HYDROPHYLLACEAE 



WATERLEAF FAMILY 



VIRGINIA WATERLEAF 



Hydrophylliim "virginianum L. 



The Waterleaf family is small and of no special importance 

 aside from the beauty of its flowers and their value as forage 

 for honeybees. The fruit is a dry 2-valved capsule, generally 

 1-celled with 2 parietal 

 placentas bearing 4 to 

 many seeds. 



The Virginia Waterleaf 

 is quite common in woods 

 from Quebec to Ontario and 

 South Dakota, south to 

 Kansas and South Caro- 

 lina. It is abundant on 

 moist soil at the foot of 

 bluffs or in rich open woods 

 throughout Illinois. 



The rather weak and 

 slender stems grow \-iyi 

 feet high and bear many 

 clusters of flowers. The 

 whole plant is smooth or 

 nearly so with the excep- 

 tion of the calyx, ovary and 



filaments, which are hairy. The leaves are similar to the one 

 shown but the lower are larger, longer petioled and 5 or 7-lobed. 



This species begins blooming in May, often continuing to 

 August. The flowers are white, pale violet or purple. The 

 narrow calyx lobes are wide spreading or even reflexed, and the 

 corolla lobes are erect. The capsule contains 1-4 nearly spherical 

 seeds. 



The Large-leaved Waterleaf, Hydrophyllurn macrophyllum Nutt., 

 is somewhat more restricted in its distribution. It occurs from Vir- 

 ginia to Ohio and southwest to Illinois, Tennessee and Alabama. 

 It will not likely be found in northern Illinois but is not uncommon 

 in the southern and central parts. The whole plant is very hairy. 

 The rather stout stems are 2-3 feet high. Lower leaves are pinnately 

 divided into 7-13 coarsely toothed segments, and the upper are 

 similar but smaller. The flowers, produced in May and June, are 

 like those of the Virginia Waterleaf. 



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