Vor,. II.] 



DIAPENSIA FAMILY. 



583 



short and broad; anther-cells pointed, divergent, obliquely 2-valved; staminodia none. 

 Style slender; ovules numerous in the cells, anatropous. Seeds oblong-cubic, the testa 

 close, reticulated. [Greek, by fives, alluding to the stamens and corolla-lobes.] 



Two species, i of wide distribution in the colder parts of the northern hemisphere, the other 

 Himalayan. 



i. Diapensia Lapponica L. Diapensia. 

 (Fig. 2802.) 



Diapensia Lapponica L. Sp. PI. 141. 1753. 



Glabrous, forming dense cushion-like tufts; stems 

 simple or branched, erect or ascending, i'-j/ high. 

 Leaves crowded below, thick, spatulate, sessile, obtuse 

 or acutish, often curved, entire, 3 // -6 // long, about i" 

 wide, the margins usually revolute; peduncles rather 

 stout, becoming i / -2 / long in fruit; sepals and bracts 

 oval; corolla usually white, $"-0," long, its tube about 

 the length of the sepals and of its oval or oblong 

 obtuse lobes; capsule ovoid, 2 // ~3 // high. 



Summits of the Adirondack Mountains, and of the 

 mountains of New England; Mt. Albert, Quebec; Labra- 

 dor and arctic America. Also in northern and alpine Eu- 

 rope and Asia. June-July. 



2. PYXIDANTHERA Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 152. //. 17. 1803. 



A creeping tufted much branched evergreen shrub, with small narrow alternate imbri- 

 cated leaves, and numerous white or pinkish sessile flowers, solitary at the ends of the 

 branches. Calyx bracted at the base, the sepals oblong, ciliate. Corolla short-campanulate, 

 5-lobed, tardily deciduous. Stamens inserted at the sinuses of the corolla; filaments broad 

 and thick; anthers 2 celled, the sacs globose, transversely 2-valved, the lower valve cuspi- 

 date; staminodia none. Style columnar. Seeds globose-oblong, amphitropous, the testa 

 black, cancellate. [Greek, box -anther.] 



A monotypic genus of eastern North America. 



i. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Pyxie. Flowering Moss. (Fig. 2803.) 



Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 152- 



pi. 17. 1803. 

 Diapensia barbulata Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i: 229. 1817. 



Glabrous, or sparingly pubescent, very leafy, 

 growing in mats or large patches on the ground, 

 the main branches sometimes i long. Leaves ses- 

 sile, linear, lanceolate or linear-oblong, acuminate 

 or subulate-tipped, entire, pubescent at the base 

 when young, 2 // -4 // long, about \" wide, densely 

 imbricated toward the ends of the branches, more 



_ ^_^^ s -. scattered below; flowers usually very numerous, 



C AWti <-> / 2 // -3 // broad, mostly white; corolla-lobes cuneate- 



obovate, obtuse, retuse or eroded; capsule about i" 

 high, globose, sessile, surrounded by the upper 

 leaves. 



In dry sandy pine-barrens, southern New Jersey and 

 in North Carolina. Called also Pine-barren Beauty. 

 Flowers sometimes pinkish. March-May. 



3. GALAX L. Sp. PI. 200. 1753. 



An acaulescent perennial herb, with orbicular cordate crenate-dentate long-petioled basal 

 leaves, and numerous small white flowers, spicate -racemose at the ends of tall mostly naked 

 slender scapes. Calyx minutely 2-bracteolate at the base, 5-parted, the sepals nerveless. 

 Corolla 5-divided, the petals oblong, entire, adnate to the bases of the monadelphous sta- 

 mens. Stamen-tube lo-lobed at the summit, the lobes which are opposite the petals petaloid 

 (staminodia), those alternate with the petals antheriferous; anthers nearly sessile, granular 

 on the back, i-celled, transversely 2-valved. Style very short. Seeds ovoid, the testa loose. 

 [Greek, milk; name not characteristic of this genus.] 



A monotypic genus of southeastern North America. 



