DECANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. 273 



at tlie angles near the base, margins of tlie 

 valves connected by an intricate tomentum; 

 (septa medial, coalescing with the receptacular 

 axis,- lobes of the receptacle simple. Seeds very 

 numerous and minute, samaroid.) 



Herbaceous evergreens, with creeping^ shoots; leaves 

 radical, alternate, ag-gregated, roundish, elliptic or ovate; 

 scapes racemose or rarely 1-flowered, flowers pedicellate, 

 unibracteate; style straight or declinate. Anthers bipo- 

 rose at the base, becoming inverted on the opening of the 

 flower, and then presenting the pores upwards, 

 f Style straight. 



Species. l.V. laiijlora. Flower fragrant, exhaling an 

 odor similar to that of Convallaria majalis. Leaves sub- 

 ovate, serrate; scape 1-flowered; pores of the anthers tubu- 

 lar. 2. ?)imor. 3. secunda. F1o\a ers inclined to one side 

 of the raceme. 



1 1 Style declinate, stamina tidscendeJit. 



4. votundifoUa. Leaves roundish, or dilated oval, obso- 

 letely crenulate, partly coriaceous and lucid, petiole con- 

 spicuously marginated, about the length of the laminai 

 scape many-flowered; bractes ovate, acute; calix 5-parted, 

 segments oblong-ovate, reflected at the points; petals 

 longer than the stamina. Obs. The largest species of 

 the genus; flowers white, with a rosaceous tinge, some- 

 what fragrant, scape 3 to 5-angled, sometimes con- 

 volute; bractes upon the naked part of the scape about 3, 

 s'heathing; bractes of the flowers as long or longer thaa 

 the peduncles, and conspicuous; stigma annulate, 5-lobed. 



5. * elliptica. Leaves membranaceous, oblong-oval and 

 obtuse, or elliptic-ovate, plicately serndate and acute, 

 lamina always much longer than the petiole; scape naked 

 or furnished with a single scale; bractes linear and subu- 

 late; calix 5-toothed, points subulate, reflected. Hab. 

 Common around Philadelphia, and in the woods of New- 

 Jersey, with the former; flowering in June. Nearly allied 

 to P. rotinidifolia, but distinct both in character and as- 

 pect; the whole plant is smaller, the scapes are low and 

 slender, accompanied by smaller flowers which are white 

 and odorous, the petals are oblong-oval, about equal in 

 length with the stamina which become fulvous, segments 

 of the calix semlovate and dilated; scape acutely trique- 

 trous, rarely convolute; style very long, stigma annulate 

 5-lobed. 



6. chiarantha. Stamina slightly ascending; style twice 

 their length, clavaie, deflected and recurved; raceme 



