Water-leaf Family 327 



what capitate. Capsule thin, completely or incompletely 

 2-celle.d by the meeting of the 2 thin and dilated placen- 

 tae, 2-valved, the valves entire. Seeds usually numerous. 



1. C. demissus (Gray) Heller. Annual ; stems much branched 

 from the base and erect-spreading, 5-15 cm. high, pubescent, hir- 

 sute or somewhat hispid ; leaves linear-spatulate, at least the lower 

 tapering into a petiole; flowers subsessile in the forks; sepals 

 very narrowly linear, not at all broadened above, 4-5 mm. long; 

 corolla bright purple, about 1 cm. long; capsule oblong, about 

 3 mm. long, 10-16-seeded. 



Occasional in dry places in the San Gabriel Mountains. Frequent on the 

 desert. 



2. C. stenocarpus (Gray) Heller. Erect, diffusely branched, at 

 length procumbent, the branches 1.5-3 dm. long, leafy, villous- 

 pubescent and somewhat viscid ; leaves oblong, the upper with a 

 broad sessile somewhat clasping base, the lower spatulate; flow- 

 ers sessile or on short pedicels becoming rigid in fruit; corolla 

 f unnelform, somewhat exceeding the linear sepals ; capsule cylin- 

 dric, 6 mm. long, nearly equaling the sepals ; seeds very numerous. 



Growing about the borders of ponds. Santa Monica, Davidson; Soldiers 

 Home. 



6. ERIODICTYON Benth. 



Low shrubs or rarely herbaceous, with alternate more 

 or less dentate leaves, and funnelform or campanulate 

 flowers in terminal panicles or scorpioid cymes. Sepals 

 narrow, not dilated above. Filaments more or less adnate 

 to the tube of the corolla, little or not at all exserted > 

 sparsely hirsute. Ovary nearly or quite sessile, 2-celled 

 by the meeting of the dilated placentae in the axis. 

 Capsule first loculicidal then septicidal, thus 4-valved ; 

 each valve with a short beak or acumination and closed 

 on one side by the adherent dissepiment or half-parti- 

 tion. 



1. E. Californicum (H. & A.) Greene. Shrub, commonly 10-20 

 dm. high ; leaves oblong to oblanceolate, tapering below and fre- 

 quently above, dentate at least above the middle, very glutinous. 



