178 LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY. 



1. PUNICA, rOMEGRANATE. (The name means Carthaginian.) 



P. Granatum. I-inii. Tree cult, from the Orient as a house plant N. 

 and for its frail S. ; smooth, with small oblong or obovate obtuse leaves, 

 either opposite or scattered, mostly clustered on short branchlets ; the 

 flowers short-stalked, usually solitary, large, both calyx and corolla bright 

 scarlet, with 5-7 petals, or full double ; the seedy fruit an large as a small 

 apple. 



2. LAGERSTRCEMIA, CRAPE MYRTLE. (Named for a Swedish 



naturalist, La/jei'stroem. ) 



L. Indica, Linn., from E. Indies; planted for ornament from Wash- 

 ington, S., and in conservatories N. ; shrub with smooth, ovate or oval 

 opposite, leaves, and panicles of very showy pale rose or flesh-colored 

 large flowers, remarkable for the wavy-crisped petals and long silky-tufted 

 stamens. 



3. ROTAIiA. ( Wheel-shaped.') One inconspicuous marsh herb in our 



region. 



R. ramdsior, Koehne. Plant 3'-8' high, vdth narrow leaves tapering 

 to the base ; very small, sessile flowers in the axils, solitary or rarely 3 

 together. Mass. to Fla. and W. 



4. AMMANNIA. (Named for Paul Ammann, an early German bot- 

 anist.) Low insignificant herbs in wet places S., with small, greenish 

 flowers in the axils of the narrow leaves, (i) 



A. coccinea, Rottb. Leaves linear-lanceolate, with an auricled base : 

 flowers in dense subsessile axillary cymes. N. J. to Fla. and W. 



5. LYTHRUM, LOOSESTRIFE. (Name in Greek for Uood; appli- 



cation obscure.) Flowers summer. 



* Flowers small and few; stamens 7 or less. 



L. Hyssopif61ia, Linn. Leaves small and narrow, obtuse, longer 

 than tlie very small, pale purple flowers ; stamens 4-6 included. Low 

 (6'-10'), in ma'-shes from Me. to N. J. ® 



L. al^tiun, Pursh. Low grounds W. and S. ; nearly smooth, slender, 

 2°-3° high, above and on the branches with margined angles, very leafy ; 

 the small leaves oblong, the uppermost not longer than the small flowers 

 in their axils ; petals 6, purple ; stamens 6, in some flowers exserted. % 



* * Flowers shoioy, in spicate clusters ; stamens 8 or more. 



L. Salicaria, Linn. Spiked L. With stems 2°-3° high ; leaves broad- 

 lanceolate, and often with a heart-shaped base, in pairs or threes ; flowers 

 crowded in their axils and forming a wand-like spike, rather large, with 

 6 or rarely 7 lance-oblong pink petals, and twice as many stamens of two 

 lengths. Sparingly wild N. E. in wet meadows, and cult ; Eu. 24 



6. DECODON. (Name from Greek for iew-^oo^Aed ) X 



D. verticill^tua, Ell. Common E. and S. in very wet places ; smooth 

 or minutely downy, with long, recurving branches (2°-8° long), lanceolate 

 leaves, mostly in threes, the upper with clustered, short-stalked flowers in 

 their axils, 5 wedge-lanceolate rose-purple petals, and 10 stamens of two 

 or three lengths. 



