620 



GENTIANACEAE. 



[VOL. II. 



i. Tetragonanthus deflexus (J. E. Smith) 

 Kuntze. Spurred Gentian. (Fig. 2885.) 



Swertia deflexa ]. E. Smith in Rees' Cyclop, no. 8. 1816. 

 Halenia deflexa Griseb. in Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 67. 



PL 155. 1834. 

 Tetragonanthus deflexus Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. p,i. 



1891. 



Annual; stem simple or branched, slender, erect, 

 6'-2o / high. Basal leaves obovate or spatulate, ob- 

 tuse, narrowed into petioles; stem-leaves ovate or 

 lanceolate, acute, sessile, 3-5-nerved, i'-2' long, 

 the uppermost much smaller; calyx-segments lan- 

 ceolate or spatulate, acute or acuminate; corolla 

 purplish or white, about 4" high, its lobes ovate, 

 acute, the spurs deflexed or descending, one-fourth 

 to one-half the length of the corolla; capsule nar- 

 rowly oblong, 6"-7" long, about twice as long as 

 the calyx. 



In moist woods and thickets, Labrador to Massachu- 

 setts and southern New York, west to Michigan and 

 the Indian Territory. July-Aug. 



Tetragonanthus deflexua Brentoniinus (Griseb.) Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5: 261. 1894. 

 Halenia Brentoniana Griseb. in Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. a: 68. 1834. 



Low, 3' -8' high; spurs shorter and thicker. Newfoundland to Anticosti. 



8. OBOLARIA L. Sp. PI. 632. 1753. 



A low glabrous perennial herb, the stem simple or branched, the lower leaves reduced 

 to opposite scales, the upper foliaccous, subtending the racemose-spicate or thyrsoid white 

 or purplish flowers. Calyx of 2 spatulate sepals. Corolla oblong-campanulatc, 4-cleft, the 

 lobes imbricated, at least in the bad. Stamens 4, inserted in the sinuses of the corolla; fila- 

 ments slightly longer than the ovate sagittate anthers. Ovary i-cellcd, with 4 internal 

 placental projections; ovules numerous; style distinct; stigma 2-lamellate. Capsule ovoid, 

 2-valved or irregularly bursting. Seeds minute, covering the whole interior of the capsule. 

 [Greek, obolus, a coin, alluding to the thick round leaves.] 



A monotypic genus of eastern North America. 



i. Obolaria Virginica L. Pennywort. 

 (Fig. 2886.) 



Obolaria Virginica L. Sp. PI. 632. 1753. 



Stems 3'-6' high from a perennial root of thick fleshy 

 fibres, bearing 2-6 pairs of thick small obtuse scales in 

 place of leaves. Floral leaves broadly obovate-cuneate, 

 obtuse, purplish, 4"-6" long; flowers sessile or nearly so 

 in the axils, in clusters of 1-4 (usually 3), and terminal; 

 corolla about 5" long, cleft to about the middle, the 

 lobes oblong, obtuse, entire, or denticulate; stamens in- 

 cluded; capsule 2%" long. 



In rich woods and thickets, New Jersey to Georgia, west to 

 Illinois and Texas. Ascends to 2600 ft. in Virginia. April-May. 



9. BARTON I A Muhl.; Willd. NeueSchrift. Ges. Nat. Fr. Berlin, 3: 444. 1801. 



Slender or filiform erect glabrous annual or biennial herbs, the leaves reduced to min- 

 ute opposite subulate scales, or some of them alternate, and small white or yellowish race- 

 mose or paniculate flowers, or these rarely solitary and terminal. Calyx deeply 4-parted, 

 the segments lanceolate, acuminate, keeled. Corolla canipanulate, deeply 4-cleft, the lobes 

 imbricated in the bud. Stamens 4, inserted at the sinuses of corolla; filaments slender, 

 much longer than the ovate sagittate anthers. Ovary i-celled, the placentae intruded; 

 ovules numerous; style very short or none; stigma 2-lobed. Capsule ovoid-oblong, acute, 

 2-valved. Seeds minute, covering the whole inner surface of the capsule. [In honor of 

 Professor Benjamin Smith Barton, 1766-1815, of Philadelphia.] 



Two species, natives of eastern North America. 



Corolla yellowish, iM "-2" long, its lobes oblong. I. B. Virginica. 



Corolla white, 3" -4" long, its lobes spatulate. 2. B. verna. 



