342 ASCLEPIADACE.E. (MILKWEED FAMILY.) 



subcordate at base, nearly sessile ; umbels 2-3, densely many-flowered, on short 

 peduncles , corolla-lobes ovate, greenish ; hoods truncate, entire. Plains of 

 central Kansas and southwestward. 



12. A. phytolaccoid.es, Pursh. (POKE-MILKWEED.) Stem 3-5 

 high; leaves broadly ovate, or the upper oval-lanceolate and pointed at both ends, 

 short-petioled, smooth or slightly downy underneath (5 - 8' long) ; lateral um- 

 bels several; pedicels loose and nodding, numerous, long and slender (1-3' long), 

 equalling the peduncle; corolla-lobes ovate-oblong, greenish; hoods (white) 

 truncate, the margins 2-toothed at the summit, the horn u-ith a long projecting 

 awl-shaped point. Moist copses, N. Eng. to Minn., south to Ga. and Ark. 



13. A. variegata, L. Stem 1-2 high; leaves (4-5 pairs) orate, oval, 

 or obovate, somewhat wavy, contracted into short petioles, middle ones sometimes 

 whorled ; pedicels (numerous and crowded) and peduncle short, downy ; divis- 

 ions of the corolla orate (white) ; hoods orbicular, entire, purplish or reddish, 

 the horn semilunar with a horizontal point. Dry woods, southern N. Y. to 

 Ind., south to Fla., Ark., and W. La. July. Remarkable for its compact 

 umbels of nearly white flowers. 



b. Leaves mostly pubescent or puberulent ; hoods obtuse, entire, twice or thrice 



the length of the anthers. 



14. A. Ovalif61ia, Decaisne. Low (6- 18' high), soft-downy, especially 

 the lower surface of the ovate or lanceolate-oblong acute short-petioled leaves 

 Oi-3' long); umbels loosely 10- 18-flowered, sessile or ped uncled; pedicels 

 slender , hoods oblong, yellowish, with a small horn, about the length of the 

 oval greenish-white corolla-lobes (tinged with purple outside). Prairies and 

 oak-openings, N. 111. and Iowa, to Wise, and Dak. 



*-* -w- Follicles and pedicels erect ; leai'es often whorled ; glabrous or nearly so. 

 = Leaves ovate to broadly lanceolate, thin, rather slender-pctioled. 



15. A. quadrifolia, L. Stem slender (1-2 high), mostly leafless be- 

 low, bearing usually one or tiro whorls of four in the middle and one or two 

 pairs of ovate or ovate-lanceolate taper-pointed petioled leaves (2 -4' long); 

 pedicels slender ; corolla-lobes (pale pink) oblong ; hoods white, elliptical-ovate, 

 the incurved horn short and thick. Dry woods and hills, N. Eng. to Minn., 

 south to N, C. and Ark. 



16. A. perennis, Walt. Stems (1 - 2 high) persistent or somewhat woody 

 at the base ; leaves lanceolate or lanceolate-ovate, tapering to both ends, thin, rather 

 slender-petioled ; flowers white, small; the small hoods of the crown shorter 

 than the needle-shaped horn ; seeds sometimes destitute of a coma ! Low 

 grounds, S. Ind. and 111. to Tex., and eastward. 



= = Leaves narrowly linear to filiform ; horn subulate, exserted ; column con- 

 spicuous. 



17. A. verticillata, L. Stems slender, simple or sparingly branched, 

 very leafy to the summit; leaves filiform-linear, with revolute margins (2-3' 

 long, 1" wide), 3 - 6 in a whorl ; umbels small, lateral and terminal ; divisions 

 of the corolla ovate (greenish-white) ; hoods roundish-oval, about half the 

 length of the incurved claw-shaped horns. Dry hills, common, especially 

 southward. Var ptiMii.A, Gray, is low and many-stemmed from a fascicled 

 root; leaves much crowded, filiform. Dry plains, Neb. to Kan. and N. Mex. 



