ORDER 52. ONAGRACE^E. 355 



often minute or none ; stamens 4, opposite the sepals ; style short ; 

 capsule short, often perforated at top, 4-celled, 4-valved, many-seeded, 

 and crowned with the persistent calyx lobes. U Herbs in wet grounds. 

 Lvs. entire. 



Leaves alternate, sessile, (a) 



a Petals large, yellow. Fruit pedicellate, short Nos. 1 1 



a Petals small, yellowish. Fruit sessile, elongated, smooth Nos. 4 5 



a Pet. or minute. Fruit elongated, hairy or smooth Nos. 6, 7 



Fruit short, smooth. Stem winged No.' 8 



Stein tercfish. Fls. axillary. Nos. 9 11 



Fls. capitate No. 12 



{ Leaves opposite, petiolate. Fls. sessile, mostly apetalous Nos. 1315 



Fls. pedicellate, with showy petals No. 16 



1 L. alteriiifolia L. SEED-BOX. Erect, branched, glabrous; Ivs. lanceolate, 

 acute, sessile, pale beneath ; ped. axillary, solitary, 1-flowered, 2-bracted above 

 the middb; petals scarcely as large as the spreading, acuminate sepals; caps. 

 large, with 4, winged angles, crowned with the colored calyx. Shady swamps. 

 St. 1 to 3f high, round, with a strong bark, and several branches. Lvs. with 

 marginal veins, 2 to 3' long, % to 1' wide. Caps, convex at apex, the angles 

 conspicuously winged. Sep. large, purplish. Petals large, yellow, showy. 

 JL, Aug. 



2 L. kirtella Raf. Hairy, erect, sparingly branched ; Ivs. ovate-oblong, sessile, 

 obtuse; fls. axillary, solitary, pedicellate, with 2 bractlets below it; sep. nearly 

 as long as the pet. ; caps, subglobous, 4-angled and winged. Moist soils, N. J. 

 to Fla. St. 1 to 3f high. Lvs. numerous, hairy on both sides, to If by 2 to 

 8''. Fls. yellow, about -f diam. Cal. spreading, and, with caps, villous. Jn. 

 Sept. (L. hirsuta Ph.) 



3 L. virgata Ph. Nearly glabrous, erect, virgate ; Ivs. oblong, closely sessile, 

 obtuse, the upper linear; fls. large, on a slender pedicel ; petals longer than the 

 leafy calyx lobes ; caps, roundish-cubical, with winged angles, and finally as long 

 as the reflexed cal. lobes. In dry soils, S. States. Sts. 2 to 3f high. Lvs. 1 to 

 2' long. Fls. spreading 1'. on pedicels 6'' long. May Sept. 



4 L. liiiearis "Walt. Glabrous, slender, with angular, erect branches; Ivs. lance- 

 linear, acute at each end; fls. axillary, solitary, sessile; pet. obovate-oblong, 

 slightly longer than the triangular-ovate sep. which are much shorter than the 

 elongated, obovoid-clavate, 4:-sided capsules. Swamps, N. J. and S. States. Plant 

 1 to 2f high, with the habit of Lythrum alatum, often sending out runners at the 

 base, with obovate leaves. Fls. sometimes apetalous. Jl. Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



5 L. liiiifolia Poir. Glabrous, mostly simple, creeping at base, then erect; 

 Ivs. spreading, linear, rather acute, tapering to a slender base ; fls. closely sessile ; 

 calAobes ovate, acuminate, about the length of the petals and of the oblong, 4- 

 sided capsules. Muddy places, N. Car. to Fla. Plant If high, with much the 

 habit of Proserpinaca palustris. Lvs. 1' long. 



6 L. cylindrica Ell. Glabrous, erect, much branched; Ivs. lanceolate, acute; 

 fls. minute, 1 to 3 together, apetalous ; cal. lobes much shorter than the rather 

 slender, cylindrical, abrupt capsule. S. Car. to Fla. and Tex. St. 3f high. Lvs. 

 veiny and somewhat denticulate. Capsules 2 to 4" in length, 1" wide. Jl. 

 Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



7 L. pilosa Walt. ViUous-pubescent, erect, much branched; Ivs. lanceolate, acute; 

 fls. axillary and spiked above ; cal. lobes ovate-acuminate, about as long as the 

 oblong, 4-sided, villous capsule. Swamp. S. Car. to Fla. and La, Plant 2 to 3i 

 high. Lvs. 2 to 3' long, those of the branches much diminished, of the stolons 

 spatulate. Caps, about 4" by 2 or 3". Jl. Sept. (Isnardia DC.) 



8 L. alata Ell. Glabrous, few-branched, erect; st. winged by the decurrent bases 

 of the lanceolate Ivs.; fls. solitary, apetalous; cal. lobes broadly ovate, nearly as 

 long as the small, 4-sided, obconic capsule. Swamps, S. States. Plant about 2t 

 Ligh. Lvs. 1 to 3' long, the lower broad-oval. Jl. Sept (Isnardia DC.) 



9 L. sphaerocarpa Ell. Erect, smooth, or nearly so ; Ivs. lanceolate, acute, at- 

 tenuate at base ; fls. axillary, subsolitary, on very short pedicels ; pet. minute or 

 wanting, as weU as the bractlets ; sep. as long as the small subglobous caps. In, 



