826 LYTHEACEAE 



14. Rhexia parviflora Chapm. Stems 1-3 dm. tall, pubescent: leaf -blades 

 oblong, elliptic or nearly oval, 1-2 cm. long : sepals triangular-lanceolate : petals white, 

 less than 10 mm. long: capsules about 3 mm. long. 



In shallow ponds, Apalachicola, Florida. Summer. 



2. TETRAZYGIA L. C. Kich. 



Shrubs or trees. Leaf -blades 3-5-ribbed, mostly scurfy or tomentose beneath. 

 Sepals and petals, 4 or 5. Ovary 4- or-5-celled. Berry included. 



1. Tetrazygia bicolor (Mill.) Cogn. Shrub or small tree, with scaly bark: leaf- 

 blades lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 8-20 cm. long, silvery beneath, stout-petioled : 

 panicle 1-2 dm. long: calyx about 1 mm. long: petals white, cuneate, 7-8 mm. long: 

 anthers lanceolate, 5-6 mm. long: berries purple or black, the body 810 mm. long. 



In pine lands and hammocks, southern peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. 



FAMILY 2. LYTHRACEAE Lindl. LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY. 



Herbs, shrubs or tropical trees. Leaves mostly opposite: blades usually 

 entire. Flowers perfect. Calyx of 4 or 5 sepals, commonly accompanied by 

 accessory teeth. Corolla of 4 or 5 petals, or wanting-. Androecium of few or 

 many stamens: anthers versatile. Gynoecium of 2-6 united carpels. Ovary 

 2-6-celled, or rarely 1-celled, free from the hypanthium. Fruit a capsule, in- 

 cluded in the hypanthium. 



Hypanthium campanulate or turbinate, becoming hemispheric or globose. 

 Herbs. 



Flowers inconspicuous. 



Petals wanting: capsules indehiscent. 1. DIDIPLIS. 



Petals 4, except in Ammannia latifolia: capsules dehiscent, sometimes 



irregularly so. 



Capsules bursting irregularly. 2. AMMANNIA. 



Capsules septicidally dehiscent. 3. ROTALA. 



Flowers conspicuous. 4. HEIMIA. 



Shrubs or trees. 



Flowers in axillary cymes: aquatic shrubs. 5. DECODON. 



Flowers in terminal panicles: terrestrial shrubs or trees. 6. LAGERSTROEMIA. 



Hypanthium elongated, cylindric or tubular. 



Flowers regular: hypanthium symmetrical. 7. LYTHRUM. 



Flowers irregular: hypanthium oblique. 8. PARSONSIA. 



1. DIDIPLIS Kaf. 



Flaccid herbs, resembling Callitriche. Leaf -blades narrow, entire, pellucid. Flow- 

 ers solitary in the axils. Sepals 4, without accessory teeth. Petals wanting. Stamens 

 2-4. Style very short: stigma 2-lobed. Embryo with narrow cotyledons. 



1. Didiplls diandra (Nutt.) Wood. Stems 1-3 dm. long: emersed leaves with 

 linear to linear-spatulate blades, thicker than the submersed ones, 1-2 cm. long: 

 capsule urceolate, about 1 mm. in diameter. 



In ponds or on wet shores, Minnesota to North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Mexico. 

 Spring to fall. WATER PURSLANE. 



2. AMMANNIA L. 



Leathery-succulent herbs. Leaf-blades, narrow, often auricled at the base. 

 Flowers in axillary, sometimes 1-flowered, cymes. Sepals 4, often accompanied with 

 small teeth. Petals 4, early deciduous, or wanting. Stamens 4-8. Style filiform, 

 sometimes short: stigma capitate. Embryo with auricled cotyledons. 



Flowers or capsules sessile or nearly so. 

 Corolla present. 



Leaves broadest above the middle: capsules 56 mm. in diameter. 1. A. Koehnei. 



Leaves broadest below the middle: capsules 3-4 mm. in diameter. 2. A. coccinea. 



Corolla wanting. 3. A. latifolia. 



Flowers or capsules in long-peduncled cymes. 4. A. auriculaia. 



1. Ammannia Ko&hnei Britton. Plants 1-6 dm. tall: leaf -blades spatulate, 

 oblanceolate or oblong, 2-8 cm. long, those of the lower ones merely sessile: petals 

 spatulate: stamens and short style included: capsules 5-6 mm. in diameter. 



In swamps and along streams, New Jersey to Florida. Summer and fall. 



