592 LYTHRACEAE (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY) 



1. A. coccinea Rottb. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 5-7 cm. long, with a broad 

 auricled sessile base ; cymes, subsessile, dense ; petals purplish ; stamens more 

 or less exserted ; style long and slender. Muddy banks and wet sandy shores, 

 N. J. to Fla. ; and from O. to Dak. and southw. 



2. A. KoShnei Britton. Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, the lowest con- 

 tracted, the others broadly auricled at the base ; cymes sessile or nearly so ; 

 style very short; petals minute, pink, fugacious. Swamps. X. J. (according 

 to Britton) to Fla. Differs from the tropical A. latifolia L. only in having 

 petals. 



3. A. auriculata Willd. Erect, few-branched ; leaves lanceolate to narrowly 

 oblong, acute; cymes on slender peduncles (4-6 mm. long); fruit small; style 

 relatively lonp. Borders of ponds, etc., w. Mo. and Neb. to Tex., and south westw. 



4. DECODON J. F. Gmel. SWAMP LOOSESTRIFE 



Calyx with 5-7 erect teeth, and as many longer and spreading horn-like 

 processes at the sinuses. Stamens exserted, of two lengths. Capsule globose, 

 3-5-celled, loculicidal. Perennial herbs or slightly shrubby plants, with opposite 

 or whorled leaves, and axillary clusters of trimorphous flowers. (Name from 

 StKa, ten, and dSorij, tooth.) 



1. D. verticillatus (L.) Ell. (WATER WILLOW.) Smooth or downy ; stems 

 recurved, 6-26 dm. long, 4-6-sided ; leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile, opposite 

 or whorled, the upper with clustered short-pediceled flowers in their axils ; 

 petals 5, wedge-lanceolate, magenta, 1.2 cm. long ; stamens 10, half of them 

 shorter. Swampy grounds, Me. to Fla., La., and Minn. Bark of submersed 

 parts of the stem often spongy-thickened. 



5. LYTHRUM L. LOOSESTRIFE 



Calyx cylindrical, striate, 5-7-toothed, with as many little processes in the 

 sinuses. Petals 5-7. Stamens as many as the petals or twice the number, 

 inserted low down on the calyx. Capsule subcylindrical, 2-celled. Slender 

 herbs, with pink or magenta (rarely white) flowers in summer. (From Xvdpov, 

 blood ; perhaps from the styptic properties.) 



* Stamens and petals 5-7 ; flowers small, solitary and nearly sessile in the axils 



of the mostly scattered upper leaves; proper calyx-teeth often shorter than 

 the intermediate processes ; plants smooth. 



1. L. Hyssopif61ia L. Annual, 1-6 dm. high, pale ; leaves oblong-linear, 

 obtuse, longer than the inconspicuous flowers ; petals pale-purple ; stamens 

 usually 4-6, included. Marshes and sterile soil, near the coast, Me. to N. J. ; 

 also on the Pacific coast. (Eu. ) 



2. L. lineare L. Stem slender and tall (1-1.3 in. high), bushy at top, with 

 2 margined angles; leaves linear, chiefly opposite ; petals whitish ; flowers with 

 6 included stamens and a long style, or the stamens exserted and style short ; 

 ovary on a thick short stalk; no fleshy hypogynous ring. Brackish marshes, 

 N. J. to Fla. and Tex. 



3. L. alatum Pursh. Tall and wand-like perennial; branches with mar- 

 gined angles; leaves oblong-ovate to linear-lanceolate, acut<\ with a cordate or 

 rounded base, the upper mostly alternate; calyx about 4-6 mm. l<>n<! ; petals 

 rather large, deep purple: stamens of the short-styled flowers exserted; fl<:*hy 

 hypogynous ring prominent. Swamps and meadows, Out. to Minn., s. to Ga., 

 La., and Col. ; also locally in e. Mass, and Ct. 



The allied Mexican L. VCLNER\RIA Ait., with calyx 9-12 mm. long, has been 

 reported from the vicinity of St. Louis, Mo/ 



* * Stamens 12 (rarely 8 or 10). twice the number of the petals, <? longer and 6 



shorter; flowers large, crowded and whorled in an interrupted spike. 



4. L. SALIC\RIA L. (SPIKED L.) More or less downy and tall ; lenrcf 

 lanceolate, heart-shaped at base, sometimes whorled in threes; flowers magenta, 



