VERATRUM MELANTHACE^E 663 



STENANTHELLA 



flowers: segments of the perianth oblanceolate, ciliate-serrulate, 4-6 lines 

 long, greenish-yellow, adnate to the attenuate base of the ovary: stamens 

 2-3 lines long : ovary glabrous : capsule oblong-ovate, acute, 10-12 lines 

 long, many-seeded : seeds 4-5 lines long. In damp woods in t.he high 

 mountains, Oregon to Alaska and the Eastern States and Canada. 



V. Californicum Durand Journ. Philad. Acad. iii, 103. ? Stems very 

 stout, 3-10 feet high, very leafy: lower leaves broadly oval, 6-12 inches 

 long, 4-8 inches wide , obtuse to acute ; the uppermost ones lanceolate, 

 much reduced and bract-like: branches of the panicle slender, ascending: 

 bracts ovate-lanceolate to subulate, shorter or several times longer than 

 the pedicels: segments of the perianth greenish-white, lanceolate, obtuse, 

 attenuate at base, 8-10 lines long, entire, or denticulate above, slightly ad- 

 nate to the ovary : stamens 3-5 lines long : ovary glabrous : capsule an inch 

 or more long. In swamps, Washington to California and Colorado. 



V. can data in Heller Bull. Torr. Bot. Club xxvi, 588. by the descrip- 

 tion dose not differ from the above except in glabrous leaves : it grows in 

 wet meadows, Chehalis County, Washington. 



2 STENANTHELLA Rydberg Bull. Torr. Bot. Club xxvii, 530. 



Erect glabrous herbs with coated bulbs, few narrow leaves and 

 perfect flowers in bracted racemes or panicles. Perianth of 6 dis- 

 tinct lanceolate acuminate subequal marcescent segments without 

 glands or distinct claw. Stamens 6, shorter than the perianth- 

 segments and inserted on their bases, free. Anthers reniform, 

 confluently 1 -celled and peltate after opening. Ovary ovoid, su- 

 perior. Styles 3. Capsule 3-beaked, septicidal to the base. 

 Seeds oblong, winged. 



S. occidentals Rydb. 1. c. 531. Stenanthium occidental Gray. Bulb 

 oblong-ovoid, 4-6 lines in diameter : stem slender, 10-20 inches high : leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 6-12 inches long, 3-12 lines wide: raceme 

 simple, or branched at base : bracts somewhat scarious, broadly lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 3-12 lines long: pedicels slender, spreading or recurved, longer 

 than the bracts: flowers campanulate, nodding: segments of the perianth 

 brownish-purple, 6-8 lines long, oblong to lanceolate, acuminate, the tips 

 spreading or recurved: capsule at length strictly erect, 6-8 lines long, 

 attenuate into the elongated slender styles: seeds linear, flat, winged, 3-4 

 lines long. On rocky banks and bluffs, Oregon to Brit. Columbia and Idaho . 



3 ZYGADENUS Michx. Fl. i, 213. (1803.) 



Erect herbs with coated bulbs, leafy stems, linear leaves and 

 rather small white or yellowish flowers in terminal glabrous pan- 

 icles or racemes, perianth of 6 distinct similar marcescent 

 segments bearing 1 or 2 glands just above the narrowed base. 

 Stamens free from the perianth-segments and about equalling 

 them in length : anthers cordate or reniform, confluently 1 -celled. 

 Capsule 3-lobed and 3-celled, the cells not diverging, dehiscent 

 to- the base, seeds several or numerous in each cell, oblong or 

 linear, angled. 



* Flowers rather large, mostly perfect. 



Z. elegans Pursh Fl. 241. Stem 6 inches to 3 feet high : leaves glau- 

 cous, 2-6 lines broad : raceme simple, or sparingly branched below, often 

 few-flowered: bracts ovate lanceolate, usually purplish : perianth adnate to 

 the base of the ovary, its segments broad, oval or obovate, obtuse, 4-5 lines 



