-962 



LYSIMACHIA 



LYTHRUM 



punctfcta, Linn. (L. verticillata, Bieb.). Tall and 

 -stout: Ivs. v-erticillate, in 4's, lanceolate, ovate or cor- 

 date ovate, acute, subsessile: corolla lobes oval, denticu- 

 late, glandular-ciliate, acute ; stamens united. Very 

 similar to L. vulgaris, but differs in the calyx lobes not 

 red-margined : fls. in axillary, equidistant whorls, not 

 paniculate, and corolla glandular. Eu. W. Asia. B.M. 

 -2295 (as L. verticillaris). 



AA. Flowers white. 



clethroides, Duby. Tall and stout, 3 ft. high or less, 

 sparingly pubescent, rarely glabrous : Ivs. opposite, 

 large, 3-6 in. long, and sessile, broadly lanceolate, at- 

 tenuate at each end, radical spatulate: fls. K in. in 

 <diam., in a very long, slender, terminal 1-sided spike, 

 pedicels short, bracts subulate; corolla lobes ovate-lan- 

 -ceolate, obtuse; stamens not monadelphous. Japan. 

 Mn. 8, p. 141. Fine for cut-flowers, also for border. 



L. barystachys, Bunge (L. brachystaehys, Carr.). Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: fls. white, dense. China. R.H. 1881-90. L. cillata, Linn. 

 =Steironema eiliatum. L. Ephemerum, Linn. Lvs. linear: fls. 

 -white, dark eye. Eu. R.H. 1891, p. 303. B.M. 2346. L. hybrida, 

 Michx. = Steironema lanceolatum. L. lanceolata, Walt. = 

 ; Steironema lanceolatum. L. Leschenaultii, Duby. Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: fls. carmine. India. R.H. 1891, p. 303. L nutans, Nees. 

 Lvs. lanceolate: fls. dark purple. Cape of Good Hope. B.M. 

 4941. L.paridiftirmis, Pranch. Lvs. oval: fls. yellow, axillary 

 or in head. 'China. B.M. 7226. L.polydntha,Fei-na,ld. Similar 

 to L. quadrifolia, but fls. in a distinct terminal raceme. East- 

 -ern U. S.L. producta, Fernald. Similar to L. stricta, but 

 lower Ivs. often verticillate and raceme very leafy, bracts pass- 

 ing into the foliage-lvs. Eastern U.S. L. thyrsifldra, Linn.= 

 Naumburgia thyrsiflora. K. M. WlEGAND. 



LYTHRUM (Greek, blood; possibly from the styptic 

 '.properties of some species, or the color of the fls.). 

 Lythracece. About 12 widely scattered species of herbs 

 -or subshrubs, of which 3 are cult, in hardy borders. 

 Branches 4-angled : Ivs. opposite or alternate, rarely 

 whorled, linear-oblong or lanceolate, entire: fls. rosy 

 purple or wMteL, in the upper axils usually solitary, 



lower down more or less whorled ; calyx tube cylindrical, 

 8-12-ribbed; petals 4-6, obovate; stamens as many or ' 

 twice as many: capsule 2-celled, with an indefinite 

 number of seeds. 



Lythrums grow about 2-3 ft. high in the wild, but im- 

 prove wonderfully in cultivation, often attaining 4-5 ft. I 

 and flowering freely. Some of them are called willow- i 

 herbs or soldiers in England from their strong, erect 

 habit and willow-like leaves. They are of easy culture! 

 in any moist soil, and are usually planted amid shrub- i 

 bery, where they hold their own. They are denizens of 

 low grounds, swamps and meadows. They flower in 

 summer and are prop, by division. A nameless species 

 from Japan has been considerably advertised of late, 

 but the specimen in the writer's hands is L. alatum. 



A. Stamens twice as many as the petals. 



B. Fls. in an interrupted, leafy spike. 

 Salicaria, Linn. SPIKED or PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE. 

 Fig. 1342. Height 2-3 ft. : Ivs. opposite or sometimes in 

 whorls of three, lanceolate, 2-3 in. long: fls. purple; 

 stamens barely if at all exserted. North temp, regions. 

 Australia. B. B. 2: 473. Best of the genus. Vars. 

 superbum and rdseum, Hort.,have rose-colored fls. Var. 

 rdseum superbum, Hort., may be the same as the pre- 

 ceding varieties. It is large-fid., rose-colored, more 

 robust (4-6 ft.), and somewhat later in blooming. It is 

 an excellent form. It is generally sold as L. roseum 

 superbum (not as a var. of L. Salicaria). 



BB. Fls. solitary in the upper axils, racemose. 



virgatum, Linn. Lower Ivs. opposite, rounded at the 

 base: calyx not bracted. Eu., N. Asia. 



AA. Stamens not more numerous than the petals- 

 alatum, Pursh. Lvs. mostly alternate, obtuse: sta- 

 mens exserted. N. Am. B.B. 2:472. 



F. W. BARCLAY and W. M. 



