20 PAP AVERAGES. Platy stigma. 



into an oblong head, smooth or somewhat hairy, 5 to 10 lines long, beaked with 

 the linear persistent stigmas, the 1-seeded divisions a line long : seeds smooth. — 

 Trans. Hort. Soc. 2 ser. i. 405. Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3579 & 3750. 



Very common in early spring on the lower hills and in the valleys from Mendocino County 

 to S. California, and also eastward through Arizona to S. Utah. Sometimes called Cream-Cups. 



2. PLATYSTIGMA, Benth. 

 Sepals 3 (rarely 2). Petals 4 to 6. Stamens few to many, with narrow filaments 

 and oblong or Hnear-oblong anthers. Ovary 3-angled, oblong or linear: stigmas 

 3, distinct, ovate to linear. Capsule 1-celled, 3-valved, dehiscent to the base, many- 

 seeded. Seeds small, smooth and shining. — Low slender annuals, resembling 

 Platystemon in habit, with pale-green entire opposite or verticillate leaves, and 

 long-peduncled pale-yellow flowers. Only the following species. 



* Capsule ovoid-oblong: stamens many ; anthers linear-ohlong ; filaments dilated: 



stigmas broad : villous, short-stemmed. — Platystigma proper. 



1. P. lineare, Benth. Somewhat villous with spreading hairs, 6 to 12 inches 

 high, the stem usually very short and leafy : leaves linear, 1 to 3 inches long : 

 j)eduncles erect : flowers an inch or less in diameter : capsule half an inch long. — 

 Trans. Hort. Soc. 2 ser. i. 407. Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3575. 



Valleys and low hUls from Salinas Valley to Oregon ; common in early spring. 



* >:= C'ajyside linear: stamens feiv; anthers oblong; filaments filiform: stigmas 



narrow : glabrous, long-stemmed. — Meconella. [Meconella, Xutt.) 



2. P. Californicum, Benth. & Hook. Yery slender, with long-jointed dichoto- 

 mous stems : leaves ovate-spatulate to oblanceolate or the upper ones linear, ^^ to 1 

 inch long, acute : flowers 3 to 12 lines broad : stamens 10 to 12 : capsule narrowly 

 linear, 9 "to 15 lines long. — Gen. PL i. 51. Meconella Calif or nica, Torr. in Frem. 

 Eep. 312. 



Central California, San Mateo to Sonoma counties, and eastward to the foot-hills of the 

 Sierra Nevada. 



P. OreOxANUM, Benth. & Hook., a smaller ])lant with smaller flowers, 4 to 6 stamens, and 

 shorter capsules, inhabiting Oregon and Washington Territory, may be looked for in Northern 

 California. 



3. ROMNEYA, Harvey. 



Sepals 3, with a broad membranaceous dorsal wing. Petals G. Stamens very 

 numerous, with filiform filaments thickened above, and oblong anthers. Ovary 

 oblong, densely setose, more or less completely several-celled by the intrusion of the 

 many-ovuled placentas: stigmas free, oblong, fleshy. Capsule completely 7- 11- 

 celled, dehiscing to the middle, the valves separating by their margins from the firm 

 persistent placentas. Seeds numerous, finely tuberculate. — A smooth stout peren- 

 nial, with colorless bitter juice, pinnately cut or divided alternate leaves, and very 

 large white flowers. 



1. R. Coulteri, Harv. Leaves glaucous, thickish, petioled, 3 to 5 inches long, 

 the lower ones pinnatifid, the upper ones pinnately cut or toothed ; the petioles and 

 margins often sparingly ciliate with rigid spinose bristles : flowers Avhite, sometimes 

 nearly 6 inches in diameter ; petals broadly obovate : filaments half an inch long, 

 purple at base : capsule oblong, 1 to H inches long, obscurely many-angled, hispid 

 with appressed bristles and crowned with the persistent stigmas : seeds black, a line 

 or less long. — Loud. Jour. Bot. iv. 74, t. 3. 



