ORDER 45. POLYGALACE^E. 295 



obovate, upper sessile. Fls. purple, 2" long, finally drooping. Wings obtuse. 

 Anth. 8. Bracts small, subulate, caducous. Terminal racemes with perfect fls., 

 radical racemes prostrate or subterraneous, wingless and nearly apetalous. Jn., 

 Jl Bitter and tonic. (P. rubella Willd.) 



4. P. Senega L. SENECA SNAKE-ROOT. St. erect, smooth, simple, leafy ; Ivs. alter- 

 nate, lanceolate, tapering at each end ; fls. slightly crested, in a terminal spike-form, 

 slender raceme. Woods, "Western States, rare in Eastern. Root ligneous, branched, 

 contorted, about V thick, ash-colored. Sts. 8 to 14' high, several from the same 

 root. Lvs. 1 to 2' long, as wide, numerous, scattered. Fls. white, in a fili- 

 form spike, 1 to 2' long. Sep. obtuse, larger than the petals. The root has a 

 sweetish, nauseous taste, soon becoming pungent and hot. Jl. A valuable 

 stimulating expectorant. 



3. LATIFOLIA T. & G. Lvs. ovate, acuminate at each end. St. leafy, more 

 than If high. Lvs. 2 to 3' long, 1' or more broad. Ind. (Dr. Plummer.) 



5 P. setacea MX. Sts. filiform, simple, apparently leafless (Ivs. minute, deltoid- 

 acuminate); spike (small) oblong, acute; wings short-pointed, shorter than the 

 petals; caruncle enclosing the short stipe of the hairy seed. Ij. N. Car. to Ga. 

 and Fla. Sts. about If high. Lvs. 1" or less long. Fls. pale roseate, in a spike 

 about half an inch long. Jn., Jl. Each stem produces several heads during the 

 season, the next in succession arising from an inferior node after the former has 

 shed its fruit. Plence the naked footstalk often accompanying the single '(head 

 (Mettauer). 



6 P. incarnata L. Glaucous ; st. erect, slender, mostly simple ; Ivs. few, scat- 

 tered, linear-subulate ; spike oblong ; wings lanceolate, cuspidate , claws of the 

 petals united into a long, cleft tube ; caruncle double, covering the short stipe of 

 the very hairy seed. OD Dry soils, K J., to Fla,, W. to Ark. St. 1 to 2f high. 

 Lvs. 4 to 6'' long, remote. Spikes 1 to IV long. Fls. pale rose-color or flesh- 

 color. The slender corolla tube erect, nearly twice as long (4 r ) as the wings, the 

 keel with a conspicuous crest. Jn., Jl. 



7 P. Chapmanii Torr. & Gr. Very slender, simple, or nearly so ; Ivs. linear- 

 subulate ; spike loose ; roundish oblong, rather acute ; wings obovate, slightly 

 clawed ; caruncle 2-lobed, covering one side of the thick stipe of the thin-haired 

 seed.Q W. Fla. to La. (Hale). Sts. 12 to 18' high. Lvs, acute. 6 to 8'' long, 

 not J" wide. Fls. bright rose-color. Heads 5" thick. 



8 P. Nuttallii Torr. & Gr. St. erect, somewhat fastigiate ; Ivs. linear ; spikes 

 acute, roundish -oblong, dense ; wings elliptical, attenuate at base ; crest minute ; 

 caruncle notched, lateral on the thick seed stipe. Mass., R. L, to La. St. G to 10' 

 high, the branches overtopping the stem. Lvs. 6 to 8" by 1'', acute. Spikes 5 

 to 7" long, 3 to 4" diam. Wings of the calyx rose-red. Seeds black, pear-shaped. 

 Aug. (P. sauguinea Nutt.) 



9 P. fastigiata Xutt. Slender and much branched above: Ivs. linear; apiken 

 roundish, loose-flowered; wings ovate-oblong, distinctly clawed; caruncle broad, 

 nearly embracing the small seed-stipe (immature). N. J. to Fla in dry soils. St. 

 8 to 12' high. Lvs. 8 to 12" long, 1" wide, acute. Spikes about 5' diam., the 

 fls. distinctly pediceled, and of a brighter rose-color than the foregoing. (P. 

 sanguinea T. & G.) , 



10 P. sanguinea L. St. branching at top ; Ivs. linear and lance-linear, spikes 

 oblong, obtuse, dense ; wings oval or ovate, obtuse, subsessile ; caruncle mostly 

 simple, nearly)as long as the hairy seed. An erect plant, 6 to 12' high, found in 

 meadows and wet grounds, Mass, to La. St. angular, with fastigiate branches, 

 each ending in a smaller spike than that of the main stem, but often overtopping 

 it. Lvs 1' long, 1 to 2" wide. Heads about 6" thick. The caruncle is double 

 in a few of the seeds, with divergent segments. Fls. purple, caducous. J]. 

 Oct. (P. purpurea Nutt.) 



11 P. lutea L. St. mostly simple ; root Ivs. spatulate, obtuse, attenuate at base ; 

 cauline ones lanceolate, acute ; rac. ovate-globous, obtuse, dense ; fls. pedicillate ; 

 wings ovate, mucronate, keel with a minute crest. Sandy plains, N. J. to FJa. 

 St. 8 to 13' high, generally many from the same root, seldom with a few spread- 

 ing branches. Fls. orange-yellow, longer than the bracts, aggregated in one ter- 

 minal roundish head which is 8 or 9'' thick. A showy plant. 



