592 LYTHRACEAE (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY) 



1. A. coccinea Rottb. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 5-7 cm. long, with a broad 

 auricled sessile base ; cymes subsessile, dense ; petals purplish ; stamens more 

 or less exserted ; style long and slender. Muddy banks and wet sandy shores, 

 N. J. to Fla. ; and from O. to Dak. and southw. 



2. A. Koehnei Britton. Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, the lowest con- 

 tracted, the others broadly auricled at the base ; cymes sessile or nearly so ; 

 style very short; petals minute, pink, fugacious. Swamps, N. J. (according 

 to Britton) to Fla. Differs from the tropical A. latifolia L. only in having 

 petals. 



3. A. auriculata Willd. Erect, few-branched ; leaves lanceolate to narrowly 

 oblong, acute; cymes on slender peduncles (4-6 mm. long); fruit small; style 

 relatively lon-. Borders of ponds, etc., w. Mo. and Neb. to Tex., and south westw. 



4. DECODON J. F. Gmel. SWAMP LOOSESTRIFE 



Calyx with 5-7 erect teeth, and as many longer and spreading horn-like 

 processes at the sinuses. Stamens exserted, of two lengths. Capsule globose, 

 3-5-celled, loculicidal. Perennial herbs or slightly shrubby plants, with opposite 

 or whorled leaves, and axillary clusters of trimorphous flowers. (Name from 

 5<?*a, ten, and 6dots, tooth.} 



1. D. verticillatus (L.) Ell. (WATER WILLOW.) Smooth or downy ; stems 

 recurved, 6-25 dm. long, 4-6-sided ; leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile, opposite 

 or whorled, the upper with clustered short-pediceled flowers in their axils ; 

 petals 5, wedge-lanceolate, magenta, 1.2 cm. long ; stamens 10, half of them 

 shorter. Swampy grounds, Me. to Fla., La., and Minn. Bark of submersed 

 parts of the stem often spongy-thickened. 



5. LYTHRUM L. LOOSESTRIFE 



Calyx cylindrical, striate, 5-7-toothed, with as many little processes in the 

 sinuses. Petals 5-7. Stamens as many as the petals or twice the number, 

 inserted low down on the calyx. Capsule subcylindrical, 2-celled. Slender 

 herbs, with pink or magenta (rarely white) flowers in summer. (From XMpov, 

 blood ; perhaps from the styptic properties. ) 



* Stamens and petals 5-7 ; flowers small, solitary and nearly sessile in the axils 



of the mostly scattered upper leaves ; proper calyx-teeth often shorter than 

 the intermediate processes ; plants smooth. 



1. L. Hyssopifblia L. Annual, 1-6 dm. high, pale ; leaves oblong-linear, 

 obtuse, longer than the inconspicuous flowers ; petals pale-purple ; stamens 

 usually 4-6, included. Marshes and sterile soil, near the coast, Me. to N. J. ; 

 also on the Pacific coast. (Eu.) 



2. L. lineare L. Stem slender and tall (1-1.3 m. high), bushy at top, with 

 2 margined angles ; leaves linear, chiefly opposite ; petals whitish ; flowers with 

 6 included stamens and a long style, or the stamens exserted and style short ; 

 ovary on a thick short stalk; no fleshy hypogynous ring. Brackish marshes, 

 N. J. to Fla. and Tex. 



3. L. alatum Pursh. Tall and wand-like perennial; branches with mar- 

 gined angles; leaves oblong-ovate to linear-lanceolate, acute, with a cordate or 

 rounded base, the upper mostly alternate ; calyx about 4-6 mm. long ; petals 

 rather large, deep purple ; stamens of the short-styled flowers exserted ; fleshy 

 hypogynous ring prominent. Swamps and meadows, Ont. to Minn., s. to Ga., 

 La. , and Col. ; also locally in e. Mass, and Ct. 



The allied Mexican L. VULNER\RIA Ait., with calyx 9-12 mm. long, has been 

 reported from the vicinity of St. Louis, Mo. 



* * Stamens 12 (rarely S or 10), twice the number of the petals, 6 longer and 6 



shorter; flowers large, crowded and whorled in an interrupted spike. 



4. L. SALICA.RIA L. (SPIKED L.) More or less downy and tall ; leaves 

 lanceolate, heart-shaped at base, sometimes whorled in threes ; flowers magenta, 



