68 Flora of the Palotise Region 



C. lanceolata Pursh. Stems simple, 8-15 cm. tall, erect, from a globose 

 tuber 1-4 cm. in diameter: radical leaves few or wanting, lanceolate, acute, 

 long-petioled; cauline a single pair, sessile, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 

 acute, 2-5 cm. long: flowers 3-10 in a short raceme which scarcely exceeds 

 the cauline leaves; pedicels slender: petals pink, oblong or ovate, emargin- 

 ate, S-10 mm. long: seeds black, shiny, 2 mm. broad. Kamiack Butte. 



102. MONTIA. 



Small branching glabrous succulent annual herbs, or some- 

 times perennial with rootstocks, never with corms: leaves opposite: 

 flowers small axillary or racemose: sepals 2, ovate, persistent, her- 

 baceous: petals 5, or fewer, usually somewhat unequal and some- 

 times more or less coherent at the base: stamens 3-5: ovules very 

 few, mostly 3. 



Cauline leaves a single pair, distinct. 



Leaves broadly ovate: flowers white. M. asarifolia. 



Leaves spatulate or lanceolate: flowers pink. M. arenicola. 



Cauline leaves a single pair, more or less grown together. 



M. PARVIFLORA. 



Cauline leaves several pairs. M. CHAMISSONIS. 



Cauline leaves several, alternate. 



Seeds black, very shiny, 2 mm. broad. M. LINEARIS. 



Seeds black, rather dull, less than 1 mm. broad. M. dichotoma. 



M. asarifolia Howell. Perennial, with short rootstocks, somewhat tufted: 

 stems 15-30 cm. tall, bearing a single pair of leaves below the inflorescence: 

 leaves rather fleshy, broadly ovate, somewhat cordate, obtuse, 2-3 cm. long; 

 the cauline sessile; the radical slender-petioled: raceme peduncled, 3-12- 

 fiowered, with few or no bracts: pedicels slender: petals white, pellucid, 10- 

 12 mm. long: capsule longer than the sepals; seeds bright, shiny, 1-1.5 mm. 

 broad. In cold woods along streams, Cedar Mountain. 



M. arenicola Heller. Annual: stem erect or ascending, simple, 5-12 cm. 

 tall: leaves all linear-lanceolate or spatulate, acute, 2-6 cm. long: raceme of 

 2-14 flowers, each from the axil of a small bract; pedicels slender, spreading: 

 petals pink, notched, 6-8 mm. long: capsule shorter than the calyx; seeds 

 shiny, 1 mm. broad. Banks of Snake River, infrequent. 



M. paryiflora Howell. Annual, tufted: stems usually 15-30 cm. high, 

 erect: radical leaves long-petioled, linear, lanceolate or spatulate; cauline 

 pair united into an orbicular somewhat angled disk, 1-4 cm. in diameter: 

 raceme usually loose, interrupted, somewhat one-sided: calyx 2 mm. long: 

 petals pink or white, about twice as long: seeds shiny, usually smooth, 1 mm. 

 broad. 



var. depressa Robinson. Small and depressed, more fleshy; whole plant 

 commonly reddish: cauline leaves sometimes nearly separate; radical leaves 

 broadly ovate. 



This species is very variable. The typical form grows in copses, the vari- 

 ety depressa in wheat fields and dry pine woods. 



M. chamissonis Greene. Perennial, with slender elongate stolons, which 

 finally bear tubers at the apex: flower stems mostly simple, 10-30 cm. tall: 

 leaves 3-7 pairs, broadly spatulate, 2-4 cm. long: raceme few-flowered; ped- 

 icels slender: petals pale or white, 6-8 mm. long: stamens 5: capsule equal- 

 ling the calyx; seeds kidney-shaped, minutely roughened. Moist copses, un- 

 common. 



