144 OXALIDACEAE (WOOD-SORREL FAMILY) 



Anther-bearing stamens 5, alternate with 5 sterile filaments. Stigmas 5. 

 Styles coiled spirally at maturity. Seed i in each lobe. (Gk. erodios = a 

 heron ; referring to the long beak of the pod.) The fruits bore into the wool 

 and skin of sheep. 



A. Leaves round-reniform to triangular-ovate, crenately dentate. U. E. macrophyllum 

 AA. Leaves pinnately compound or pinnatifid. 



B. Leaflets unequally and doubly serrate; sepals not bristle-tipped; plant with a 



musk odor; anther-bearing filaments 2-toothed. U. E. moschatum 



BB. Leaves laciniately pinnatifid into narrow acute lobes; sepals bristle-tipped; 



plant without musk odor; filaments not toothed. W. E. E. cicutarium 



OXALIDACEAE (WOOD-SORREL FAMILY) 



Herbs, annual or perennial, with rhizomes; sap sour. Leaves 

 with 3 obcordate leaflets. Flowers perfect, solitary or clus- 

 tered. Sepals 5. Petals 5, variously colored. Stamens 10. 

 Ovary superior, 5-celled, 5-lobed; styles distinct; ovules 2 to many 

 in each cell. Fruit a capsule, loculicidal, globose or columnar. 

 Only the following genus. 



OXALIS (WOOD SORREL) 



Stamens monadelphous at base, 5 longer and 5 shorter, all anther-bear- 

 ing. (Gk. oxus = sour ; from the taste of the herbage.) 



A. Flowers yellow ; stem erect, 1-3 dm. high. W. 



O. pumila (YELLOW WOOD SORREL) 



AA. Flowers white or pinkish; stem none; leaves and scapes from horizontal rhizomes. 



B. Scapes i-flowered, shorter than the leaves; petals 16-25 mm. long; capsule ovoid, 



i cm. long. W. C. O. oregana 



BB. Scapes about 6-flowered, as long as the leaves; petals 6-12 mm. long; capsule 



linear, 2-3 cm. long. W. C. O. trilliifolia 



LINACEAE (FLAX FAMILY) 



Herbs. Leaves alternate or opposite; stipules small or none. 

 Flowers perfect, regular. Sepals 5; persistent. Petals 5. Sta- 

 mens 5, alternate with the petals; filaments monadelphous at base; 

 anthers versatile. Styles 2-5. Fruit a capsule. Seeds 1-2 in each 

 cell, oily. Only the following genus. 



LINUM (FLAX) 



Leaves sessile. Flowers clustered. Ovary 4~5-celled, or 8-io-celled 

 by false partitions. (Gk. linon = a thread; L. linum = the flax plant; 

 because cloth is made from the bast fibers.) 



A. Flowers white or pinkish or blue; leaves alternate, all entire. 

 B. Petals blue, rarely white, 10-20 mm. long; leaves linear to lanceolate or oval. 



