PONTEDERIACEAE. 29 



pubescent: heads spheroidal, 5 mm. thick or more: bractlets and sepals ciliate 

 with relatively long hairs. Sandy places, Key West. HAIRY-PIPEWORT. 



FAMILY 3. COMMELINACEAE. SPIDEKWORT FAMILY. 



Annual or perennial caulescent succulent herbs. Leaves alternate, 

 sheathing at the base. Flowers perfect, the mostly umbel-like cymes 

 involucrate. Calyx of 3 persistent herbaceous sepals. Corolla of 3 equal 

 or unequal delicate petals. Androecium of 5-6 stamens, sometimes 2 or 3 

 mere staminodia. Gynoecium 2-3-carpellary. Styles united. Fruit a 

 loculicidally 2-3-valved capsule. 



1. COMMELINA [Plum.] L. Leaf -blades spreading, relatively short. 

 Cymes borne in a specialized folded involucre. Perianth irregular. Stamens 

 3 or rarely 2. Capsules hidden in the spathe. DAY-FLOWER. DEW-FLOWER. 



Leaf-blades linear to narrowly linear-lanceolate : leaf -sheaths glabrous or nearly so. 

 Rootstocks and roots abbreviated, the latter slender-fusi- 

 form : internodes below the sheath pubescent or scabrous. 1. 0. hamlpila. 

 Rootstocks and roots elongate, the latter cord-like : inter- 

 nodes below the sheaths glabrous. 2. C. angustifolia. 

 Leaf-blades lanceolate, elliptic or oblong-lanceolate : leaf-sheath 



hirsute. 3. G. elegans. 



1. C. hamipila Wright. Stem or branches 1-4 dm. long, from a cluster of 

 fusiform roots: leaf -blades linear or narrowly linear-lanceolate, attenuate: 

 spathe about 2 cm. long, acuminate: capsules about 5 mm. long. [C. Swing- 

 leana Nash.] Pinelands and sandy places, L. keys. [E. K.] (Cuba.) 



2. C. angustifolia Michx. Stem or branches 2-8 dm. long, from cord-like 

 roots: leaf- blades linear, sometimes narrowly so, flat, attenuate: spathes 2-2.5 

 cm. long, acute or acuminate: capsules 4-5 mm. long. Sand-dunes and ham- 

 mocks, U. S. keys, U. keys. [E. K.] 



3. C. elegans H. B. K. Stem and branches 2-9 dm. long: leaf -blades lanceo- 

 late to elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 4-10 cm. long: spathes 1.5-2 cm. long, 

 acute: capsules about 4 mm. long. Coastal sand-dunes, U. S. keys. (Ber., 

 Bah., Ant.) 



FAMILY 4. PONTEDERIACEAE. PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY. 1 



Bog or aquatic herbs with rootstocks. Leaves alternate : blades 

 dilated, narrow, or mere phyllodia. Flowers 1 or several from a bract- 

 like spathe. Calyx and corolla of rather similar partially united members. 

 Androecium of 3-6 stamens: filaments unequally adnate to the perianth 

 tube. Gynoecium 3-carpellary, but sometimes with a 1-celled ovary. 

 Fruit a 1-seeded utricle or a many-seeded capsule. 



1. PONTEDEBIA L. Bog herbs. Leaf-blades narrow or broad, on 

 tapering petioles. Spadix many-flowered. Perianth 2-lipped, the lobes nearly 

 equal. Anthers versatile. Ovary 1-celled. Seed solitary. 



1. P. cordata L. Leaves with tapering petioles and deltoid to ovate blades 

 10-20 cm. long (or with linear-lanceolate or lanceolate blades, P. cordata 

 lancifolia) : perianth bright-blue or white; tube 7-10 mm. long; limb 9-14 



1 Plants too old for identification, but apparently representing the 

 PICKEREL-WEED were observed in a lime-sink on Big Pine Key in 1912. The 

 plant is admitted here as doubtfully occurring in the Florida Keys. 



