MELASTOMACE^. (mELASTOMA l-AMILY.) 181 



awl-shaped, and conspicuous on the base of the 4-sidtd somewhat top-shaped pod, 

 which is lonj,fer tlum tlie caljx-iolics. — Swamps, Micliifj^aii to lUiiiuis, Ken- 

 tucky, and southward. 



5. L. linearis, Walt. Slender, mostly low ; leaves narrowly linear, those 

 of the short riniiRTs obovate; minute petals usually j)rcsent ; bractlets minute at 

 the base oftltc doiii/uled top-shajkd \-sid(d pod, which is ."5" lony and much longer 

 than the ealyx-lohes. — Bogs, pine barrens of New Jersey and southward. 



6. L. cylindrica, Ell. Much branched ; leaves oblong- or spatuhite- 

 lanecolatc, much tapering at the base, or even petiolcd ; bractieis very viinuteat 

 the base of the ci/lihdrical pod, which is 3" long, and several times exceeds the 

 calyx-lobes. — Mound City, S. Illinois, Dr. Vaseij, and southward. 



« * Leaves all opposite: stems creepincj or floating 



7. L. pallistris, Ell. (Water Purslane.) Smooth : leaves ovate or 

 oval, tapering into a slender petiole ; petals none, or small and reddish when the 

 plant grows out of water; calyx-lobes very short; pods oblong, 4-sided, not ta- 

 pering at the base, sessile iu the axils (2" long). (Isna'rdia palustris, L.) — 

 Ditches: comiuon. (Eu.) 



8. L. arcuata, Walt. Smooth, small and creeping ; leaves oblanceolate, 

 nearly sessile ; ilowers solitary, long-peduneled ; petals yellow, exceeding the 

 calyx (3" long) ; pods oblong-club-shapcd, somewhat curved (i' long). — 

 Swamp.s, Eastern Virginia and southward. 



Order 40. MEL.ASTOMACE.I:. (Melasto.aia Family.) 



Plants loith opposite 3- 1-rihhcd leaves, and definite stamens, the anthers 

 opening l»j pores at the apex ; otherwise much as in the Evening-IViuirose 

 Family. — All tropical, e.\cept the genus 



1. RHEXIA, L. Deer-Grass. Meadow-Beaut v. 



Calyx-tube urn-shaped, coherent with the ovary beloW. and continued above 

 it, persistent, 4-cleft at the apex. Petals 4, convolute in the bud, oblique, in- 

 serted, along with tlw 8 stamens, on the summit of the calyx-tube. Anthers 

 long, 1-ccllcd, inverted in the bud. Style 1 : stigma 1. Pod invested by the 

 permanent calyx, 4-cclIed, with 4 many-seeded placenttc ]irojeeting from the 

 central axis. Seeds coiled like a snail-shell, without albumen. — Low |)crennial 

 herbs, often bristly, with sessile 3-5-nerved and bristle-edged leaves, and large 

 showy cymose flowers; in summer; the petals falling early. (Name from ^v^if, 

 a rupture, applied to this genus for no obvious reason.) 



* Anthers linear, curved, with a minute spur on the back at the attachment of the 

 filame.nl aliove its base : flowers cipnose, peduncled. 



1. R. Virginica, L. Stem se/uare, with wing-like angles; leaves oval- 

 'aiictolate, anil,'; petals bright jjurple. — Sandy swamps, E. Massachusetts to 

 Peiiu., WiMonsin. Illinois, and southwiird. 



2. B,. Marikna, L. Stems ci/lindric<d ; leaves Unrar-obluni/, nnvro\wd below; 

 petals paler. — Sandy swamps, New Jersey, Kentucky, aud southward. 



