PEIMULACEAE 179 



4, L. lanceolata, Walt. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute, nar- 

 roAved at base to a short petiole; peduncles axillary, solitary. 

 L. hybrida. MX. $ Fl. Cestr. ed. 2. p. 125. 

 LANCEOLATE LYSIMACHIA. 



Stem about 2 feet high, angular and grooved, branching from the axils. Leaves 

 2 to 3 inches long, mostly opposite, those near the ends of the branches sometimes 

 in fours ; petioles % to ^ an inch in length, somewhat margined and ciliate. Pe- 

 duncle* 1 to 2 inches long. 

 Hob. Swamps, among the slaty hills : not common. FL July. Fr. Sept. 



Obs. This plant seems very much like a hybrid, as MICHAUX (or 

 rather RICHARD) supposed; and presents some striking varieties, 

 with long sublinear leaves. 



TRIBE 2. ANAGALLID'EAE. 



Capsule circumscissed, the top falling off like a lid. 



256. AN AGAI/LIS, Tournef. 

 [Gr. Anagelao, to laugh ; from its supposed exhilarating virtues.] 

 C'lJifx 5-parted. Corolla rotate, deeply 5-parted; lobes broad. 

 Filaments hirsute. Capsule globose, many-seeded. Mostly procum- 

 bent smooth annuals: leaves chiefly opposite; peduncles axillary, 

 solitary. 



1. A. arvensis, L. Leaves ovate, sessile, blackish-dotted beneath, 

 shorter than the peduncles; petals obovate, obtuse, crenulate and 

 srlandular-ciliate, longer than the stamens. 

 FIELD ANAGALLIS. Red Chickweed. Scarlet Pimpernel. 



Stem 6 to 12 inches long, branching near the root, acutely 4-angled, or slightly 

 winged. Leaves about % of an inch long. Flowers orange-red, or brick-dust 

 color, with a purplish centre ; filaments purple, the hairs (under a lens) jointed, 

 or uioniliform. 

 ll.ib. Fields ; roadsides, Ac. Nat. of Europe. Fl. June. Fr. Aug. 



Obs. This humble foreigner is gradually extending itself through 

 our country. It has been remarked, in Europe, that if the flowers 

 are expanded in the morning, the day will prove fine, if shut, the 

 contrary ; and hence it has been named the " Shepherd's Weather* 

 glass." Popular credulity has given to this inert little herb some 

 notoriety, as a medicine. It is one of the old specifics for Hydropho- 

 bia ; and so late as the year 1802, grave Senators of Pennsylvania 

 requested their Speaker to present the thanks of the Senate to an 

 aged German, for communicating to that body sundry particulars 

 about the plant, and its virtues, which had been published to the 

 world, over and over again in that Farrago of Trumpery, the 

 Jfnteria Medica of the olden lime long before any of those worthies 

 were born! 



TRIBE 3. SAMOLE V AE. 



Calyx-tube adherent to the base of the ovary ; capsule opening at summit by valves . 



257. SADf'OLITS, L. 



[From the island of Samos; where it is said to have been first found.] 

 Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla subcampanulate, 5-lobed, with a sterile fila- 

 at each cleft. Stamens included, inserted on the short tube of 



