PRIMULACEAE. 



VOL. II. 



I. Hottonia inflata Ell. American 

 Featherfoil. Fig. 3285. 



Hottonia inflata Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i : 231. 1817. 



Stem entirely submerged, spongy, densely leafy, 

 branched, sometimes 2 long. Leaves sessile, or 

 nearly so, ovate or oblong in outline, divided 

 very nearly to the rachis into narrowly linear 

 entire segments i'-2' long, i"-i" wide; pedun- 

 cles several in a cluster at the ends of the stem 

 and branches, partly emersed, hollow, jointed, 

 constricted at the joints, 3 '-8' high, the lower 

 joint 2'-4' long, sometimes i' thick, the others 

 successively smaller; pedicels 2" -12" long; flow- 

 ers 2"-3" long in verticils of 2-10 at the joints, 

 subtended by linear bracts ; corolla white, shorter 

 than the calyx; capsule globose, about ii" in 

 diameter. 



In shallow stagnant ponds, Maine and New Hamp- 

 shire to central New York, Missouri, Arkansas, 

 Florida and Louisiana. June-Aug. Called also 

 water-feather, water-violet, water-yarrow. 



4. SAMOLUS [Tourn.] L. Sp. PL 171. 



1753- 



Perennial glabrous herbs, with alternate entire leaves, or the basal ones rqsulate. Flow- 

 ers small, white, in terminal racemes or panicles in our species. Calyx persistent, its tube 

 adnate to the ovary below, its limb S-cleft. Corolla perigynous, subcampanulate, 5-lobed or 

 5-parted, the lobes obtuse, imbricated, at least in the bud. Stamens 5, inserted on the tube 

 of the corolla, opposite its lobes, alternating with as many staminodia (these wanting in 

 S. ebracteatus) , filaments short; anthers cordate. Ovary partly inferior; ovules numerous, 

 amphitropous. Capsule globose or ovoid, 5-valved from the summit. Seeds minute. ' [Name 

 Celtic.] 



About 10 species, of wide distribution, most abundant in South Africa and Australasia. Besides 

 the following 3 others occur in the southern United States. Type species : Samolus Valerandi L. 



i. Samolus floribundus H.B.K. Water Pimpernel. Brookweed. Fig. 3286. 



Samolus floribundus H.B.K. Nov. Gen. 2: 224. 1817. 



5". Valerandi var. americanus A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 274. 1856. 



Erect or ascending, branched, at least at the base, 6'-i8' 

 high. Leaves membranous, i'-3' long, J'-l' wide, obovate, 

 obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base into petioles, 

 the basal often in a rosulate tuft, the uppermost smaller 

 and sometimes sessile; flowers commonly numerous, less 

 than i" broad, in loose elongated panicled racemes; 

 pedicels filiform, spreading, 4^-12" long, bracteolate near 

 the middle ; calyx-lobes acute, shorter than the corolla ; 

 capsule i"-ii" in diameter, the 5 apical valves spreading 

 at maturity. 



In swamps and brooks, often in brackish soil, New Bruns- 

 wick to Florida, west to British Columbia, Texas and Cali- 

 fornia. Also in Mexico, the West Indies and South America. 

 May-Sept. 



Samolus Valerandi L., of Europe and Asia, a smaller plant 

 with mostly simple racemes and larger flowers and capsules, 

 has been found in ballast about Philadelphia. 



5. LYSIMACHIA [Tourn.] L. Sp. PL 146. 1753. 



Herbs, mostly perennial, with leafy stems. Leaves entire, often glandular-punctate; 

 flowers in our species yellow, solitary in the axils, or racemose, corymbose or paniculate. 

 Calyx 5-7-parted or 5-7-divided, persistent, free from the ovary. Corolla rotate or campanu- 

 late, 5-7-parted, the tube very short, the lobes convolute at least in the bud. Stamens 5-7, 

 inserted on the throat of the corolla; filaments separate, or connate at the base; anthers 

 oblong or oval ; staminodia none. Ovary globose or ovoid ; ovules few or several ; style 

 filiform; stigma obtuse. Capsule ovoid or globose, 2-5-valved, few or several-seeded. 

 [Greek, loose-strife.] 



About 70 species, mostly natives of the northern hemisphere, a few in Africa and' Australia. 

 Besides the following, 3 others occur in the southern United States. Type species : Lysirnachia 

 vulgarts L. 



Leaves verticillate in 3's-7's, or some of them rarely opposite. ' 

 Corolla rotate-campanulate, pure yellow, 6"-i2" broad. 



