962 



LYSIMACHIA 



punctata, Linn. {L. vetiieilUilu, Bieb.). Tall and 

 stout: Ivs. verticillate, in 4's, lanceolate, ovate or cor- 

 date ovate, acute, subsessile: corolla lobesoval. denticu- 

 late, glandular-ciliate, acute ; stamens united. Very 

 similar to L. vulgaris, but differs in the calyx lobes not 

 red-margined : fls. in axillary, equidistant whorls, not 

 paniculate, and corolla glandular. Eu. W. Asia. B.M. 

 2J9.5 (as L. verticiUaris). 



AA. Flowers white. 



clethroides, Duby. Tall and stout, 3 ft. high or less, 

 sparingly pubescent, rarely glabrous : Ivs. opposite, 

 large, 3-6 in. long, and sessile, broadly lanceolate, at- 

 tenuate at each end, radical spatulate: fls. H in. in 

 iliam., in a very long, slender, terminal 1-sided spike, 

 pedicels short, bracts subulate; corolla lobes ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, obtuse; stamens not mouadelphous. .Japan. 

 Mn. 8, p. 141. — Fine for cut-flowers, also for border. 



L. barystachys, Bunge (L. brachystaehys, Carr.). Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: Hs. white, dense. China. R.H. 1881-90.— i. riiiaea, Linn. 

 =Steironema oiliatum.— L. Ephemenim, Linn. Lvs. linear: fls. 

 white, dark eye. Ea. R.H. 1891, p. 303. B.M. 2346.-i>. Aj)6rida, 

 .Michx. = Steironema laneeolatum. — i. lanceoldta, Walt. = 

 Steironema lanceolatum. — L. Leschenaultii. Duby. Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: fls. carmine. India. R.H. 1891. p. 303.— i niKans, Nees. 

 Lvs. lanceolate: fls. dark purple. Cape of Good Hope. B.M. 

 4941.— £. paridt'Wrmts, Franch. Lvs. oval; fls. yellow, axillary 

 or in head. China. B.M. 7226.-Z. poij/(in(Ao. Pernald. Similar 

 to L. qu.idrifolia. but fls. in a distinct terminal raceme. East- 

 ern U. ^. — L. producta, Fernald. Similar to L. strieta, but 

 lower lvs. often verticillate and raceme very leafy, bracts pass- 

 ing into the foliage-lvs. Eastern U.S.— i. thyrsifldra. Linn.= 

 Naumburgia thyrsiflora. K. W. WiEGAND. 



L'tTHRUM (Greek, blood; possibly from the styptic 

 pr(»perties of some species, or the color of the fls.). 

 fj!lfhr<)c*'(F. About 12 widely scattered species of herbs 

 or subshrubs, of which 3 are cult, in hardy borders. 

 Branches 4-angled : lvs. opposite or alternate, rarely 

 whorled. linear-oblong or lanceolate, entire: fls. rosy 

 purple or white, in the upper axils usually solitary. 



LYTHRUM 



lower down mor-eor less whorled ; calyx tube cylindrical, 

 8-12-ribbed; petals 4-0, obovate; stamens as many or 

 twice as many: capsule 2-celled, with an IndeBnite 

 number of seeds, 



Lytbrums grow about 2-3 ft. high in the wild, but im- 

 prove wonderfully in cultivation, often attaining 4-.5 ft. 

 and flowering freely. Some of them are called willow- 

 herbs or soldiers in England from their strong, erect 

 habit and willow-like leaves. They are of easy culture 

 in any moist soil, and are usually planted amid shrub- 

 bery, where they hold their own. They are denizens uf 

 low grounds, swamps and meadows. They flower in 

 summer and are prop, by division. A nameless species 

 from .lapan has been considerably advertised of late, 

 but the specimen in the writer's hands is 7/. alattim. 



A. Stamens twice as many as the petals. 

 B. Fls. in an interrupted, lenfy spike. 

 Salic4ria, Linn. Spiked or Purple Loosestrife. 

 Fig. I.'i42. Height 2-3 ft. : lvs. opposite or sometimes in 

 whorls of three, lanceolate, 2-3 in. long: fls. purple; 

 stamens barely if at all exserted. North temp, regions. 

 Australia. B. B. 2: 473.— Best of the genus. Vars. 

 sup^rbum anil rdseum, Hort.,have rose-colored fls. Var. 

 rdseum sup^rbum, Hort., may be the same as the pre- 

 ceding varieties. It is large-fld., rose-colored, more 

 robust (4-() ft.l, and somewhat later in blooming. It is 

 an excellent form. It is generally sold as i. roseum 

 superbum (not as a var. of L. Salicaria). 



BB. Fls. solitary in the upper axils, raeemose. 



virg&tum, Linn. Lower lvs. opposite, rounded at the 

 base: calyx not bracted. Eu., N. Asia. 



AA. Stamens not more numerous than the petals- 

 al&tum, Pursh. Lvs. mostly alternate, obtuse: sta- 

 mens exserted. N. Am. B.B. 2:472. 



F. W. Barclay and W. M. 



