98 ELATINACE.E. 



BERGIA. 



or compound scorpioid spikes. Sepals 2, mostly unequal, ovate 

 or orbicular, more or less scarious. Petals 2-4. Stamens 1-3, 

 shorter than the petals and alternate with them. Capsule mem- 

 branaceous 2-valved, 6-12-seeded. Seeds black and shining, cir- 

 cinate, compressed, on filiform funiculi of unequal length, rising 

 from the base of the cell 



C. roseum Watson Bot. King 44 t. 6. figs. 6-8. Diffusely branched : 

 stems decumbent, 1-3 indies long: leaves oblong-spatulate, attenuate at 

 the base: sepals very unequal, nearly orbicular, 1-8 lines broad: petals 

 minute, rounded-oblong: capsule oblong-ovate, shorter than the calyx s 

 style very short. Southeastern Oregon to Nevada and California. 



ORDER XIII. EtATINACE^E Lindl. Nat. Syst. ed. 2, 88. 



Low annuals wkh opposite dotless membranous stipulate 

 leaves, regular and symmetrical flowers with hypogynous pet- 

 als and stamens and distinct styles bearing capitate stigmas. 

 Sepals 2-5 distinct, persistent. Petals as many as the sepals 

 and alternate with them. Stamens as many or twice as 

 many as the petals. Ovary 2-5-celled . Capsule 2-5-valved, 

 crowned with the persistent styles or stigmas: placentae in the 

 axis. Seeds anatropous cylindrical with crustaceous coat and 

 little or no albumen. 



1. Elatine. Parts of the flowers each 2-4, sepals obtuse. 



2. Bergia. Parts of the flowers each 5, sepals acute. 



1 ELATINE L. Gen. n. 502. 



Small prostrate glabrous annuals, growing in water or wet 

 places with entire leaves and solitary flowers. Sepals 2-4, mem- 

 branaceous, obtuse, nerveless. Petals as- many as sepals. Stam- 

 ens as many or twice as many as petals. Styles 2, 3 or 4. Ovary 

 globose, with the placentae in the axis, many-ovuled. Capsule 

 membranaceous 2-4-celled, the partitions remaining attached to 

 the axis or evanescent. 



E. Americana Arnott Edinb. Journ. Sci. i, 430. Low and depressed, 

 1-6 inches in diameter, rooting at the nodes : leaves obovate, very obtuse : 

 flowers sessile, purplish: seeds cylindrical, slightly curved, about one- 

 third of a line long, very minutely pitted in 9 or 10 longitudinal lines. 

 Lower Columbia river bottoms ; also in the Eastern States. 



E. Californica Gray Proc. Am. Acad. xiii. 301 . Floating: leaves obo- 

 vate, attenute at base, the lower with a petiole not longer than the blade : 

 flowers shortly pedicellate, with 3 or 4 sepals and petals and twice as 

 many stamens : seeds circinate-incurved nearly one-third of a line long, 

 minutely pitted in 10 or 12 lines. In Sierra valley, California ; Spokane 

 Falls, Washington. 



2 BERUIA L. Mant. n. 1309. 



Branching and often pubescent nearly erect annuals with en- 

 tire or serrate leaves and fascicled or solitary flowers. Sepals 5, 

 with a strong midnerve or herbaceous in the middle, acute. 

 Ovary ovoid. Capsule subcrustaceous, o-valved, more or less 

 of the partitions in dehiscence remaining with the axis. 



