SAXIFRAGACE^.. (SAXIFHACK FAMILY.) 173 



9. PARNASSIA, Tourn. Grass of Parxassi's. 



Sepals 5, iiuhricated iu tlie buil, slightly united at the baae, and sometimes 

 also with the base of the ovary, persistent. Petals .'i, veiny, spreading, at k-ngth 

 deciduous, imlu-icated in the bud ; a cluster of sonicwiiat united gland-tijjped 

 sterile filaments at the base of each. Proper stamens .5, alternate with the 

 petals, persistent; anthers iutrorse or subextrorse. Ovary 1-celled, with 4 

 projecting parietal plaoentic ; stigmas 4, sessile, directly over the placcnt:c. 

 Capsule 4-valved, the valves bearing the placenta; on their middle. Seeds 

 very numerous, anatropous, with a thick wing-like seed-coat and little if any 

 albumen. P^mbryo straight ; cotyledons very short. — Perennial smooth herbs, 

 with entire leaves, and scditary flowers on long scaj)e-like stems, which usually 

 bear a single sessile leaf. Petals white, with greenish or yellowish veins. 

 (Named from Mount Parnassus; called Grass of Parnassus by Dioscorides.) 



1. P. parviflbra, DC. Petals sessile, little longer than the calyx (3" 

 loi.g) ; sterile Jilumenls about 7 in each set, slender; leaves ovate or oblong, ta- 

 pering at base. — Sandy banks, Lab. to Mich., N. Minn., and westward. 



2. P. pallistris, L. Scapes 3-10' high; leaves heart-shaped; flower 

 nearly 1' broad; petals sessile, rather longer than the calyx, few-veined; ster- 

 ile Jilaments 9- 15 in each set, slender. — Same range as the last. (Eu.) 



3. P. Caroliniana, Michx. Scapes 9' -2° high; flower 1-1^' broad; 

 petals sessile, more than twice as long as the calyx, many-veined ; sterile Jila- 

 vients 3 in each set, stout, distinct almost to the base ; leaves thickish, ovate or 

 roundfed, often heart-shaped, usually but one low down on the scape and dasj)- 

 iug. — Wet banks, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Iowa, and La. 



4. P. asarii'olia, Vent. Petals abruptlij contracted into a c/tar at base; 

 sterile filaments 3 in each set; leaves rounded, kidne y -shaped ; otherwise as in 

 the foregoing. — High mountains of Ya. and N. C. 



10. HYDRANGEA, Gronov. 



Calyx-tube hemispherical, 8- 10-ribbed, coherent with the ovary ; the limb 

 4-.5-toothed. I^etals ovate, valvate in the bud. Stamens 8- 10, slender. Cajn 

 sule 1.5-ribbed, crowned with 2-4 diverging styles, 2-celled below, many-seeded, 

 opening by a hole between the styles. — Shrubs, with opposite petiolcd leaves, 

 no stipules, and numerous flowers in compound cymes. The marginal -flowers 

 are usually sterile and radiant, consisting merely of a showy mendiranaceous 

 and colored flat and dilated calyx. (Name from vZwp, water, and tiyyos, a vase, 

 from tlie shape of tlio. (•aj)sule.) 



1. H. arborescens, L. (Wild IIvi)uan(;ka.) Glabrous or nearly .so, 

 1-8° high ; leaves ovate, rarely heart-shaped, pointed, serrate, (//t<'« both sides; 

 cymes flat ; flowers often all fertile, rarely all radiant. — Kocky banks, Peun. 

 to Fla., west to bnva and Mo. 



2. H. radi^ta, Walt. Leaves drnselj/ tomentose and paler or u-hite be- 

 neath. — S. C. and Ga. to Tenn. and Mo. 



11. DECUMARIA, L. 



Flowers all fertile. Calyx-tul)e turbinate, 7- 10-toothed, coherent with the 

 ovary. Petals oblong, valvate in the bud. Stamens 20-30. Styles united 



