LV. ONAGRACE^E. 26J 



5 L. VIRGATUM. Austrian Lythrum. St. erect, branched, virgt *; Jw. lan- 

 ceolate, acute at each end, floral ones small ; fls. about 3 in each a: il of th" vir- 

 gate raceme; sta. 12. A fine species for the garden, native of Au uia. b te \n 

 3 Ifhigh. Flowers purple. Jn. Sept. f 



3. DECODON. Gmel. 

 G-r. StKa, ten, oSovs, a tooth; from the horn-like teeth of the calyx. 



Calyx short, broadly campanulate, with 5 erect teeth, und 5 elon 

 gated, spreading, horn-like processes ; stamens 10, alternate ones very 

 long ; style filiform ; capsule globose, included, many-seeded, ^ Lvs 

 opposite or verticillate, entire. Fls. axillary, purple. 



D. VERTICILLATUM. Ell. (Lytlirum. Linn. Nesasa. Kunth.} 

 Swamps throughout the u . S. and Can. Stem woody at ba.se, often pros- 

 trate, and rooting at the summit, 3 8f in length, or erect and 2 3f high, 46 

 angled. Leaves opposite or in whorls of 3, lanceolate, on short ,)etioles, acute 

 at base, 3 5' long, gradually acuminate and acute at apex. FlVvers in axil- 

 lary, subsessile umbels of 3 or more, apparently whorled, constituting a long, 

 leafy, terminal and showy panicle. Petals 5 or 6, large, and of a fine purple. 

 Jl. Aug. 



a. pubescens. St. and Ivs. beneath pubescent. R. Island. 



/?. IcEvigatum. Glabrous and bright green. -Most common in H. Eng. 



4. CUPHEA. 

 Gr. KV<}>OS, curved or gibbous ; in reference to the capsule. 



Calyx tubular, ventricose, with 6 erect teeth, and often as many 

 intermediate processes; petals 6 7, unequal; stamens 11 14, 

 rarely 6 7, unequal ; style filiform ; capsule membranaceous, 1 2- 

 celled, few-seeded. Herbaceous or sujfruticose. Lvs. opposite, entire. 

 Fls. axillary and terminal. 



C. VISCOSISSIMA. Jacq. (Lythrum petiolatum. Linn.) 

 Herbaceous, viscid-pubescent; Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, petiolate, scabrous } 

 fls. on short peduncles; col. gibbous at base on the upper side, Ji?- veined, 

 6-toothed, very viscid. (I) Wet grounds, Pittsfield, Mass., J9&airaJL Cam- 

 bridge, N. Y., Stevenson, to Ga. and Ark. Stem 9 18' high, with alternate 

 branches. Leaves somewhat repand, 1 2' long, | as wide, on petiolos as 

 long. Flowers solitary, one in each axil, irregular. Calyx often purple, ven- 

 tricose. Petals violet, obovate. Stamens included. Capsule bursting length- 

 wise before the seeds are ripe. Aug. 



5. HYPOBRICHIA. Curtis. 



Calyx 4-lobed, without accessory teeth ; petals ; stamens 2 4 ; 

 ovary 2-celled ; stigma 2-lobed, subsessile ; capsule globose, bursting 

 irregularly, many-seeded. A submersed aquatic herb. Lvs. opposite^ 

 crowded, linear. Fls. axillary ', sessile, minute. 



H. NUTTALLII. Curt. (Peplis diandra. Nutt.) 



A little inhabitant of ponds and sluggish streams, 111., Mead, Buckley, to 

 Mo. and La. Its habit is similar to a Callitriche. Stem mostly submersed, 

 10 20' long. Leaves 10 15" by 1 2", very numerous. Jn. Aug. 



ORDER LV. ONAGRACEJE. ONAGRADS. 



Plants herbaceous, sometimes shrubby, with alternate or opposite leaves. 

 Fls. axillary, or in terminal spikes or racemes. 



Col. Sepals 4, (26) united below into a tube, the lobes valvate in estivation. 



Cor. { Petals 4, (26) inserted with the 4 or 8 (1238) stamens into the throat of the calyx. Pollen 

 Sta. ( triangular, often cohering by threads. 

 Ova. coherent with the tube of the calyx ; placenta in the axis. 

 Fr. baccate or capsular, 24 celled, many-seeded. Albumen none. 

 Genera 86, species 520, particularly abundant throughout America, more rare in the Old World They 



