HYPERICACEAE (ST. JOHN'S-AVORT FAMILY) 571 



2. G0RD6nIA Ellis. Loblolly Bay 



Sepals 5, rounded, concave. Petals 5, obovate. Stamens 5-adelphous, one 

 cluster adhering to the base of each petal. Style 1. Pod ovoid, 5-valved ; the 

 valves separating from The persistent axis ; cells 2-8-seeded. Seeds pendulous ; 

 radicle short; cotyledons thin, longitudinally plaited. — Shrubs or small trees, 

 with large and showy white flowers on axillary peduncles. (Dedicated by Dr. 

 (iarden to his ••old master, Dr. James Gordon of Aberdeen," and by Ellis to 

 a London nurseryman of the same name.) 



I. G. Lasianthus L. (Tan Bay.) Leaves coriaceous and persistent, lanceo- 

 late-oblong, narrowed at the base, minutely serrate, smooth and shining ; petals 

 3-4 cm. long ; pod pointed ; seeds winged above. — Swamps near the coast, Va., 

 and south w. May-July. 



HYPERICACEAE (St. John's-wort Family) 



Herbs or shriibs, with opposite entire dotted mostly sessile leaves and no 

 stipules., regular hypogynous flowers., the petals mostly oblique and convolute in 

 the bud, and many or few stamens sometimes collected in 3 or more clusters or 

 bundles. Pod l-celled with 2-5 parietal placentae., and as many styles, or 3-7- 

 celled by the union of the placentae in the center; dehiscence mostly septicidal. 

 Sepals 4 or 5, imbricated in the bud, herbaceous, persistent. Petals 4 or 5, 

 mostly deciduous. Styles persistent, at first sometimes united. Seeds numerous, 

 small, anatropous, with no albumen. — Plants usually smooth. Flowers solitary 

 or cymose. 



1. Ascyrum. Sepals 4, in 2 very unequal pairs. Petals 4. Stamens many, distinct. 



•2. Hypericum. Sepals 5. Petals 5. Stamens usually many and often in 3 or 5 clusters. 



1. ASCYRUM L. St. Peter's-wort 



Sepals 4 ; the two outer very broad and leaf-like ; the inner much smaller. 

 Petals 4, oblique, very deciduous, convolute in the bud. Stamens numerous ; 

 the filaments distinct and scarcely in clusters. Pod strictly l-celled, 2-4- 

 valved. — Low rather shrubby smooth pale green plants, with nearly solitary 

 light yellow flowers. (Ancient Greek name for some plant probably of this 

 family.) 



1. A. stans Michx. (St. Peter's- wort.) Stem suberect, 2-edged, 3-6 dm. 

 high, stout; leaves oval or oblong, somewhat clasping, thickish ; flowers showy ; 

 outer sepals round-cordate, inner lanceolate; petals obovate; styles 3 or 4. — 

 Pine barrens, L. I. to Pa., and southwestw. July, Aug. 



2. A. hypericoides L. (St. Andrew's Cross.) Low, much branched and 

 decumbent ; leaves narrowly obovate-oblong, contracted at the base, thin ; petals 

 linear-oblong; styles 2, very short; pod flat. (J.. Criix-Andreae L. 176o, not 

 1753.) — Wet sand or rocky barrens, Nantucket I., Mass., to s. 111., Neb., and 

 southw. July-Sept. — Petals scarcely exceeding the outer sepals, approaching 

 each other in pairs over them, in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. 



2. HYPERICUM [Tourn.] L. St. John's-wort 



• 

 Sepals 5, usually subequal. Petals 5, oblique, convolute in the bud (except 

 in § 6). Stamens frequently united or clustered in 3-5 parcels ; no interposed 

 glands. Pod l-celled or 3-5-celled. Seeds usually cylindrical. — Herbs or 

 shrubs, with cymose yellow, flesh-colored, or purplish flowers. (An ancient 

 Greek name of obscure meaning.) 



