MERTENSIA. XCIV. BORRAGINACE^E. 433 



cence ; fls. scattered, lateral, axillary ; ach. turgid, ovoid, shining, impressed- 

 punctate. Banks of streams, sandy prairies, Ohio river, Michaux, 111. Mead. ? 

 An obscure species, wholly unknown to me. 



4. L. ARVENSE. Cam GromweU. Wheat-thief. 



Lvs. linear-lanceolate, obtuse, hairy; cat. nearly equal to the corolla, 

 with spreading segments ; ach. rugose. (T) A rough, pilose weed, introduced 

 into our fields and waste grounds, much to the annoyance of the farmers. The 

 stem is branching, erect, 12 15' high, from a fusiform root with reddish bark. 

 Leaves bright green, rough, sessile, 1 2' in length, with only the central vein ; 

 the lower ones obtuse and narrowed to the base ; upper ones subacute. Flowers 

 small, white, subsessile, solitary, in the axils of the upper leaves. May, Jn. 

 * * Flowers yellow. 



5. L. CANESCENS. Lehmann. ("Batschia canescens. Michx.} Puccoon. 

 St. erect, subsimple, softly viilose; Ivs. oblong, obtuse, silky-canescent 



above, villous beneath"; fls. axillary ; tube of the corolla thrice as long as the 

 very short calyx. 7J. A handsome plant, with bright yellow flowers, found in 

 prairies, fields and dry hills, Can., N. Y. ! to 111. ! and Southern States. Stem 

 8 12' high, erect, simple, rarely a little branched above, hoary-villose. Leaves 

 sessile, 2 3" wide and 4 times as long, 1-veined. Flowers crowded near the 

 summit of the stem. Calyx segments lanceolate, acute. Corolla bright 

 orange-yellow, including the subsessile stamens and short style. Jn., Jl. The 

 root is used to dye red by the Indians. 



6. L. HIRTUM. Lehm. (Anchusa. Muhl. Batschia Carolinensis. Gmel.} 

 Herbaceous, erect, simple, hairy above ; ITS. sessile, linear-lanceolate, 



obtuse, ciliate-hirsute both sides, floral ovate-lanceolate ; col. lobes linear, hir- 

 sute, a little shorter than the tube of the corolla ; cor. segments spreading, 

 obovate, entire, tube hispid inside at base ; ach. ovoid, shining. Tj. Can., Penn., 

 to La. Stems 8 12' high, clustered. Flowers crowded, racemed. Corolla 

 orange-yellow, large. 



7. L. APULUM. Vahl. (Myosotis. Linn. M. lutea. Lam.} 



St. herbaceous, erect, rough with hairs; Ivs. linear-lanceolate, acute, 

 erect, rough and hairy; spikes hispid ; bracts foliaceous; cor. longer than the 

 calyx; ach. muricate. Dry woods, Ohio., Pursh. Stem 2 & high, gene- 

 rally simple at base, branched above. Corollas small, yellow, in the axils of 

 lanceolate bracts. 



8. PENTALOPHUS. Alph. DC. 



Gr. nevre, fine, Xo^os, crest; from the character. 



Calyx 5-parted, with linear segments ; cor. hypocrateriform, tube 

 cylindric, much longer than the calyx, throat closed with 5 glabrous 

 valves alternating with the stamens, segments ovate, spreading, much 

 shorter than the tube ; achenia solitary by abortion, ovoid, white, 

 smooth. American herbs. 



P. LONGIFLORUS. Alph. DC. (Lithospermum. Spreng. Batschia. Nutt.) 

 Erect, strigose with a cinerous pubescence ; lower Ivs. lance-linear, attenu- 

 ated to the base, obtuse, upper ones linear, acutish ; rac. leafy, terminal ; col. 

 seg. linear, much longer than the pedicel ; cor. tube 4 times longer than the calyx, 

 a little dilated upwards. 7|. Prairie du chien to Mo. ! Stem 1015' high, 

 slender, branched near the top. Leaves 1 !' by 2 3", the floral ones about as 

 long as the flowers. Corolla yellow, the tube 8 10" long, lobes crenulate. 

 Style scarcely exserted. Fruit much shorter than the calyx, smooth, white. Jl. 



9. MERTENSIA. Roth. 



Calyx short, 5-cleft; cor. tube cylindric, twice longer than the 

 calyx, limb subcampanulate, 5-cleft, throat naked, or oftener with 5 

 folds or ridges between the insertion of the stamens ; sta. inserted 

 at top of the tube ; anth. subsagittate ; ach. smooth or reticulated. 



