POLlCMONIACEyE. (i'OLEMOlSlUM FAMILY.) 371 



1. POLEMONIUM, Tourn. Greek Valerian. 



Calyx bell-sliapcd. Stamens equally inserted at the summit of the very short 

 tube of the opcn-bell-shaped or short funnel-form corolla : filaments slender, 

 declined, hairy-appendaged at the base. Pod few - several-seeded. — Perennials, 

 with alternate pinnate leaves, the upper leaflets sometimes confluent ; the (blue 

 or white) corymbose flowers nearly bractless. (An ancient name, from noXefios, 

 war, of doulitful application.) 



1. P. reptans, L. Smooth throughout; stems weak and spreading (6'- 

 10' high, never creeping as the name denotes) ; leaflets 7-11, ovate-lanceolate 

 or oblong ; corymbs few-flowered ; flowers nodding ; lobes of the calyx rather 

 shorter than the tube ; stamens and stijie not protruding beyond the corolla, which 

 is light blue, about ^' wide ; pods about 3-seeded. — Woods, W. New York to 

 Wisconsin and southward. May, June. 



2. P. esertlleum, L. (Jacob's Ladder.) Stem erect (1°- 3° high); 

 leaflets 9-21, linear-lanceolate, oblong- or ovate-lnnccolatc, mostly crowded; 

 flowers numerous, in a thyrsus or contracted panicle ; lobes of the calyx longer 

 than the tube; stamens and sti/le mosll// e.rserted beyond the bright blue corollo, 

 which is nearly 1' broad; pod several-seeded. — Swamps, about the sources of 

 the Susquehanna, New York: East of Charlottesville, Schoharie Co., Dr.E. C. 

 Howe. Elk Creek, near Delhi, Delaware Co., D. D. Gilbert. Head of Little 

 Lakes, Warren, Herkimer Co., G. W. Clinton. Warren Co., New Jersey, 

 A. P. Garber. Wild far northwestward. July. (Eu.) 



2. PHLOX, L. Phlox. 



Calyx narrow, somewhat prismatic, or plaited and angled. Corolla salver- 

 form, with a long tube. Stamens very unequally inserted in the tube of the 

 corolla, included. Pod ovoid, with (sometimes 2 ovules but ripening only) a sin- 

 gle seed in each cell. — Perennials (except a few Southern species, such as P. 

 Drummondii of the gardens), with opposite and sessile perfectly entire leaves, 

 the floral often alternate. Flowers cyniosc, mostly bracted ; the open clusters 

 terminal or crowded in the upper axils. (^Xo^, flame, an ancient name of 

 Lychnis, transferred to this North American genus.) Most of the species are 

 cultivated in gardens. 



* Stem strictli/ upright: panicle pi/rnmidnl or oblong, manij-floirered : peduncles and 

 pedicels very short : lobis of the corolla entire. ( Very common in gardens.) 



1. P. panicul^ta, L. Stem stout (2° -4° high), smooth; leaves oblou)^ 

 lanceolate and ovate-lanceolate, pointed, large, tapering at the base, the upper 

 often heart-shaped at the base ; panicle ample, jn/ramiehd-corgmbed ; culgx-teeth awn- 

 pointed. (P. undulata, Ait., &c.) — Var. acu.mix.Vta (P. acuminata, Pursh) has 

 the broader and taper-pointed leaves beneath downy, like the stem, which is some- 

 times rough-hairy and spotted below. — Rich woods, from I'enn. to Illinois, and 

 southward. June, July. — Flowers pink-purple varying to white. 



2. P. maeulMa, L. (Wild SwEET-WiLLiAM.) Sniootii, or barely 

 roughish ; stem spotted with purple, rather slender (l°-2° high); lower leaves 

 iauceolate, the upper nearly ovate-lanceolate, tapering to the apex from the broad 



