MENYANTHAC&. II. VILLARSIA. SPIGELIACE^E. 



169 



6 V. SIMSII ; natant ; leaves reniformly cordate, subcrenated : 

 hind lobes rounded, divaricate ; pedicels elongated, umbellate, 

 rising from the tops of the petioles ; calycine segments lanceo- 

 late ; segments of corolla bearded their whole length. 1{. W. S. 

 Native of Nipaul. Menyanthes I'ndica, Sims, bot. mag. t. 658. 

 Flowers yellow. Wallich states this plant to be a native of 

 Nipaul, and that the young stalks are there employed in making 

 curries. Sir James Smith describes his V. I'ndica as riaving 

 yellow flowers, and as being a native of the Cape of Good Hope ; 

 it is probably the same as the present plant, or a new species. 



Sim.-'s Villarsia. Fl. May, Aug. Clt. 1792. PL floating. 



7 V. SWA'RTZII; natant; leaves orbicular, deeply cordate, 

 subcrenated ; petioles floriferous ; flowers fasciculate ; segments 

 of corolla bearded lengthwise inside. 11. W. S. Native of 

 the West Indies, floating in sweet water. Menyanthes I'ndica, 

 Swartz, obs. 78. Meyer, ess. p. 94. Rodsch. obs. p. 73. 

 Browne, jam. 151. Sloan, jam. t. 251. Corolla white, pilose 

 inside, with a yellow base. Anthers reddish brown. 



Sn-artz's Villarsia. Fl. May, Aug. Clt. ? PI. floating. 



8 V. HDMBOLDTIA'XA (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. 

 p. 187.) natant; leaves deeply cordate, quite entire; umbels 

 seated on the petioles ; capsule valveless, shorter than the calyx ; 

 seeds lenticular, smooth, with naked edges ; segments of corolla 

 bearded inside lengthwise, fringed on the edges. %. W. S. 

 Native of New Granada, near Guaduas, in marshes, floating 

 amongst Juss'ux'a. Hind lobes of leaves spreading. Leaves 

 red beneath and dotted. Umbels sessile. Corolla funnel-shaped, 

 with a short, cylindrical yellow tube, and white recurved limb. 

 Seeds lenticular. 



Humbohlt's Villarsia. PI. floating. 



9 V. SENEGALE'NSIS ; natant; leaves peltate; segments of 

 corolla ciliated on the margins; petioles viviparous and floriferous. 

 11 . W. S. Native of Senegal, floating in water. Menyanthes 

 I'ndica p, Desrous. in Lam. diet. 4. p. 90. Flowers yellow. ? 



Senegal Villarsia. PI. floating. 



10 V. LACUXOSA (Vent choix. p. 10.) floating ; leaves reni- 

 form, peltate, lacunose beneath ; petioles floriferous and vivipa- 

 rous ; corollas glabrous. I/.. W. H. Native from New Jersey 

 to Carolina, floating in ponds and lakes. V. aquatica, Gmel. 

 syst. 447. V. cordata, Ell. sketch. Menyanthes trachy- 

 sperma, Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 126. Anonymos aquatica, 

 Walt. fl. car. p. 109. Capsule scabrous. Flowers white. Ap- 

 pendages of the tube of the corolla prominent. This plant is 

 dioecious and polygamous. 



Pilted-leaved Villarsia. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1812. PI. fl. 



11 V. PARYIFLORA (Wall. cat. no. 4351.) creeping; radical 

 leaves sagittately cordate, obtuse, on thick, flattened petioles ; 

 floriferous leaves reniformly cordate, entire, on long slender pe- 

 tioles, which bear sessile umbels of flowers at the tops below 

 the leaves : with the hind lobes divaricate, obtuse ; seeds brown, 

 a little flattened, with a smooth glossy testa. I/ . B. S. Native 

 of Tavoy, in bogs. Flowers small. Capsule oblong-obovate, 

 mucronate by the style. 



Small-flowered Villarsia. PI. creeping. 



1 3. Runners creeping. Peduncles racemose or panicled, opposite 



the leaves, 



12 V. GEMIXA'TA (R. Br. prod. p. 457.) creeping; leaves 

 broadly cordate, entire ; racemes opposite the leaves ; pedicels 

 twin; capsule equal in length to the calyx; seeds with naked 

 margins. If. . W. G. 



Jar. a; leaves rather coriaceous, often discoloured beneath, 



2 inches in diameter. 1(. W. G. Native of New South Wales. 



far. ft ; leaves membranous, of the same colour on both 

 surfaces, 6-10 lines in diameter. If. W. S. Native of New 

 Holland, within the tropic. Perhaps distinct, sometimes stemless. 



