ORDER 95. GENTIANACE^E. 687 



glands at the base of the spur within ; stigmas 2, terminating the 



acuminate ovary; capsule 1-celled; seeds indefinite, obtuse, fixed to 



the sutures of the valves. Erect, branching. 



H. deflexa Griseb. St. erect, leafy; Ivs. 3 to 5-veined, radical ones oblong-spatu- 

 late, tapering into a petiole, cauline ones oblong-lanceolate, acute, sessile ; spurs 

 cylindric, obtuse, deflexed, half as long as the corolla. ^ Swamps, Can., Ban- 

 ger, Maine (Miss Towle), N. Y., and Wis., rare. Stem about 18' high, obtusely 

 4-angled, smooth, with few branches above. Leaves 1^ 2' long, -J- as wide 

 Flowers greenish-yellow, in terminal fascicles. Corolla persistent, with 4 spread- 

 ing horns or spurs descending between the sepals. Aug. (Swertia MX.) 



7. OBOLA'RIA, L. PENNYWORT. (Gr. 6(3oX6g, a small coin ; from, 

 the form of the leaves.) Calyx of 2 cuneate-oblong sepals or bracts ; 

 corolla tubular-campanulate, marescent, 4 -cleft, lobes entire or crenu- 

 late ; stamens inserted on the corolla at the clefts ; stigma subcapitate, 

 bifid; capsule 1 -celled, 2-valved ; seeds oo, very minute. 2J! Lvs. op- 

 posite. F's. axillary and terminal, sessile, with leaf-like sepals. 



O. Virgfnica L. Penn. to Car., W. to Ky., in woods. Stem 4 8' high, often in 

 clusters, subsimple or with a few opposite branches above. Leaves cuneate-obo- 

 vato or roundish-rhomboidal, sessile and decurrent at base, fleshy, obtuse or trun- 

 cate at apex, lower ones small and remote, upper crowded, glaucous-purple, sepals 

 or bracts similar. Corolla pale purple or whitish, longer than the stamens. Cap- 

 sule ovoid, obtuse, surrounded by the withered corolla. Apr., May. 



8. MENYAN'THES, Tourn. BUCK BEAN. (Gr. \Lr\v, a month, avBo<; -. 

 reputed an emmenagogue.) Calyx 5-parted ; corolla rotate or funnel- 

 form, limb spreading, 5-lobed, villous within, without glands at the base; 

 stamens 5; style 1 ; stigma bifid; capsule 1-celled. Bitter herbs, ac- 

 tively medicinal. Lvs. trifoliate. 



M. trifoliata L. Grows in swamps, margins of ponds, etc., N. Am. N. of lati- 

 tude 38. This fine plant arises from large, black roots descending deep into the 

 boggy earth. Stem 8 12' high, round. Leaves on long, round footstalks sti- 

 puled at base. Leaflets obovate. Peduncle long, naked, terminal, bearing a pyra- 

 midal raceme of flesh-colored flowers. Pedicels thick, bracteate at base. Sepals 

 obtuse, about a third as long as the corolla. Petals acute, about as long as the 

 stamens, remarkably and beautifully distinguished by the soft, fringo-like hairs at 

 the base and in the throat of the tube. May. 



9. LIMNAN'THEMUM, Gmcl. FLOATING HEART. (Gr. A/pn/, a 

 lake or pool, dvOe-ftov, a flower ; from its aquatic abode.) Calyx 5-parted ; 

 corolla 5-parted, rotate, segm. furnished with a glandular scale at base, 

 often bristly ; stamens 5 ; style short or none ; stigma 2-lobed ; capsule 

 many-seeded, 1 -celled, opening by decay. 2 Curious aquatics, gener- 

 ally in stagnant water. Petioles long, bearing the flowers in an um- 

 bellate cyme below the roundish leaf, and oblong or cylindric tubers 

 capable of producing new plants. (Villarsia Vent.) 



1 L. lacunosum Griseb. Lvs. sma2l (1 to 2' diam.), orbicular, cordate, entire 

 smooth above, pitted and rugous beneath ; cor. segm. twice as long as calyx, broad- 

 oliovate, smooth, gland at base, subsessile, hairy; caps, ovoid, lime longer than the 

 calyx ; seeds not muricate, shining. In shallow waters, Me., Mass., N. Y. to Car. 

 Petioles 1 to 3f long. Leaf 1 to 2' diam., lobes diverging and somewhat angled, 

 upper surface green, lower purplish. Umbel half an inch below the blade, sub. 

 mersed pendulous, the fls. one by one rising above the water as they expand. 

 Cor. 7 to 8" broad, white, tube and glands yellow. Jl. (V. cordata Ell. V. 

 lacunosa Vent.) 



2 L. trachyspermum Gray. Lvs. t'eniform, oval or orbicular, somewhat peltate, 

 .coriaceous, obscurely crenate, smooth above, spongy and pitted beneath ; cor. 



