MELANTHACE.E. (COLCHICUM FAMILY.) 515 



at the apex, longer thau tlie filaments. Styles united : stigma 3-cleft or en- 

 tire. Berry nearly globose, many-seeded. Erect herbs with spreading 

 branches. Leaves clasping. Peduncles opposite the leaves, bent or twisted 

 in the middle. 



1. S. roseus, Michx. Stem much branched ; leaves ovate, or the upper- 

 most lanceolate, acuminate, slightly clasping, ciliate on the margins, 5-7- 

 iierved ; flowers mostly solitary, rose-color, nodding; anthers 2-poiuted at the 

 apex ; stigma 3-cleft. Shady woods on the mountains of Georgia, and north- 

 ward. May. Stem 2 high. Leaves 2' -4' long. Flowers 3" -4" long. 



2. S. amplexifolius, DC. Margins of the leaves smooth, flowers 

 greenish white ; anthers entire ; style filiform ; stigma entire; otherwise like 

 the last. Shady woods on the mountains of North Carolina. 



4. MELANTHIUM, L. 



Flowers mouceciously polygamous. Divisions of the perianth spreading, 

 long-clawed, somewhat cordate or hastate and biglandular at the base ; the 

 filaments partly adhering to their claws: anthers reniform, becoming peltate, 

 the cells confluent. Styles 3, subulate. Capsule membrauaceous, 3-lobed, the 

 cells separating and opening down the inner suture, several-seeded. Seeds 

 flat, winged. Stems tumid at the base, rough-pubescent above. Leaves 

 long, linear. Flowers pauicled, cream-color, turning brownish. 



1. M. Virginicum, L. Stem tall, simple, the upper portion, like the 

 loose panicle, pubescent and somewhat hoary ; lowest leaves long, broadly 

 linear and clasping, the upper small and sessile ; flowers shorter than the 

 pedicels, the upper ones perfect ; leaves of the perianth oblong or roundish, 

 often acute, the slender claw adnate to the lower half of the filaments ; glands 

 conspicuous. Swamps. July - August. Stem 3 - 4 high. Lowest leaves 

 l-Hlong. 



2. M. latifolium, Desrouss. Very near the preceding, but leaves 

 wider, flowers smaller, the divisions 2" -3" long, orbicular, undulate; the 

 claw bearing the stamens below the middle ; glands counivent or obscure. 

 (M. hybridum, Walt.) Open woods in the upper districts. August. 



5. ZYGADENTJS, Michx. 



Flowers perfect. Leaves of the perianth ovate or oblong, spreading, sessile 

 or nearly so, 1 - 2-glandular at the base. Filaments free from the perianth, 

 and of equal length: anthers broadly cordate, becoming peltate. Styles 3, 

 slender, spreading. Capsule membranaceous, 3-angled, septicidal at the apex, 

 many-seeded. Seeds oblong, wingless, or slightly margined. Stems smooth 

 and simple. Leaves linear. Flowers white, in crowded panicles. 



1. Z. glaberrimus, Michx. Stem rigid, leafy ; lowest leaves broadly 

 linear, glaucous beneath, the upper small and scattered ; panicle small, rigid ; 

 bracts ovate ; leaves of the perianth oblong, short-clawed, often with a white 

 callus on one or both sides at the base ; glands prominent ; stamens and styles 

 subulate ; seeds oblong. Pine barren swamps, Florida to North Carolina. 

 June -July. Stem 2 -3 high. Lowest leaves 1-H long. Panicle 6'- 

 12' long, commonly dense. Flowers 1' in diameter, as long as the pedicels. 



