PRIMROSE FAMILY. Primulacete. 



A delicate and interesting little wood- 

 Trientolis l&nd plant with a long horizontally creep- 



Americana ing root which sends upward an almost 

 White bare or few-scaled thin stem terminating 



May-June j n a c j rc j e f sharp-pointed, lance-shaped, 



light green leaves, thin, shiny-, and tapering to both ends. 

 There are 5-9 leaves in the circle, from the centre of 

 which proceed two threadlike stalks, each bearing a 

 fragile, white, star-shaped flower with 6-7 pointed divi- 

 sions. The stamens are long and delicate, with tiny 

 golden anthers, which mature later than the stigma. 

 Cross-fertilization effected mostly through the agency of 

 the beelike flies (Bombylius). 3-7 inches high, or rarely 

 more. In moist thin woods, from Me. , west to Minn. , 

 and south to southern N. J. and the mountains of Va. 

 Common in the thin woodlands of the White Mountains. 

 A rather handsome perennial commonly 

 Loosestrife found in low moist situations, particularly 

 steironeyna on river flats. The smooth light green 

 eUiatum leaves are ovate or ovate lance-shaped and 



Yellow sharply pointed; on the upper edge of the 



stem is a fringe of erect hairs — hence the 

 specific term, ciliatum. The leaves are in pairs which 

 are set at right angles with each other. The pretty light 

 golden yellow flowers, not far from a pure yellow tone, 

 are five-lobed, the divisions oval and finished with an 

 abrupt sharp point (called mucronate) ; these tips are 

 somewhat twisted or puckered ; about the centre of the 

 corolla is a terra-cotta- colored ring ; within this are five 

 straw-colored stamens alternating with five abortive 

 ones ; in the centre is the pale green pistil. The smooth, 

 erect stem 18-22 inches high or more. Common in low 

 ground and on the borders of thickets from Me. west to 

 British Columbia, south to Ga., Ala., and to Ariz. 

 Steironema ^ narrow-leaved species smaller and 



lanceolatum slenderer in every respect. The leaves 

 Yellow are lance-shaped and linear, indistinctly 



June-July stemmed and smooth ; the lower ones are 



much shorter and broader, and the stems are distinct 

 and long. The flowers are similar to those of S. cili- 

 atum, but smaller— a little over £ mcn broad. 8-20 

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