582 ELAEAGNACEAE 



1. E. commutata Bernh. Shrub or small tree, 2-5 m. high, with brown- 

 scurf j- twigs; leaf -blades oblong or elliptic, densely' silvery, scurfy on both sides, 

 2-10 cm. long; flowers 1-3 in the axils, fragrant, 12-16 mm. long; perianth silvery- 

 without, 3'ellowish x^ithin; sepals ovate, 2 mm. long; fruit ellipsoid, silvery, 8-12 

 mm. long; stone 8-striate. E. argentea Pursh. Banks and hillsides: Que. — ■ 

 Minn. — S.D. — Utah — Yukon. Plain — Submont. Je-Jl. 



2. LEPARGYRAEA Raf. Buffalo-berry, Bull-berrt. 



Shrubs, with silver^' or brown, scaly or stellate pubescent. Leaves opposite, 

 petioled. Flowers small, dioecious, in small clusters at the nodes of preceding 

 season. Hypanthiimi of the pistillate flowers urn-shaped or ovoid, bearing an 

 8-lobed disk at its mouth. Stamens 8, alternate with the lobes of the disk. 

 Fruit drupe-like. [Shepherdia Nutt.] 



Leaves green above; shrub not thorny. 1. L. canadensis. 

 Leaves silvery white on both sides; plant usually thorny. 



Leaves oblong; fruit eUipsoid; tall shrub or small tree. 2. L. argentea. 



Leaves roimded-oval or ovate; fruit globular; low shrub. 3. L. rolundifolia. 



1. L. canadensis (L.) Greene. A thornless shrub, 1-3 m. high, with brown 

 scurfy branches; leaves ovate or oval, silvery stellate and brown-scurfy spotted 

 beneath; flowers bro-mi without, greenish yellow within; fruit roimded-elhpsoid, 

 red or yellowish, 4-6 mm. long, insipid. Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt. 

 Woods and banks: Newf. — N.Y. — Mich. — Colo. — Utah — Ore. — Alaska. Sub- 

 mont. — Subalp. Ap-Je. 



2. L. argentea (Nutt.) Greene. A shrub or small tree, 2-7 m. high, with 

 whitish, more or less thorny branches; leaves oblong, 2-5 cm. long, rounded at 

 the apex, acute at the base; flowers brown; fruit rounded-eUipsoid, sour, scarlet, 

 red, or golden yellow, 4-6 mm. long. S. argentea Nutt. River banks: Sask. — 

 ]\Ian. — Kans. — ^N.M. — Nev. — Alta. Plairi — Submont. Ap-M^^ 



3. L. rotundifolia (Parry) Greene. Low densely branched shrub, with 

 silvery tomentose branches; leaves persistent, rounded-oval or ovate, 1-3 cm. 

 long; staminate flowers in 3's, the pistillate solitary, silver}^ without; fruit globu- 

 lar, scurfy. S. rotundifolia Parry. Bare clayey soil: s Utah. Son. Mr. 



R'aiiLY 90. LYTHRACEAE. Loosestrife Family. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, with opposite or alternate, mostly entire 

 leaves. Flowers perfect, solitary or in axillary clusters or cymes. Hypan- 

 thium from globose or campanulate to cylindric, enclosing but free from the 

 ovary. Sepals 4 or 5, often accompanied by as many accessory teeth. 

 Petals 4 or 5, or wanting. Stamens few or many, in one or several series. 

 Gynoecium of several united carpels; ovary 2-6-celled, rarely 1-celled; 

 styles united. Fruit a capsule, rarely indehiscent. 



Hypanthium campanulate or turbinate, in fruit becoming globose or hemispheric. 



Capsiile bursting irregularly. 1. Aaeviania. 



Capsule septicidal. " 2. Rotal.\. 



Hj-panthium cylindric. 3. Ltthrum. 



1. AMMANIA (Houston) L. 



Annual herbs, with 4-angled stems. Leaves opposite, entire, usually auricled 

 at the base. Flowers solitary or cj-mosely clustered in the axils. Hypanthium 

 campanulate, 4-angled, becoming subglobular. Sepals 4, usually with as many 

 small teeth in the sinuses between them. Petals 4, early deciduous. Stamens 

 4r-8. Ovary subglobose, usually 2-4-celled; styles filiform; stigmas capitate. 

 Capsule membranous, bursting irregularly. Seeds angular, with coriaceous coat . 



1. A. coccinea Rottb. Annual; stem erect, glabrous, branched below, 1.5-5 

 dm. high, glabrous; leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, acutish at the apex, aur- 

 iculate at the base, entire, 3-7 cm. long; flowers 1-5 in each axil, sessile or nearly 

 so; petals purple, early deciduous; style elongate, very slender, usually more 



