642 DIAPENSIACEAE (dIAPENSIA FAMILY) 



DIAPENSIACEAE (Diapensia Family) 



Low perennial herbs or siiffruticulose tufted plants, glabrous or nearly so, 

 with simple leaves, no stipules, regular b-merous floioers {except the S-celled 

 ovary), stamens aclnate to the corolla and sometimes monadelphous {those oppo- 

 site its lobes when present reduced to staminodia) ; pollen simple ; loculicidal 

 capsule and seeds of Ericaceae. Flowers solitary or racemose. Style 1, with 

 3-lobed stigma. — Distinguished from the Ericaceae chiefly by the insertion of 

 the stamens upon the corolla. 



Tribe I. DIAPENSiEAE. Dwarf woody evergreens, with small entire crowded coriaceous leaves. 

 Staminodia none; filaments adnate to the campanulate corolla up to the sinuses; anthers 2- 

 celled. Calyx conspicuously bracteolate. Flowers solitary. 



1. Diapensia. Flower (or at least fruit) on a scape-like peduncle. Anther-cells blunt, obliquely 



Ckhiscent. Sepals concave, coriaceous. 



2. Pyxtflanthera. Flowers sessile on short leafy branchlets. Anther-cells awn-pointed at base, 



opening transversely. Sepals thin. 



Tribe II. GALACfNEAE. Acauiescenc, wren creeping rootstocks sending up iong-petioled ever- 

 green leaves, and a l-several-flowered scape. Staminodia present. 

 8. Galaz. Calyx minutely 2-bracteolate. Stamens monadelphous ; anthers 1-celled. 



1. DIAPENSIA L. 



Corolla bell-shaped, 5-lobed ; lobes rounded. Filaments iDroad and flat, ad- 

 herent to the corolla up to the sinuses, short ; anthers adnate, of 2 ovoid cells, 

 diverging below. Capsule, inclosed in the calyx, cartilaginous : cells few-seeded. 



— Alpine, growing in very dense convex tufts, the stems covered below by imbri- 

 cated carcilaginous narrowly spatulate mostly opposite leaves, and terminated by 

 a 1-flowered peduncle, 8-bracted under the calyx. Corolla white, 1.5-2 cm. wide. 

 (Said to be an ancient Greek name of the Sanicle, of obscure meaning, strangely 

 applied by Linnaeus to this plant.) 



1. D. Iapp6nica L. Leaves 5-15 mm. long ; peduncle at length 1.5-3 cm. 

 long. — Alpine summits, N. E., N. Y., and northw. June, July. (Eurasia.) 



2. PYXIDANTHERA Michx. 



Prostrate and creeping, with narrowly oblanceolate and awl-pointed leaves, 

 mostly alternate on the sterile branches and somewhat hairy near the base. 

 Flowers solitary and sessile, very numerous, white or rose-color. (Name from 

 irv^ls, a small box, and anthera, new Latin for anther, the anther opening as if 

 by a lid.) 



1. P. barbulata Michx. (Flowering Moss, Ptxie.) Leaves 3-8 mm. long. 



— Sandy pine barrens of N. J. to N. C. Apr. , May. 



3. GALAX L. 



Calyx imbricate, pereistent. Petals hypogynous, obovate-spatulate, rather 

 erect, deciduous. Filaments united into a 10-toothed tube, slightly adhering to 

 the base of the petals, the 5 teeth opposite the petals naked, the alternate ones 

 shorter and bearing roundish anthers, which open across the top. Style short. 

 Capsule ovoid, 3-celled ; columella none. Seeds numerous, the cellular loose 

 coat tapering to each end. — Evergreen herb, with a thick matted tuft of scaly 

 creeping rootstocks, beset with fibrous red roots, sending up round-heart-shaped 

 crenate-toothed and veiny shining leaves (3-16 cm. wide), and a slender naked 

 scape, 3-8 dm. high, bearing a wand-like spike or raceme of small and minutely 

 bracted white flowers. (Name from ydXa, milk, — of no conceivable application 

 to this plant. )^ 



1. G' aphylla L. — Open woods, Va. to Ga. June. 



