^>02 THE KINDS OF PLANTS 



leafy, bearing nodding gamosepalous flowers in the axils: fruit a globular, 

 dark-colored berry. Rich woods, spring. 



P. giganteum, Dietr. Three to 5 ft. tall: leaves ovate, somewhat clasp- 

 ing: peduncles in each axil, 2-8 flowered: filaments not roughened. 



P. bifldrum, Ell. One-:^ ft.: leaves oblong, nearly sessile, somewhat 

 glaucous, hairy: iieduiicles usually 2-ttowered: filaments roughened. 



V. COMMELINACE^. Spiderwort Family. 



Herbs, annual or perennial, with flat, narrow leaves, sheathing at 

 base: roots fibrous, sometimes thickened: flowers regular or irregular, 

 perfect, usually showy, in terminal cymes, usually borne above a 

 leafy or spathe-like bract: sepals 3: petals 3, soon decaying or 

 falling; stamens 6, hypogynous, some of them often deformed or 

 abortive: ovary 2-3-celled, style single, stigma entire or somewhat 

 lobed: juice slimy or mucilaginous. More than 300 species, mainly 

 belonging to tropical regions. 



A. Flowers irregular, enclosed in cordate spathe-like 



floral leaf : perfect stamens 3 (rarely 2) 1. Commelina 



AA. Flowers regular, or nearly so: bracts leaf- like; 



stamens 6 2. Tradescantia 



AAA. Flowers somewhat irregular, tubular, usually in pairs: 



trailing habit, easily rooting at nodes .S. Zebrina 



1. COMMELlNA. Day Flower. 



Plants ei-ect or partly procumbent and rooting at joints, succulent, 

 branching: leaves petioled or sessile, the floral leaf or spathe cordate: 

 flowers recurved on their pedicels and hooded by the floral leaf before and 

 after flowering, open for a short time only. 



C. Virginica, Linn. Stem glabi-ous or somewhat downy, ascending 1-2 

 ft.: leaves lanceolate to linear, acuminate: flowers 1 in. wide, the odd petal 

 very small. In moist soil. 



2. TRADESCANTIA. Spiderwort. 



Mucilaginous herbs, with stout, succulent stems, simple, or branched: 

 leaves elongated, narrow, keeled, sometimes purple-veined: flowers in ter- 

 minal and axillary umbelled clusters, with leaf-like bracts, not tubular: 

 filaments glabrous or bearded. 



T. Virginica, Linn. Plant green, erect, with linear leaves; flower 

 clusters showy, terminal: corolla over 1 in. broad: the 3 petals deep blue 

 (rarely white), longer than sepals: filaments blue, and clothed with hairs. 

 Cultivated and wild; mostly in rich soil. Very variable. Flowers quickly 

 fading by becoming mucilaginous, but produced all summer. 



