MENYANTHES.] GENTIANE^E. 243 



segments fimbriate on the disk, induplicate valvate in bud. Stamens 5, 

 inserted 011 the corolla-tube. Disk of 5 hypogynous glands. Ovary 1- 

 celled ; style filiform, persistent, stigma 2-lobed ; ovules in 1 series on 2 

 parietal placentas. Capsule globose, 1 -celled, obscurely loculicidally 

 2-valved, many-seeded. Seeds small, testa polished. DISTKIB. Europe 

 (Arctic), Siberia, Dahuria, N.W. India, N. America. ETYM. obscure. 



1. M. trifolia'ta, L. ; leaflets subsessile oblong or obovate. 

 Marshes and spongy bogs ; ascending to 1,800ft. in the Lake district ; fl. May- 

 July. Roolstocks stout, matted. Leaflets l|-3 in., obtuse, quite entire, ulti- 

 mate nerves with free tips within the larger areoles ; petioles 3-7 in., sheath 

 long narrow. Scape longer than the petioles, many -flowered, flowers f in. 

 diam., white or pink, bearded ; pedicels |-4 in., stiff, spreading ; bracts broad, 

 short, obtuse. Sepals oblong, obtuse. " Corolla-lobes recurved, subacute. 

 Stamens reddish. Capsule apiculate. Bitter, reputed tonic and febrifuge ; 

 used to add bitterness to beer ; rootstock full of starch, hence eaten. 



6. LIMNAN'THEMUM, Link. 



Perennial water-herbs. Leaves alternate or opposite, floating, peltate 

 or cordate. Flowers yellow in sessile umbels that terminate short axillary 

 branches. Calyx 5-partite. Corolla rotate, membranous, deciduous ; 

 segments 5-8, erose, with 5-8 fimbriate scales at the base, margins broadly 

 inflexed in bud. Stamens 5-8, inserted on the very short corolla-tube. 

 Disk of 5-8 hypogynous glands. Ovary 1-celled; style persistent, stigmas 

 2 simple or lobed ; ovules many, placentas 2 parietal. Capsule bursting 

 irregularly, few- or many -seeded. Seeds small, testa smooth or muricate. 

 DISTRIB. Temp, and trop. regions ; species about 12. ETYM. Afym?, 

 pool, and &i>0os, a flower. 



1. Ii. nymphseoi'des, Link; leaves opposite on the flowering-stems. 

 Villarsia nijmphceoidcs, Vent. 



Still waters, rare, from Norfolk and Gloucester to Sussex ; naturalized further 

 north, and in Scotland and Ireland ; fl. July-Aug. Rootstock creeping, 

 with alternate leaves. Flowering-stems floating ; their branches short, in 

 the axils of opposite leaves. Leaves all petioled, orbicular, base deeply 

 cordate, quite entire, green shining purple-spotted above, opaque purplish 

 and studded with glands beneath ; petioles of radical leaves long, slender, 

 not sheathing ; of floating leaves shorter, stout, sheathing. Peduncles 1-3 in., 

 crowded. Plovers 1 in. diam., subumbellate, opening one at a time. Sepals 

 linear oblong, obtuse. Corolla bright yellow; lobes erose or fimbriate. Capsule 

 flagon-shaped, green. Seeds few, compressed, winged, ciliate. DISTRIB. 

 Europe from Denmark southwards, N. Asia, W. Asia to N.W. India. 



ORDER XLVIII. POLEMONIACEJE. 



Annual or perennial herbs (rarely shrubs). Leaves alternate, or the 

 lower opposite, entire or divided, exstipulate. Flowers in terminal centri- 

 fugal 2-chotomous cymes, usually blue or white. Calyx inferior, 5-lobed, 

 imbricate in bud. Corolla slightly perigynous, regular or nearly so, 5- 

 nartite ; lobes contorted in bud. Stamens 5. inserted on the corolla-tube, 

 E 2 



