calyx-tube with tubercled faces : stems woolly. 1. F. gratilis. 



Mature calyx-tube with spiny faces : stems minutely appressed-pubescent. 2. F. Texana. 



Calyx-tube with lateral crests of erose or toothed wings at maturity. 



Calyx-wings deeply toothed : leaf-surfaces white or pale- pubescent beneath. 

 Stems puberalent at least above : one or both faces of the mature calyx-tube 



with 1 or 2 tubercle-like or spiny ridges. 3. F. Floridana. 



Stems woolly : one or both faces of the mature calyx-tube with a basal spine. 4. F. campestris. 

 Calyx-wings merely erose : leaf-surfaces tawny or coppery pubescent beneath. 5. F. Drummondii. 



1. Froelichia gracilis Moq. Annual, slender. Stems usually branched at the base, 

 the branches erect or ascending or rarely spreading, 2-3 dm. long, more than J the length 

 represented by the peduncle : leaves rather numerous, near the base of the plant, often clus- 

 tered ; blades linear to linear-oblong, 1-5 cm. long, acute, like the stems, white-woolly 

 beneath : spikes 1-3 cm. long : calyx-tube with crests of distinct spines, and tubercled faces 

 at maturity. 



In dry soil, Nebraska to Colorado, Texas and Arizona. Spring to fall. 



2. Froelichia Texana A. Br. Annual, stoutish. Stems erect or ascending, 4-1 2 dm. 

 tall, simple or nearly so, at least above the base, pubescent with minute appressed hairs : 

 leaves few, conspicuously remote ; blades linear or nearly so, 2-12 cm. long, often curved, 

 acute or acuminate, appressed-woolly beneath, the upper sessile : spikes 0.5-2 cm. long, 

 sometimes black : calyx-tube with crests of distinct spines, and spiny faces at maturity. 



In dry soil, Texas. Summer and fall. 



3. Froelichia Floridana (Nutt. ) Moq. Annual, rather slender. Stems erect or as- 

 cending, 4-18 dm. tall, sometimes branched at the base, thence usually simple, puberulent : 

 leaves few, conspicuously remote ; blades linear or slightly broadest above or below the 

 middle, 3-12 cm. long, acute, sessile or the lower ones narrowed into winged petioles, all 

 pubescent with appressed hairs beneath or occasionally barely woolly : spikes 1-6 cm. long : 

 calyx-tube with deeply toothed crests and 1 or 2 tubercle-like or spiny ridges on one or 

 each face at maturity. 



In sandy soil, Georgia and Florida. Spring to fall. 



4. Froelichia campestris Small. Annual or biennial, stoutish. Stems erect or 

 branched near the base, the branches often ascending, 4-12 dm. tall, sometimes forking, 

 woolly : leaves quite numerous, usually approximate ; blades spatulate to oblong or broadly 

 linear, acute or acutish, white-woolly beneath, entire, sessile or narrowed into broad peti- 

 oles below : spikes 1-10 cm. long, sometimes black : calyx-tube with rather shallowly 

 toothed crests and a basal spine on one or each face at maturity. 



In dry soil, Minnesota to Illinois, Colorado, Texas and Arizona. Spring to fall. 



5. Froelichia Drummondii Moq. Annual or biennial, stout. Stems erect or ascend- 

 ing, often branched at the base, the branches simple or forking, becoming floccose in age : 

 leaves opposite, some often clustered in the axils of larger ones ; blades elliptic, oblong or 

 oblong-lanceolate, 6-12 cm. long, acute, with tawny or copper-colored pubescence beneath, 

 narrowed into short petioles except the upper pairs : spikes stout, 1-6 cm. long : calyx- 

 tube with merely erose crests at maturity. 



On prairies, Texas and Louisiana, and probably farther north and in the Mississippi Valley 

 Summer and fall. 



