LYTHRACEAE 827 



2-4 cm. long, obtuse or acutish, more or less revolute, paler beneath than above, sessile or 

 nearly so : pedicels stout, 1-2 mm. long : hypanthium campanulate, often becoming tur- 

 binate-campanulate, 3-4 mm. high, ribbed : sepals triangular, acute, as long as the hy- 

 panthium, erect or converging, their accessory teeth subulate, spread ing-upcurved, sur- 

 passing the sepals : petals yellow, obovate or orbicular-obovate, 6-10 mm. long, retuse or 

 notched at the apex, somewhat crisped : stamens exserted : style surpassing the stamens : 

 capsules obovoid, 5 mm. high. 



Along streams, southern Texas and through the tropics to Paraguay. Spring to fall. 



5. DECODON J. F. Gmel. 



Aquatic shrubs, with elongated virgate branches. Leaves opposite or whorled : blades 

 entire. Flowers trimorphous, in axillary short-peduncled cymes. Hypanthium campan- 

 ulate, ribbed. Sepals 5-7, furnished with as many accessory teeth at the sinuses. Petals 

 purple. Stamens 10 or rarely 8, alternately shorter and longer, the longer exserted : fila- 

 ments filiform. Ovary 3-6-celled, globular : style filiform : stigma capitate. Capsules 

 subglobose, loculicidally 3-6-valved. Seeds angled. Testa leathery. SWAMP LOOSE- 

 STRIFE. 



1. Decodon vertdcillatus (L. ) Ell. An aquatic or marsh-inhabiting shrub, with 

 pubescent or rarely glabrous foliage and wand-like curving stems, the submerged portions 

 more or less densely coated with spongy tissue : leaf-blades lanceolate or elliptic-lanceo- 

 late, 3-20 cm. long, acuminate, often undulate, acute or acuminate at the base, short-peti- 

 oled : peduncles short and stout : pedicels 2-8 together, 5-10 mm. long : hypanthium 

 campanulate, 4-5 mm. high, glabrous in age, ribbed : sepals triangular, acuminate, 

 about as long as the tube, the accessory teeth subulate, surpassing the sepals : petals 

 purple, lanceolate to ovate, 7-9 mm. long, acuminate at both ends, crisped : longer 

 stamens conspicuously exserted : capsules subglobose, 5 mm. in diameter : seeds angled, 

 1. 5-2 mm . thick. [ Nesaea verticillata ( L. ) H. B. K. ] 



In swamps and lakes, Massachusetts to Ontario, Minnesota, Florida and Louisiana. Summer. 



6. LAGERSTROEMIA L. 



Shrubs or trees, with opposite or whorled branches and 4-angled twigs. Leaves 

 mainly opposite : blades entire. Flowers usually showy, in terminal panicles. Hypan- 

 thium turbinate or campanulate-turbinate, sometimes grooved. Sepals 6, shorter than the 

 hypanthium. Petals 6, clawed, crisped. Stamens numerous : filaments filiform, exserted : 

 anthers versatile. Ovary 1-6-celled, included : style filiform : stigma capitate. Capsule 

 leathery, loculicidally 3-6-valved. Seeds flattened, winged above. Testa membranous. 

 Embryo with orbicular cotyledons. 



1. Lagerstroemia Indica L. A glabrous deep green shrub, 1-7 m. tall. Trunk 

 clothed with a rough brownish bark, the branches erect or ascending : leaf-blades leathery, 

 obovate or oval, 1-2.5 cm. long, obtuse or apiculate, entire, sessile or nearly so : panicles 

 showy, 1-3 dm. long, many-flowered : pedicels angled, 5-10 mm. long : hypanthium broadly 

 turbinate, oblique, 4-6 mm. high, glaucescent : sepals triangular, acute, unequal, shorter 

 than the hypanthium : petals 6, purple, pink or nearly white, the blades orbicular or reni- 

 form in outline, lobed, strongly crisped, the claws mostly shorter than the blades : stamens 

 exserted ; filaments twisted : capsules oval-globose, 8-9 mm. high, obtuse at the ends. 



In waste places, in and near gardens, widely cultivated and sparingly naturalized, from Maryland 

 to Florida and Texas. Spring to fall. 



7. LYTHRUM L. 



Herbs or shrubs, with angled stems, our species perennial. Leaves alternate or 

 opposite, or rarely whorled : blades entire. Flowers axillary, or in terminal spikes or 

 racemes. Hypanthium tubular, ribbed or fluted, straight or nearly so, not spurred at the 

 base. Sepals 4-6, accompanied by as many erect or spreading teeth. Petals 4-6, broadest 

 above the middle, hardly clawed, essentially equal. Stamens 8-12, in 1 or 2 rows: fila- 

 ments filiform. Ovary 2-celled : style filiform : stigma capitate. Capsule included, mem- 

 branous, 2-celled, or becoming 1-celled by the breaking down of the septum, septicidally 2- 

 valved or opening irregularly. Seeds plano-convex. Testa leathery, smooth. Embryo 

 with auricled cotyledons. LOOSESTRIFE. 



