352 ASCLEPIADACEJE. (MILK- WEED FAMILY). 



2. A. SlllSIvaiaftii, Engelm. Mss. Very smooth throughout, tall; leaves 

 ovate-oblong from a heart-shaped nearly sesxile base ; hoods of the crown obovatc, 

 entire, obtusely 1-eared at the base on the outside, with an incurved and flat 

 claw-like horn; pods ovate-lanceolate, ivith small and scattered warty spines 

 chiefly on the beak. Near Columbus, Ohio, Sullivant. "W. Illinois, Engelmann. 

 July. Resembles No. 1 in appearance, hi the petals, <fec. ; the hoods larger, 

 and exceeding the anthers by one halt 



* # Pods not warty-roughened or prickly. 



+- Leaves all or chiefly opjxtsite, or the middle ones sometimes in fours. 

 *-* Stems simple or nearly so (above usually with 2 lines of minute pubescence}. 



3. A. pliytolaccoides, Pursh. (POKE-MILKWEED.) Stem (3 -5 

 high) smooth ; leaves broadly ovate, or the upper oval-lanceolate and pointed at both 

 ends, short-petioled, smooth or slightly downy underneath (5' -8' long) ; pedicels 

 loose and nodding, numerous, long and slender (!' 3' long), equalling the pedun- 

 cle, many times longer than the ovate-oblong divisions of the (greenish) corolla ; hoods 

 of the crown (white) truncate, the margins 2-toothed at the summit, the horn 

 tvith a long projecting awl-shaped point ; pods minutely downy. Moist copses ; 

 common. June. 



4. A. purplirascens, L. (PURPLE MILKWEED.) Stem rather slen- 

 der (2 -3 high) ; leaves elliptical or ovate-oblong, the lower mucronate, the upper 

 taper-pointed, minutely velvety-downy underneath, smooth above, contracted at the 

 base into a short petiole ; pedicels shorter than the mostly terminal peduncle, about 

 twice the length of the dark purple lanceolate-ovate divisions of the corolla ; hoods of 

 the crown oblong, abruptly narrowed above ; the horn broadly scythe-shaped, with 

 a narrow and abruptly inflexed horizontal point; pods smooth. (A. amoena, L., 

 Mic/ix.) Border of woods, &c., N. England to Michigan and Kentucky: com- 

 mon westward. July. Flowers as large as in No. 1 : pedun-cle and pedicels 

 downj' along one side. 



5. A. varicgata, L. (VARIEGATED MILKWEED.) Nearly smooth 

 (l-2high); leaves ovate, oval, or obovate, somewhat wavy, mucronate, con- 

 tracted into short petioles ; pedicels (numerous and crowded) and peduncle short, downy ; 

 divisions of the corolla ovate (white) ; hoods of the crown orbicular, entire, the 

 horn scmilunar with a horizontal point; pods slightly downy. (A. nivea, L., 

 in part. A. hybrida, Michx.) Dry woods, S. New York to Wisconsin and 

 southward. July. Remarkable for its very compact umbels of nearly white 

 flowers, often purple in the centre. Leaves 4-5 pairs, the middle ones some- 

 times whorled; veins often purple. Peduncles 1-3, usually ' long. 



6. A. OValifolia, Decaisne in DC. Prodr. Low (6'-15' high), soft- 

 downy, especially the lower side of the ovate or lance-oblong acute slightly peti- 

 oled leaves; umbels loosely IQ-lS-fiowcred, either sessile or peduncled; pedicels 

 slender (J'-f long) ; hoods of the e.-owri oblong, obtuse, yellowish, with a small 

 horn, about the length of the oval grseniJi white divisions of the corolla (which 

 are tinged with purple outside). (A. lanuginosa, Nutt. ? A. Vaseyi, Carey). 

 Prairies and Oalj-openiugs, N. Illinois, Vasey, Wisconsin, Lapham, and north- 

 westward. Jane. Leaves l'-3' long, %'-\}' wide, smoothish above, the upper 

 sometimes scattered. Flowers about as large as in the next. 



