VOL. II.] 



GENTIAN FAMILY. 



621 



i. Bartonia Virginica (L,.) B.S. P. Yellow Bar tonia. (Fig. 2887.) 



Sagina Virginica L. Sp. PI. 128. 1753. 



B. tenella Willd. Neue Schrift. Ges. Nat. Fr. Berlin, 3: 445. 1801. 



Barlonia Virginica B.S.P. Prel. Cat. N. Y. 36. 1888. 



Stem rather stiff, almost filiform, 4 / -i5 / high, simple, or 

 with few erect branches above, 5-angled, yellowish green, 

 sometimes twisted. Subulate scales i // -2 // long, appressed, 

 the basal pairs close together, the upper distant; flowers 

 mostly opposite, peduncled; pedicels ascending or erect, 2 //r - 

 6 X/ long; corolla greenish yellow, \%"-2 /f long, its lobes ob- 

 long, acutish or obtuse, somewhat exceeding the calyx; 

 stamens included; ovary 4-sided; capsule about \y z " long. 



In moist soil, Newfoundland to Florida, west to Michigan and 

 Louisiana. July-Sept. 



Bartonia Moseri (Steud. & Hochst. ) Rob. & Schrenk, a plant 

 very similar to this species, but with alternate leaf-scales and 

 corolla twice as long as the calyx, reported to range from Louis- 

 iana to Newfoundland, may perhaps be distinct, but it is little 

 known. Plants of B. Virginica with alternate leaf-scales are 

 sometimes collected with the typical opposite-scaled form. 



2. Bartonia verna (Michx.) Muhl. 

 Bartonia. (Fig. 2888.) 



White 



Centaurella verna Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 97. pi. 12. f. i. 1803. 

 Bartonia verna Muhl. Cat. 16. 1813. 



Stem thicker and less rigid than that of the preceding 

 species, usually simple, 2 / -i5 / high, racemosely or corym- 

 bosely i-several-flowered. Bracts distant, appressed, some 

 of them commonly alternate; flowers solitary at the ends of 

 the elongated erect peduncles, 3 // -4 // long; peduncles some- 

 times -2' long; corolla white, its lobes spatulatc or obovate, 

 obtuse, about 3 times the length of the calyx; ovary com- 

 pressed; capsule about 2*/i" high. 



In swamps, southern Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. 

 March-May. 



Family 16. MENYANTHACEAE G. Don, Card. Diet. 4: 167. 



BUCKBEAN FAMII/V. 



1837- 



Perennial aquatic or marsh herbs, with basal or alternate entire crenate or 

 3-foliolate leaves, and clustered regular perfect flowers. Calyx inferior, deeply 

 5 -parted, persistent. Corolla funnelform to rotate, 5-lobed or 5-cleft, the lobes 

 induplicate-valvate, at least in the bud. Stamens 5, borne on the corolla, and 

 alternate with its lobes; filaments mostly short; anther- sacs longitudinally de- 

 hiscent; pollen-grains 3-angled. Ovary i-celled, the 2 placentae sometimes 

 intruded; style long, short or none. Fruit a capsule, or indehiscent. 



Five genera and about 35 species, widely distributed. 



Leaves 3-foliolate; swamp plant. i. Menyanthes. 



Leaves simple, entire, cordate, floating. 2. Limnanthemum . 



i. MENYANTHES I,. Sp. PI. 145. 1753. 



A perennial glabrous marsh herb, with creeping rootstocks, alternate long-petioled 

 3-foliolate basal leaves, and white or purplish flowers, racemose or panicled on long lateral 

 scapes or peduncles. Calyx 5-parted, the segments oblong or lanceolate. Corolla short- 

 funnelform, 5-cleft, its lobes induplicate-valvate, fimbriate or bearded within, spreading. 

 Stamens 5, inserted on the tube of the corolla; filaments filiform; anthers sagittate. Disk 

 of 5 hypogynous glands. Ovary i-celled; style subulate; stigma 2-lamellate. Capsule oval, 

 indehiscent or finally rupturing. Seeds few, compressed-globose, shining. [Greek, perhaps 

 month-flower; a name used by Theophrastus. ] 



A monotypic genus of the cooler parts of the northern hemisphere. 



