LYTHRACEyE. (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY.) 133 



August. Stem l-lj high. Leaves rarely 1' long. Flowers l'-lj' in 

 diameter. 



6. R. serrulata, Nutt. Low ; stem simple, 4-angled, smooth ; leaves 

 smooth above ; calyx glandular-bristly ; cyme leafy, 1 - 6-flowered. Open flat 

 pine barrens, near the coast, Florida, Georgia, and westward. July and August. 

 Stem 2' -6' high. Leaves and flowers smaller than in the preceding. 



7. R. lutea, Walt. Stem at length much branched, 4-angled, bristly ; 

 leaves smoothish, bristly serrulate, the lower ones obovate and obtuse, the upper 

 lanceolate and acute ; cymes numerous ; calyx short and smooth ; flowers 

 small. Pine-barren swamps, Florida to North Carolina, and westward. July 

 and August. Stem 1 high. Petals more persistent than those of the other 

 species. 



ORDER 52. LYTHRACE^E. (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY.) 



Chiefly herbs, with opposite or whorled and entire leaves, without stip- 

 ules. Flowers mostly axillary. Calyx tubular, persistent, 4 - 7-toothed, 

 free from the 2 - 4-celled ovary. Petals as many as the teeth of the calyx 

 and inserted into its throat, deciduous, sometimes wanting. Stamens as 

 many as the petals, or 2-4 times as many, inserted below the petals. 

 Anthers short, introrse. Style solitary. Capsule enclosed in the calyx, 

 1 - 4-celled, few or many-seeded. Placentae central. Seeds anatropous, 

 without albumen. Sinuses of the calyx often appendaged. Stigma capi- 

 tate, or rarely 2-lobed. 



Synopsis. 



* Calyx regular. 



1. HYPOBRYCHIA. Calyx hemispherical. Petals none. Stigma 2-lobed. Capsule 2-celled, 



2. AMMANNIA. Calyx campanulate. Stigma capitate. Capsule 4-celled. 



3. LYTHHUM. Calyx cylindrical, striate. Capsule oblong, 2-celled. 



4. NES^EA. Calyx short, even. Capsule globose, 3- 5-celled- Stamens 10. 



* * Calyx gibbous at the base. 



5. CUPIIEA. Calyx tubular, 12-ribbed. Stamens mostly 12. Capsule early ruptured. 



1. HYPOBRYCHIA, M. A. Curtis. 



Calyx hemispherical or campanulate, 4-lobed. Petals none. Stamens 2-4. 

 Style very short: stigma 2-lobed. Capsule globose, 2-celled. A submerged 

 aquatic herb, with long filiform stems, opposite crowded pellucid linear leaves, 

 and minute sessile axillary flowers. 



1. H. Nuttallii, Torr. & Gray. Ponds and still water, West Florida to 

 North Carolina, and westward. June- Aug. Stems l-2 long. Leaves 1' 

 long, acute. Flowers not larger than a pin's head. 

 12 



