CLASS V. ORDER 1. 1 LYSIMACHIA. 25l 



Hahitat.^D&mp situations ; on the banks of drains and rivers ; not 

 unfrequent in England and Ireland, but less so in Scotland. 



Perennial ; flowering in June and July. 



This ornamental plant is frequently cultivated in gardens, where it 

 seems to flourish equally well in a dry as a damp situation, beneath 

 the shade of trees, or on the open border ; and its large handsome 

 panicle of gay flowers keeps a long time in bloom, which is an addi- 

 tional recommendation. 



1. L. thyrsiflo'ra, Linn. (Fig. 331). tiifled Loosestrife. Stem erect, 

 leaves opposite, lanceolate, racemes axillary, of numerous crowded 

 flowers. 



English Botany, t. 176.— English Flora, vol. i. p. 279. — Hooker, 

 British Flora, vol. i. p. 106. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 184. 



Root in whorled fibres, with numerous creeping underground stems. 

 Stem erect, from one to two feet high, round, smooth, succulent, and 

 leafy ; simple. Leaves sessile, opposite, sometimes three or four in a 

 whorl, lanceolate, narrower upwards, quite smooth, paler on the under 

 side, with a strong mid-rib. Inflorescence axillary, racemes on long 

 erect stalks. Flotcers numerous, densely crowded, small, yellow, 

 spotted with orange. Pedicle short, downy from the axis, with a thin 

 awl-shaped downy bractea. Cah/x with narrow lanceolate segments, 

 a strong mid-rib, and mostly scattered over with small orange coloured 

 glands. Corolla in five narrow spreading segments, with small inter- 

 mediate teeth, and, like the calyx, scattered over with small orange 

 coloured glands. Stamens longer than the corolla, inserted into theorifice 

 of its very short tube. Filaments dilated at the base, and united to- 

 gether. Pistil longer than the stamens. Stigma obtuse, notched. 

 Capsule globose. Seeds small, smooth, with a very narrow margin. 



Habitat. — Marshes, and sides of water ; very rare in England ; East 

 Riding of Yorkshire; King's Langley, Hertfordshire; in Anglesea. 

 More frequent in Scotland ; near Forfarshire, and at Duddingstone 

 Loch on the East; Canal side, near Possil ; and near Rossahue, by 

 Loch Lomond. Not found in Ireland. 



Perennial ; flowering in June and July. 



It is doubtful if this plant is now found in a wild state in England; 

 but in Scotland we have collected it abundantly, where it not only 

 grows on the bank sides, but in the water. The number of the parts 

 of the flower are variable; the segments of the calyx and corolla are 

 frequently ten, as well as the stamens, and the leaves sometimes four 

 in a whorl. The small glands on the flowers are frequently numerous, 

 but sometimes absent on the leaves; they are mostly very numerous, 

 and are best seen when in a dry state. 



3. L. puncta'ta, Linn. (Fig. 333). four-leaved Loosestrife. Stem 

 erect, downy ; leaves on short stalks, whorled, ovate-lanceolate ; 

 peduncles axillary, single flowered. 



VOL. I. 2 L 



