EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. Onagracese. 



A similar diurnal species with flowers 

 (Enothera i - * * ncn broad, borne in a loose spike or 



fruticosa at the bases of the leaves ; the latter are 



Pure yellow oblong or lance-shaped and very slightly 

 May-July toothed. Cross-fertilized by butterflies 



and bees, especially those of the genus Andrena, and 

 the brilliant little flies of the genus Syrphidce. The 

 stigma extends far beyond the anthers, so self-fertiliza- 

 tion is impossible except with the agency of insects. 

 The seed-pods strongly ribbed and winged. Very varia- 

 ble, 1-3 feet high. Common in fields and on roadsides 

 everywhere. The var. linearis is slender, has very nar- 

 row, linear-lance-shaped leaves, and the less ribbed seed- 

 pods taper into the slender stalk. From Conn, south, 

 and west to Mo. Blooming from June to September. 



An inconspicuous perennial of damp and 

 Nightshade shady woodlands, with opposite thin, frail 

 Circcea deep green leaves, ovate pointed, remotely 



Lutetiana toothed, and long-stemmed. The tiny 



White white flowers have two petals so deeply 



u y- ugus c i e ft that they appear as four ; they are 

 borne at the tip of a long slender stem, which is set 

 about with the little green burlike, white-haired, nearly 

 round seed-pods. Fertilized by the beelike fly (Bombyli- 

 us), the brilliant green Syrphid fly, and the mining bee 

 (Andrena). Plant-stem very smooth and swollen at the 

 joints. Common in cool and moist woodlands every- 

 where. Named for the enchantress Circe. This and the 

 next species are often found close together in Campton, 

 N. H. 



Circcea ^ smaller species, the stem of which is 



alpina watery and translucent, ruddy and 



White smooth. The thin and delicate heart- 



July-August shaped leaves are shiny, coarsely blunt- 

 toothed, and distinctly different from those of the 

 preceding species. Tiny leaflets, or bracts, are set im- 

 mediately beneath the flowers. The burlike buds are 

 club-shaped. 3-8 inches high. Common only in the 

 north and among the mountains. 



300 



