188 KEY AND FLORA 



1. A. arvensis L. Poor Man's Weatherglass, Pimpernel. 



Annual; stem spreading, widely branched, 4-angled, smooth, 4-12 

 in. long. Leaves opposite, sessile, ovate, black-dotted beneath. 

 Flowers on peduncles longer than the leaves, nodding in fruit. Co- 

 rolla fringed with glandular hairs, longer than the acute calyx lobes, 

 bright red (sometimes white or blue), opening in sunshine. Capsule 

 globose, tipped by the j)ersistent style. Introduced, and common in 

 fields and gardens.* 



VII. CENTUNCULUS L. 



Small annuals, with alternate entire leaves. Flowers axil- 

 lary and solitary, inconspicuous. Calyx 4-5-parted. Corolla 

 4-5-cleft, shorter than the calyx, the tube urn-shaped. Stamens 

 4-5, perigynous, with short filaments. Capsule globose, many- 

 seeded, the top falling off as a lid. 



1. C. minimus L. Chaff weed. False Pimpernel. Stems 1-6 

 in. high. Leaves spatulate or obovate, with short petioles. Flowers 

 small, pink, nearly sessile, parts of the perianth usually in fours. 

 Moist soil W. 



VIII. DODECATHEON L. 



A smooth, perennial herb, with a cluster of oblong or spatu- 

 late basal leaves, fibrous roots, and an unbranched scape, leaf- 

 less except for an involucre of small bracts at the summit, with 

 a large umbel of showy, nodding flowers. Calyx deeply 5-cleft, 

 with reflexed, lanceolate divisions. Tube of the corolla very 

 short, the divisions of the 5-parted limb strongly reflexed. 

 Filaments short, somewhat united at the base ; anthers long, 

 acute, and combining to form a conspicuous cone. 



1. D. Meadia L. Shooting Star, Indian Chief. Corolla vary- 

 ing from rose color to white. In rich woods in most of the Middle 

 and Southern states. Often cultivated. 



78. EBENACE^. Ebony Family 



Trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, entire, pinnately veined, 

 without stipules. Flowers often dioecious. Calyx free from 

 the ovary, persistent. Stamens 2-4 times as many as the divi- 

 sions of the corolla. Ovary 3-12-celled ; ovules 1 or 2 in each 

 cell. Fruit a berry. Mostly tropical plants. 