TVin-pedicelled Villarsia. PI. floating. 

 VOL. rv. 



13V. SARMENTOSA (Roem. et Schultes, syst. 4. p. 180.) run- 

 ners creeping ; leaves cordate-orbicular, repand, dotted beneath ; 

 panicles opposite the leaves ; seeds glabrous. Ti. W. G. Na- 

 tive of New Holland, floating in water. Menyanthes sarmen- 

 tosa, Sims, bot. mag. 1328. Corollas yellow ; segments obtuse, 

 sinuated and crenulated. 



Sarmentose Villarsia. Fl. July. Clt. 1 806. PI. creeping. 



SECT. II. PALUDOS^:. Capsule tali-ate. 



14 V. RENIFORMIS (R. Br. prod. 457.) leaves radical, reni- 

 form, entire ; stem elongated, nearly naked ; flowers panicled. 

 If. B. G. Native of New South Wales, in marshes about Port 

 Jackson; and of Van Diemen's Land. Lindl. bot. reg. 1533. 

 Flowers yellow. Nearly allied to V. parnassifblia. 



Kidney-shaped-leaved Villarsia. PI. 1 foot. 



15 V. PARNASSIFOLIA (R. Br. 1. c.) leaves radical, ovate- 

 cordate, repandly toothed ; stem elongated, nearly naked ; 

 flowers panicled ; segments of corolla with entire margins ; 

 capsule exceeding the calyx ; valves bifid ; seeds rather sca- 

 brous, y.. B. G Native of New South W T ales ; south coast 

 of New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, in bogs. Swertia par 

 nassiaef olia, Labill. nov. holl. 1 . p. 72. t. 97. This is a very 

 polymorphous plant, from 1-3 feet high. Leaves toothed or 

 entire, and sometimes angular. Flowers yellow. 



Parnossia-leated Villarsia. Fl. June, Oct. Clt. 1805. PI. 

 1 to 3 feet. 



16V. EXALTA'TA ; leaves radical, orbicularly cordate, subcre- 

 nated ; stem panicled, almost leafless ; segments of corolla 

 toothed. If. B. G. Native of New South Wales. Menyanthes 

 exaltata. Sol. mss. Sims. bot. mag. t. 1029. Flowers yellow. 



Exalted Villarsia. Fl. May, June. Clt. ? PI. 2-3 feet. 



f- Doubtful specie*. 



17 V. ORBICULA'TA (Lam. ill. no. 1966.) leaves orbicular, 

 crenated, peltate, bearing crowded, nearly sessile flowers in the 

 centre, i) . G. Native of Africa. Leaves bearing flowers in the 

 manner of Claytbma perfoUata. 



Orbicular-leaved Villarsia. PL floating. ? 



18 V. HYDROPHY'LLUM (Roam, et Schultes, syst. 4. p. 181.) 

 stems filiform, creeping ; leaves cordate, quite entire ; flowers 

 crowded, axillary, nectariferous. If.. B. G. Native of Cochin- 

 china, in watery places. Menyanthes hydrophyllum, Lour, 

 coch. 105. Leaves petiolate, few, scattered. Flowers white, on 

 long peduncles. Corolla campanulate, hairy ; segments cre- 

 nated. Nectaries 5, branched, discoloured, adhering to the base 

 of the corolline segments. Capsule ovate, girded by the per- 

 manent calyx. Said by Loureiro to be intermediate between 

 Hydrophyllum and Menyanthes : from the larger nectaries it is 

 probably a species of Hydrophyllum. 



Hydrophylltim-Mke Villarsia. PL creeping. 



Cult. All the species of Villarsia are elegant when in blos- 

 som. The hardy species require to be grown in a pond. The 

 greenhouse and stove aquatic species should be grown in cis- 

 terns in the stove or greenhouse. V. parnassieefolia, V. gemi- 

 nata, V. renifarmis, and V. sarmentosa, being only bog or marsh 

 plants, require to be grown in pots, in a mixture of peat and sand, 

 the pots to be placed in deep pans of water. All the species 

 are readily increased by seed or dividing. 



ORDER CLVI. SPIGELIA'CE^E (this order contains plants 

 agreeing with Spigelia in important characters.) Mart. nov. 

 gen. bras. 2. p. 132. Gentianese part of auihors. 



Flowers regular, of equal parts. Calyx free, regularly 5- 

 parted. Limb of corolla equal, valvate in aestivation. Stamens 

 5, rising from the corolla ; pollen trigonal, the angles globular. 

 Z 



