58 CRUCIFER^. Dentaku. 



6, DENTARIA. Linn. ; Endl gen. 4861. TOOTH-woRT. 



[So named from dem, a tooth ; the root or rhizoma of some species being toothed with projecting angles.] 

 Silique lanceolate, with a long tapering style ; the valves flat and without a prominent nerve, 

 often opening elastically : placentae not winged. Seeds ovate, not bordered, in a single 

 series;, funiculi dilated. — Perennial herbs. Rhizoma horizontal, fleshy, often irregularly 

 toothed. Leaves ternately, palmately, or pinnately divided ; radical ones (when present) 

 on long petioles ; cauline ones (often 3) near the middle of the stem or scape, verticillaie 

 or alternate. Flowers white or purple. 



1. Dentaria laciniata, Muhl. Common Tooth-wort. 



Rhizoma moniliform; cauline leaves 3, on short petioles usually verticillate, ternately 

 parted; segments incised or acutely serrate-toothed, the lateral ones lobed. — Muhl. in Willd, 

 sp. 3. p. 479 ; DC. prodr. l.p. 155 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 144 ; Bart.jl. Amer. Sept. 3. t. 72 ; Bigel. 

 fl. Bost.p. 254 ; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 46 ; Darlingt.fl. Cest. p. 385 ; Torr. ^ Gr.fl. N. 

 Am. 1. p. 87. D. concatenata, Michx.fl. 2. p. 30. 



Rhizoma consisting of 2 - 3 or more yellowish-white oblong tubers, connected by a neck 

 or fibre, of a pungent taste like horse-radish. Stems or scapes 6-12 inches high, erect, 

 simple, smooth below, slightly pubescent above. Cauline leaves verticillate towards the sum- 

 mit of the stem; the segments lanceolate, variously cut and toothed ; radical leaves sometimes 

 wanting, more cut than those of the stem. Common peduncle 3-4 inches long. Flowers 

 pale purple or nearly white. Petals 6-8 lines long, obovate-cuneiform. Silique about an 

 inch long, of which the tapering style forms more than one-third. 



Rich shady soils, particularly along rivers. Middle of April to the beginning of Mav. 

 Fr. June. 



2. Dentaria diphvlla, Micha:. Pepper-root. 



Rhizoma elongated, toothed ; cauline leaves 2, ternately divided ; segments ovate or oblong, 

 unequally and incisely toothed. — Michx. fl. 2. p. 30 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 438 ; Nutt. gen. 2. 

 p. 66 ; Bot. mag. t. 1465 ; DC. prodr. 1. p. 169 ; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 46 ; Torr. <^ Gr. 

 fl.N. Am. l.p. 87. 



Plant 6-10 inches high. Rhizoma creeping extensively, often branched, marked on two 

 sides with projecting teeth (the swollen bases of former petioles ?) from the axils of which 

 the new petioles arise. Leaves opposite, or closely approximate above the middle of the 

 stem ; petioles about an inch long ; leaflets 1 - 2i inches long and 1-1^ inch wide, nearly 

 sessile, or distinctly petiolulate ; radical leaves on long petioles. Flowers larger than in the 

 preceding species, yellcrwish white or very pale purple ; pedicels spreading, the lower ones 

 about an inch long. Siliques an inch long ; the pointed style constituting one-third or more 

 of the entire fruit. 



Shady woods, in rich soil ; more common than the preceding in the interior of the State. 

 May. — The plant is well known on account of its singular and pungent rhizoma. 



