LYSIMACHIA 



LYTHRUM 



1937 



branous-margined; corolla longer; the lobes ovate, 

 obtuse. China, Japan. 



12. 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. |^in. diam., 

 in a very long, slender, terminal spike ; pedicels short, 

 bracts subulate; fls. white; calyx blackish, shorter than 

 corolla; lobes lanceolate, acute, membranous-margined; 

 corolla-lobes ovate-lanceolate, obtuse; stamens in- 

 cluded. China, Japan, Mn. 8, p. 141. Fine 



for cut-flowers, also for border. 



13. Leschenaiiltii, Duby. Somewhat 

 branched: Ivs. opposite or verticillate in 

 3's, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, short- 

 petioled: raceme dense, terminal: bracts 

 shorter than the pedicels: fls. blue or purple; 

 calyx much shorter than corolla; lobes nar- 

 row, acuminate; corolla campanulate ; lobes 

 obovate, obtuse, entire; stamens unequal, 

 exserted. Mountains of India. R.H. 1891, 

 p. 303. 



14. nutans, Nees. St. subsimple: Ivs. 

 opposite or verticillate in 3's, lanceolate, 

 acuminate, very smooth, attenuate at base: 

 racemes dense, terminal; pedicels very short 

 at first; fls. deep bright reddish purple; 

 calyx one- third as long as corolla; lobes 

 lance-linear, obtuse; corolla tubular-cam- 

 panulate; lobes lance-spatulate, obtuse, 

 erose-denticulate ; stamens exserted. Marshy 

 regions, S. Afr. B.M. 4941. G.Z. 2:16. 



L. ciliala, Linn.=Steironema ciliatum. L. hybrida, 

 Michx.=Steironema lanceolatum. R.H. 1846:21. 

 L. lanceolate, Walt.=Steironema lanceolatum. 



K. M. WlEGAND. 



LYSIONOTUS (name refers to the open- 

 ing of the caps, at the back). Gesneriacese . 

 Six to 10 small shrubs, India to China and 

 Japan, grown sometimes under glass for the 

 blue or white fls., but appar- 

 ently not in the trade. Some 

 or all are epiphytic; glabrous: 

 Ivs. opposite or in 3's: fls. in 

 few- to many-fld. inconspicu- 

 ously bracted cymes; sepals 

 narrow; corolla tubular and 

 straight, inflated at middle, 

 2-lipped; stamens 2 perfect 

 and 2 or 3 staminodia; the 

 filaments flattened; disk ring- 

 like: caps, very narrow, 2- 

 valved. L. serrata, Don (L. 

 ternifdlia, Wall.), is about 1 

 ft. high: Ivs. elliptic or lanceo- 

 late, serrate or sinuate: fls. 

 pale lavender or white and 

 purple-veined, an inch or two 

 long, about 10 or less in pe- 

 duncled clusters. Subtrop. 

 Himalayan region, 2,000- 



7,000 ft. B.M. 6538. L car- 2240 Lythrum Salicaria . (XH) 



nosa, Hemsl. Dwarf shrub 



with straight rigid branches: Ivs. in 3's, short-stalked, 

 thick and fleshy, ovate, few-toothed: fls. 1% in. long, 

 white tinged lilac, in pairs in the upper axils. China. L. 

 warleyensis, Hort. Little shrub, 9 in. high: Ivs. opposite 

 or in ( 3's,oblong to lanceolate, few-toothed, fleshy, white 

 beneath, the petiole crimson: fls. white with 3 purple 

 lines, 2 in. long. China. A beautiful plant, of very 

 recent intro. L. carnosa, Hemsl., is a dwarf shrub 

 from China, glabrous, with straight and rigid green 

 branches: Ivs. in 3's, short-stalked, fleshy, ovate, to 2 

 in. long, dentate: fls. \y in. long, white tinged lilac, in 

 pairs in the upper axils. ,_ jj. B. 



UXTHRUM (Greek, blood; possibly from the styptic 

 properties of some species, or the color of the flowers). 

 Lythracese. Herbs or subshrubs, of which three are 

 cultivated in hardy borders. 



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

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

 purple or white, in the upper axils usually solitary, 

 lower down more or less whorled; calyx-tube cylindri- 

 cal, 8-12-ribbed; petals 4-6, obovate; stamens as many 

 or twice as many: caps. 2-celled, with an indefinite 

 number of seeds. Koehne in his mono- 

 graph of the Lythracea? recognizes 24 

 species, widely scattered. 



Lythrums grow about 2 to 3 feet high in 

 the wild, but improve markedly in culti- 

 vation, often attaining 4 to 5 feet and 

 flowering freely. Some of them are called 

 willow-herbs from their strong, erect habit 

 and willow-like leaves. They are of easy 

 culture in any moist soil, and are usually 

 planted amid shrubbery, where they hold 

 their own. They are denizens of low grounds, 

 swamps and meadows, often growing in the 

 water. They flower in summer and are prop- 

 agated by division. (F. W. Barclay.) 



A. Stamens twice as many as the petals. 

 B. Fls. in an interrupted, leafy spike. 

 Salicaria, Linn. (L.dnceps, Hort). SPIKED 

 or PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE. BLACK BLOOD. 

 Fig. 2240. Height 2-3 ft.: Ivs. opposite or 

 sometimes in whorls of 3, lanceolate, 2-3 

 in. long: fls. purple; stamens barely if at all 

 exserted. North temperate regions. Aus- 

 tral. B.B.2:473. G. 3:622. 

 Best of the genus.. Koehne 

 has made 29 botanical varie- 

 ties and subvarieties of this 

 one species. Var. superbum 

 and var roseum, Hort., have 

 rose-colored fls. Var. rdseum 

 superbum, Hort., may be the 

 same as the preceding varie- 

 ties. It is large-fld., rose- 

 colored, more robust (4-6 ft.) ; 

 somewhat later in blooming. 

 July-Sept.; a clearer, finer 

 colored form than the species. 

 It is generally sold as L. roseum 

 superbum (not as a variety of 

 L. Salicaria). G. 29:167. 

 Var. atropurpureum, Hort., is 

 a fine variety producing large 

 spikes of very dark rose-pur- 

 ple fls. Var. tomentosum, 

 DC. Lvs. tomentose. Var. 

 r6seum, Perry's Variety, has 

 cherry-red fls., larger and 

 upon longer spikes. Excellent 

 for the bog-garden. 



BB. Fls. solitary in the upper 



axils, racemose. 

 virgatum, Linn. (L. austri- 



acum, Jacq.). Lower Ivs. opposite, rounded at the base: 

 calyx not bracted: fls. smaller than L. Salicaria and 

 rose-purple. Eu., N. Asia. Of good landscape value and 

 compact growth: the brightest colored kind of ly thrum. 

 Var. "Rose Queen" is much catalogued. 



AA. Stamens not more numerous than the petals. 



alatum, Pursh. Two ft. tall: half shrubby, with 

 twiggy 4-angled branches : Ivs. mostly alternate, obtuse : 

 stamens exserted: fls. crimson-purple. June to Sept. 

 N. Amer. WILHELM MILLER. 



A. C. HoTTES.t 



123 



