348 ORDER 51. LYTHRACEJ3. 



6 R. cilidsa MX. St. tall (1 to 2f high), squarish, glabrous ; Ivs. broad-ovate, 

 glabrous beneath, sparsely hispid above, the margin serrate-ciliate, with long, 

 spreading bristles; fls. nearly sessile between the upper pair of Ivs; cal. glabrous, 

 the lobes acute. Damp pine woods, N. Car. to Fla, Lvs. nearly 1' long, f as wide, 

 acute, on short petioles (scarcely 1"). Fls. terminal, 1 to 3 together, large, the 

 petals roundish, 9" long, purple. Jn. Aug. 



7 R. serrulata Nutt. St. low (6 to 8') square,, glabrous ; Ivs. small, roundish- 

 oval, glabrous both sides, the margin serrulate, ciliate ; fls. subsessile, 1 to 3 be- 

 tween the upper pair of Ivs. ; cal. glandular-hispid, the lobes short, obtuse. Open 

 swamps, Ga., Fla. Much like the last, but smaller in all its parts. Lvs. 3 to 6" 

 long. Fls. large, purple. Jn., Jl. 



8 R. Ifttea Walt. Sparsely hispid ; st. square, brachiately branched ; Ivs. lance- 

 linear and oblong-linear ; cal. much constricted above the ovary, the upper por- 

 tion campanulate, with cuspidate teeth. Damp pine woods, N. Car. to Fla. St. 

 about 18' high. The soft, scattered bristles on all its parts are quite characteristic, 

 as well as its showy, yellow, paniculate fls. Jn. Aug. 



ORDER LI. LYTHRACE^E. LOOSESTRIFES. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs, with mostly opposite, entire, exstipulate leaves. Calyx tubu- 

 lar, the limb 4 to 7-lobed, sometimes with as many intermediate teeth. Petals in- 

 serted into the calyx between the lobes, very deciduous or 0. Stamens equa^in 

 number to the petals, or 2 to 4 times as many, inserted into the calyx. Ovary free, 

 inclosed in the calyx tube, 2 to 4-celled. Styles united into one. Fruit, capsule 

 membranous, enveloped in the calyx, usually by abortion 1-celled. Seeds small, GO } 

 attached to a central placenta. Albumen 0. 



Genera 35, species 300. Some of the species are found in temperate climes, but most of them 

 are tropical. Lythrum salicaria, native of Europe, N. Holland, and U. S., is used for tanning 

 where it abounds. All the species are astringent. 



GENERA. 



Shrubs with numerous stamens and clawed petals LAGERSTBOSMIA. 1 



Herbs Fls. irregular. Calyx inflated, gibbous at base CUPHEA. 2 



Fls. regular Calyx cylindrical, striate, with 5 minute horns LYTHRUM. 3 



Calyx campanulate, 5 teeth with 5 long horns. . .NAS.SA. . 4 



4 teeth with 4 short horns. . AMMANNIA. 5 



1 teeth. Horns 0, petals . . HYPQERICHIA. 6 



1. LAGERSTRQTMIA, L. CRAPE MYRTLE. (In honor of Magnus 

 Lagerstroem, a Swedish traveler.) Calyx broadly campanulate, 6-eleft, 

 with 2 bracts below ; petals 6, on claws inserted into the calyx tube ; 

 stamens oo ; capsule 3 to 6-celled ; seeds many, winged. East Indian 

 shrubs. 



L. In'dica L. Petals crisped, on slender claws; Ivs. alternate, roundish ovate, 

 coriaceous, subpetiolate, glabrous ; branches winged ; fls. in terminal panicles. 

 A common and beautiful exotic, with large, delicately crisped, bluish purple fls. 



2. CITPHEA, Jacq. (Gr. KV^O^ curved or gibbous ; in reference to 

 the capsule.) Calyx tubular, ventricous, with 6 erect teeth, and often 

 as many intermediate processes; petals 6 or 7, unequal ; stamens 11 to 

 14, rarely 6 or 7, unequal; style filiform; capsule membranous, 1 to 2- 

 celled, few-seeded. Herbaceous' or suffruticous. Lvs. opposite, entire. 

 Fls. axillary and terminal. 



C. viscosissima Jacq. Herbaceous, viscid-pubescent; Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, pe- 

 tiolate, scabrous ; fls. on short peduncles ; cal. gibbous at base on the upper side, 

 12-veined, 6-toothed, very viscid. (D Wet grounds, Pittsfield, Mass. (Hitchcock), 

 Cambridge, N. Y. (Stevenson) to Ga. and Ark. St. 9 to 18' high, with alternate 

 branches. Lvs. somewhat repand, 1 to 2' long. Fls. solitary, one in each axil 



