POLYGONACEAE 75 



1. COMANDRA Nutt. 



Herbs with alternate lanceolate leaves and perfect flowers in umbel- 

 like clusters. Calyx 5-lobed. Anthers attached to calyx lobes by a tuft 

 of hairs. 



1. C. umbellata (L.) Nutt. BASTAKD TOAD FLAX. 6'- 18' high: 

 calyx greenish- white : fruit globular, urn-shaped. Common on prairies 

 and in dry woods, especially in the southern part. April-May. 



FAMILY 36. ARISTOLOCHIACEAE Blume. 

 Herbs with perfect flowers. Calyx valvate in bud and coherent with 

 base of ovary, its limb 3-lobed. Ovary 6-celled, many-seeded. Stamens 

 6-12, epigynous. 



Stamens twelve. 1. ASARUM. 



Stamens six. 2 ARISTOLOCHIA. 



1. ASARUM L. 



Acaulescent perennials with long, running rootstocks, and few cordate- 

 orbicular leaves. Flowers axillary, peduncled. Calyx regular. 



1. A. reflexum Bicknell WILD GINGER. Leaves orbicular-reniform, 

 2 / -5 / across : sepals brownish-purple, 4 // -5 // long, triangular, about the 

 length of the tube, with a tip l // -2 // long Common in rich woods. 

 April-May. 



2. ARISTOLOCHIA L. 



Caulescent perennials with alternate leaves and irregular flowers. 

 Calyx tubular. 



1. A. Serpentaria L. VIRGINIA SNAKEROOT. 6 / -12 / high : leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, entire, cordate at base : flowers on slender basal scaly 

 branches, the calyx bent like a letter S and enlarged at the throat and 

 base In dry woods from Fairmount Park to Courtney. Not common. 

 May- June. 



FAMILY 37. POLYGONACEAE Lindl. 



Herbs with alternate leaves and sheathing stipules. Flowers perfect 

 or dioecious. Calyx with 2-6 lobes. Stamens 2-12. Ovary superior, 

 1-celled, containing one ovule. Styles or stigmas 2-3. Fruit an achene. 



Sepals six. 1. RUMEX. 

 Sepals five or four. 



Leaves hastate ; plants climbing. 3. POLYGONUM. 



Leaves hastate ; plants erect. 2. FAGOPYRUM. 



Leaves not hastate ; plants erect. 3. POLYGONUM. 



1. RUMEX L. 



Flowers in panicled racemes. Sepals six, the three outer not changed 

 in fruit, the three inner usually enlarging and one or all bearing a tubercle 

 at base. Stamens six, styles three. Stigmas tufted. 



