304 ACANTHACEJE. (ACANTHUS FAMILY,) 



6. D. Strepens, Nees. Smooth, pubescent, or hairy ; leaves varying from 

 lanceolate to orbicular, mostly narrowed into a petiole ; flowers sessile or pedun- 

 cled ; tube of the corolla barely longer than the linear or linear-lanceolate hairy 

 calyx-lobes, and about the length of the funnel-shaped throat ; capsule smooth. 

 (Ruellia strepens, L.) Diy rich soil, Florida, and northward. June - Sept. 

 Stem 2' -3 high. Leaves l'-4' long. Corolla l'-2' long, blue or purple. A 

 polymorphous species. Later flowers sometimes fruiting in the bud. 



7. D. noctiflorus, Nees. Closely pubescent ; stem simple, rigid ; leaves 

 oblong or lanceolate, sessile, entire or slightly toothed ; flowers solitary, pedun- 

 cled ; corolla large ; the elongated tube twice as long as the linear hairy calyx- 

 lobes ; capsule pubescent. Low grassy pine barrens, Florida, Georgia, and 

 westward. July and Aug. Stem 1 high. Corolla 2' -4' long, white. 



3. DIANTHEBA, Gronov. 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla bilabiate ; the upper lip emarginate ; the lower 3- 

 lobed, rugose or veiny in the middle, spreading. Stamens 2 : anther-cells sep- 

 arated, one placed lower down than the other. Stigma simple, acute. Capsule 

 flattened, narrowed downward, bearing the seeds above the middle. Seeds 

 mostly 4, supported by the appendages of the placenta. Perennial smooth 

 herbs, with opposite entire leaves, and short-bracted mostly alternate flowers in 

 long-peduncled axillary spikes. 



1. D. Americana, L. Stem tall, angled ; leaves long, linear-lanceolate ; 

 spikes oblong, dense or somewhat capitate, on peduncles as long as the leaves. 

 (Justicia ensifonnis, Ell.? J. pedunculosa, Michx.) In slow-flowing streams, 

 South Carolina, and northward. July and Aug. Stem 2 high. Leaves and 

 peduncles 4' -6' long. Spike ^' long. Flowers pale purple. 



2. D. OVata, "Walt. Stem low (4' - 8' high), 4-angled ; leaves ovate-lance- 

 olate, rather acute, narrowed into a short petiole ; the lowest small, lanceolate ; 

 spikes 3 - 4-flowered, on simple peduncles shorter than the leaves ; corolla small, 

 pale purple, the lower lip striped with deeper lines. (Justicia humilis, Michx.) 

 Muddy banks of streams, Florida to South Carolina. Leaves 2' -4' long, 

 1'- \# wide. 



Var. lanceolata. Stem taller (l-l); leaves smaller, lanceolate, acu- 

 minate, nearly sessile ; peduncles longer than the leaves ; spikes many-flowered, 

 1-sided, often branching. River-banks, Florida. July. 



Var. ? angusta. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, reflexed, the lower ones 

 very remote; peduncles as long as the leaves; spikes several-flowered, the 

 lower flowers often opposite. Pine-barren ponds, Florida. May. Stem 1 

 high. Leaves 1' - 2' long. Corolla 4" - 5" long. 



3. D. crassifolia, n. sp. Stem rigid, angled ; leaves fleshy, linear, chan- 

 nelled, acute ; the lower distant, small and obtuse ; peduncles stout, erect, longer 

 than the leaves, exceeding the stem ; spike few-flowered ; corolla large, bright 

 purple ; the lower lip striped with deeper lines ; capsule 2-seeded ; seeds circular, 

 smooth. "Wet pine barrens, Apalachicola, Florida. April and May. Stem 

 6' - 12' high. Leaves 4' - 6' long. Peduncles 4' - 9' long. Corolla and capsule 

 1' long. 



