498 PARNASSIACEAE 



cymes. Sepals 4. Petals 4, distinct. Stamens 8, inserted at the base of the petals : fila- 

 ments filiform : anthers dark-colored. Scales minute, suborbicular. Carpels 4, united be- 

 low the middle. Ovary 1-celled : styles subulate, short : stigmas minute. Ovules numer- 

 ous in each carpel, crowded on axile placentae. Follicles 4, the tips spreading at maturity. 



1. Diamorpha cymosa (Nutt. ) Britton. Plants glabrous, reddish throughout. 

 Stems 2-10 cm. tall, simple or branched at the base or above : leaves nearly terete, 2-5 

 mm. long, obtuse, ascending, sometimes incurved, sessile : pedicels 1-1.5 mm. long : sepals 

 triangular, acute or acutish, slightly spreading : petals oblong-ovate, boat-shaped, nearly 3 

 mm. long, obtuse : stamens shorter than the petals : anthers black : follicles 1.5-2 mm. 

 long, with curved or hooked tips. [Z). pusilla Nutt. ] 



On rocks, chiefly granite, North Carolina and Tennessee to middle Georgia and Alabama. Spring. 



4. BRYOPHYLLUM Salisb. 



Upright herbs, with a shrubby base and fleshy tissues. Leaves opposite : blades simple 

 or pinnately compound ; leaflets mostly toothed. Flowers perfect, often showy, nodding, in 

 cymes or panicles which are opposite the branches. Sepals 4, united into an often inflated 

 calyx. Corolla nearly campanulate, or urn-shaped, the narrow limb with 4 spreading 

 lobes. Stamens 8, in 2 rows, adnate to about the middle of the corolla-tube : filaments 

 filiform : anthers mostly exserted. Glands of the disk 4, oblong. Carpels 4, distinct or 

 partially united. Ovules many in each cavity. Follicles 4. Seeds numerous. 



1. Bryophy Hum pinna turn (Lam. ) S. Kurz. Perennial, glabrous. Sterns 4-15 dm. 

 tall, more or less widely branched : leaf -blades often pinnately compound, 1-3 dm. long ; 

 leaflets oblong, oval or elliptic, obtuse, crenate, the terminal one several times longer than 

 the lateral ones : panicles 1-4 dm. long, conspicuous : calyx bladder-like when growing, 

 finally oblong-campanulate, 3-3.5 cm. long, glabrous : corolla reddish, twice as long as 

 the calyx or shorter ; lobes lanceolate or narrowly ovate, acute. [B. calycinum Salisb. J 



In waste places, Florida. Introduced from tropical America. 



FAMILY 3. PENTHORACEAE Rydb. VIRGINIA STONECROP FAMILY. 



Perennial herbs, with relatively firm tissues and erect stems. Leaves alter- 

 nate ; blades thinnish, serrate. Flowers perfect, greenish, in terminal cymes, 

 secund on the branches. Sepals 5. Petals 5, inconspicuous, or wanting. Sta- 

 mens 10, hypogynous : filaments filiform. Scales wanting. Carpels 5, united 

 to about the middle : styles very short, abruptly pointed, diverging : stigmas 

 capitate. Ovules numerous in each carpel, on axile placentae. Follicles united 

 into a 5-celled, 5-lobed depressed circumscissile capsule with wide-spreading or 

 recurved persistent styles. 



1. FENTHORUM L. 



Characters of the family. DITCH or VIRGINIA STONECROP. 



1. Peiithorum sedoides L. Foliage bright green, glabrous, or glandular pubescent 

 above. Stems 1-6 dm. tall, simple or branched above, terete below, angled above : leaf- 

 blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 3-15 cm. long, acuminate at both ends, ser- 

 rate ; petioles 0.5-2 cm. long: branches of the cymes 2-8 cm. long, spreading: flowers 

 greenish white, 4 mm. broad: sepals ovate, 1.5 mm. long, acute: petals generally want- 

 ing : capsule depressed, 4-5 mm. broad, each lobe tipped with a stout slightly recurved style. 



In swamps and wet soil, New Brunswick to Minnesota, Florida and Texas. Summer. 



FAMILY 4. PARNASSIACEAE Dumort. GRASS-OF-PARNASSUS FAMILY. 



Acaulescent herbs, with glabrous foliage. Leaves basal : blades leathery, 

 entire : petioles usually elongated, erect, dilated at the base. Scapes usually 

 solitary, simple, each bearing a bract. Flowers perfect, white or pale yellow, 

 solitary. Perianth in 2 series. Calyx persistent : sepals 5, imbricated. Corolla 

 of 5 variously shaped imbricated entire or fimbriate, often conspicuously 

 nerved, deciduous petals. Androecium of 5 hypogynous or perigynous stamens 

 alternating with entire or tufted staminodia. Filaments subulate. Anthers 

 introrse. Gynoecium of 3 or 4 united carpels. Ovary 1-celled, superior or half- 



