498 MAYACACE^. (mATACA FAMILY.) 



crowded, short-stalked, hooded, narrowed at the base; sterile peduncle included; 

 petals nearly alike, the odd one smaller ; seeds transversely oblong. ( C. hirtella,, 

 VaU. C. longifolia, Michx.) — Shady swamps, Florida, and northward. Aug. 

 and Sept. 1|. — Stem 1° - 1 J° high. 



2. TRADESCANTIA, L. Spiderwokt. 



Flowers regular. Sepals herbaceous. Petals similar, ovate, fugacious. Sta- 

 mens all fertile, the filaments hairy : anthers kidney-shaped. Ovary 3-cellcd, 

 with two ovules in each cell. Capsule 2 - 3-celled, the cells 1 - 2-seeded. — 

 Perennial herbs, with naiTow keeled leaves, both the floral ones and tliose of 

 the stem. Flowers in umbel-like clusters, axillary and terminal, expanding in 

 the morning. Fruiting pedicels recurved. 



1. T. Virginica, L. Smooth, or villous with glandless hairs; leaves 

 linear, broadest at the base, mostly purple-veined ; clusters axillary and termi- 

 nal, sessile, many-flowered ; flowers closely packed in 2 rows in the bud, each 

 with an ovate scarious bract at the base ; petals blue, like the style and densely 

 bearded filaments, twice as long as tlie lanceolate-ovate sepals. — Dry sandy soil, 

 Florida, and northward. March -May. — Stems J°-2° high. Flowers 1' in 

 diameter. 



2. T. pilosa, Lehm. Stem often branched, and, like the sheaths, villous 

 or nearly smooth ; leaves oblong, narrowed at the base, pubescent on both sides ; 

 clusters axillary and terminal, sessile, dense, many-flowered ; the pedicels and 

 oblong sepals villous with glandular hairs ; seeds transversely oblong, pitted on 

 the back; petals blue. — Light soil in the upper districts. May -July. — Stem 

 1°-1^° high- Leaves I'-lJ' wide. Flowers |' in diameter. 



3. T. rosea,, Vent. Stem simple, slender, smooth ; leaves linear-lanceolate, 

 fringed on the margins; clusters solitary or by pairs, on long (3' -6') terminal 

 peduncles, few-flowered ; petals bright rose-color, three times as long as the 

 ovate-lanceolate sepals. — Light fertile soil, Georgia to North Carolina. June - 

 Aug, — Stem 6' - 8' high. Flowers J' in diameter. 



Order 156. MAYACACEiE. (Mayaca Family.) 



Creeping moss-like marsh herbs, with very numerous narrow and pel- 

 lucid leaves, and solitary axillary flowers. Represented only by 



1. MAYACA, Aublet. 



Flowers regular, perfect. Sepals 3, lanceolate, herbaceous, persistent. Petals 

 3, obovate, deciduous or withering-persistent. Stamens 3, free, inserted on the 

 base of the sepals, persistent ■ anthers erect, spoon-shaped, imperfectly 2-celled, 

 emarginate at the apex, introrse. Ovary 1-eelled. Ovules few, orthotropous, 

 fixed to three parietal plaeentse. Style single, terminal, persistent : stigma mi- 

 nutely 3-lobed. Capsule rugose, 3-valved ; the valves bearing the placentae in 



