GENTIANACEJE. (GENTIAX FAMILY.) 357 



of the valves. Small annual herbs, with erect filiform stems, scale-like suSuIutc 

 leaves, and white flowers. 



1. B. verna, Muhl. Stem (2' -6' high) simple or sparingly branched, suc- 

 culent, few-flowered ; calyx-lobes lanceolate-subulate, one third as long as the 

 oblong or obovate obtuse spreading white lobes of the corolla ; anthers oblong ; 

 capsule roundish. (Centaurella verna, Michx.) Damp pine barrens near the 

 coast, Florida to North Carolina. Feb. - April. 



2. B. tenella, Muhl. Stem (6' -12' high) branched; the branches, like 

 the leaves, opposite or alternate, many-flowered ; calyx-lobes subulate, as long 

 as the tube of the greenish-white corolla ; lobes of the corolla erect, acute ; 

 anthers globose ; capsule oblong-lanceolate. ( Centaurella paniculata, Michx.) 

 Swamps, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. Sept. and Oct. Flowers 

 much smaller than in No. 1. 



5. OBOLARIA, L. 



Calyx of 2 spatulate bract-like sepals. Corolla bell-shaped, 4-cleft, imbricated 

 in the bud. Stamens 4 : anthers round-cordate. Style short : stigma 2-lipped. 

 Capsule ovoid, 1 -celled. Seeds numerous, covering the valves. A low spar- 

 ingly branched perennial herb, with opposite wedge-obovate leaves, and single or 

 clustered axillary and terminal purplish flowers. 



1. O. Virginica, L. Rich shady woods, South Carolina, and northward. 

 March and April. Plant smooth, purplish, 3' -8' high. Branches generally 

 3-flowered. 



6. ERASER A, Walt. AMERICAN COLUMBO. 



Calyx 4-parted. Corolla wheel-shaped, 4-parted, the lobes each with a de- 

 pressed fringed gland on the upper face. Stamens 4 : anthers nodding. Style 

 persistent : stigmas spreading. Capsule compressed. Seeds few, large, winged, 

 borne on the margins of the valves. Tall and smooth perennial herbs, with 

 whorled or opposite sessile leaves and branches, and cymes of greenish-yellow 

 flowers, disposed in a large terminal panicle. 



1. F. Carolinensis, Walt. Stem (3 - 8 high) erect ; leaves and branches 

 mostly four in a whorl, lance-oblong, the lowest spatulate ; panicle pyramidal ; 

 corolla-lobes oblong, mucronate, dotted with purple. Rich soil in the upper 

 districts of Georgia, and northward. July. Lowest leaves 1 long. Corolla 

 1' wide. Root large and bitter to the taste. 



7. LIMNANTHEMTJM, Gmel. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla wheel-shaped, 5-parted, the lobes infolded in the bud, 

 ciliate, and glandular-crested at the base. Stamens 5. Style short or none : 

 stigma 2-lobed, persistent. Capsule 1 -celled, opening irregularly. Seeds few or 

 many. Testa woody. Perennial aquatic herbs, with floating circular or cor- 

 date spongy leaves, and white peduncled flowers clustered near the summit of 

 the long petiole. 



