Valerian Family. 71 



G. boreale L. Northern. Bedstraw. Perennial, stem 1-2 feet high, rigid, 

 smooth and glabrous; leaves in 4's, linear-lanceol.ite, acute, 3nerved; flow- 

 ers white, numerous, in terminal panicles; fruit hispid or smooth. Low 

 prairies and rocky woods; May-August; common; Winneshiek, Allamakee. 

 Fayette, Jackson, Jones, Floyd, Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Emmet, Dickinson, 

 and Lyon counties. 



Q. trifidum L. Small Bedstraw. Perennial, stem weak, decumbent or sub- 

 erect, diffusely branched, retrorsely roughish on the angles; leaves mostly in 

 4's, sometimes in 6's, linear or oblanceolate, obtuse, margins and midrib 

 rough; peduncles 1-7-flowered; flowers white, frequently 3-parted, pedicels 

 capillary; fruit smooth. Wet woods; June-July; common. This species 

 varies much. Variety pusii,lum Gray is a small form with -narrow linear 

 leaves, in 4's, and peduncles 1-2-fl.owered. Variety latifoi.ium Torr., usually 

 less branched; leaves in 4's, ovate, obtuse or oblanceolate; peduncles about 

 3-flowered; flowers 4-parted. These are the varieties given in Gray's 

 Manual. They are not now recognized. 



Q. concinnum T. & G. Similar to the preceding, perennial; stem decum- 

 bent, much branched, angles scabrous; leaves all in 6's, linear, slightly 

 pointed, 1-nerved, margins scabrous upward, peduncles filiform, 2-3 times 

 forked; flowers small, numerous, cymose, white; fruit smooth. Dry woods; 

 June-July; common. 



G. triflorum Mi. Sweet-scented Bedstraw. Perennial, diffuse, procumbent 

 or ascejjding; stem 1-3 feet long, weak, rough on the angles; leaves in 6's, 

 narrowly oval or elliptical-lanceolate, cuspidate, 1-nerved, margins rough; 

 peduncles 3-flowered; flowers greenish, pedicelled; fruit clothed with hooked 

 bristles. Rich woods; June-July; common; Jackson, Jones, Muscatine, 

 Johnson, Decatur, Story, Winnebago, and Emmet counties. 



G. asprellum Mx. Rough Bedstraw. Perennial; stein diffuse, much 

 branched, retrorsely hispid; leaves in 6's or in 4's and 5's on the branches, 

 .lanceolate, acuminate or cuspidate, margins and midrib retrorsely prickly; 

 peduncles 2-3 times forked; flowers white; fruit smooth and glabrous. Allu- 

 vial soil; June-August; reported from Jones, Lee, Johnson, and Cerro Gordo 

 counties, perhaps frequent. 



VALERIANACEAE BatscJi. Valerian Family. 

 Herbs, with opposite exstipulate leaves, and cymose-clustered flowers. 

 Calyx-tube adherent to the ovary; limb sometimes pappus-like. Corolla 

 tubular or funnel-form, 4-5-lobed. Stamens inserted on the corolla tube, 

 alternate with the lobes and usually fewer in number. Ovary inferior, 

 3-celled, but one cell fertile and 1-ovuled. Fruit indehiscent, with a sin- 

 gle suspended ovule. 



Valeriana. Fruit 1 -celled; calyx-lobes becoming pappus-like. 

 Valerianella. Fruit 3-celled ; calyx-lobes minute or obsolete. 



VALERIANA L. Perennial herbs, with strong-scented roots, mostly pin- 

 nate leaves, and dioecious or dimorphous flowers. Calyx-limb small at first 

 but evolving a plumose pappus as the seed develops. Corolla limb 5-lobed, 

 nearly regular. Stamens 3. Fruit 1-celled, 1-seeded. 



V. edulis Nutt. Edible Valerian. Stem 1-4 feet high, thick, smooth; root 

 ample, spindle-shaped, edible; leaves densely ciliate, radical spatulate, cau- 

 line pinnately parted into 3-7 long and narrow divisions; flowers whitish, 



