108 LIMNANTHACEyE. limnanthes. 



Order XVIII. LIMNANTHACEiE Lindl. Nat. Syst. ed. 2, 142. 



Glabrous annual herbs with pungent juice, pinnately dis- 

 sected alternate leaves wi'hout stipules and pale flowers. ^Sep- 

 als 3-5, valvate in the bud, united at base, persistent. Petals 

 3-5, withering-persistent. Stamens twice as many as petals 

 and inserted with them upon a somewhat perigynous disls, all 

 antheriferous, filaments distinct, those opposite the sepals hav- 

 ing a small gland at the base on the outside : those opposite the 

 petals usually shorter : anthers roundish introrse. Ovary con- 

 sisting of 2- 5 distinct 1-ovuled carpels opposite the sepals, the 

 styles rising from the centre of each carpel and united into one 

 nearly to the top: stigmas simple. Carpels becoming semi- 

 drupaceous tuberculate nutlets. Seeds erect, anatropous. with- 

 out albumen. Embryo with very large cotyledons and very 

 short radicle. 



1. Limnanthes. Sepals, petals and carpels normally 5: stamens 10. 



2. Floerkea. Sepals, petals and carpels normally 3 : stamens 6. 



1 LIMNANTHES R. Br. Lond. & Edinb. Phil. Mag. 1833 ii, 70. 



LoAV annuals with estipulate pinnatifid leaves and showy white, 

 yellowish or rose-color flowers, solitary on lateral and terminal 

 peduncles : growing in water or wet places. Calyx deeply 5- 

 parted. Petals 5, persistent. Glands 5, alternating with the pet- 

 als. Stamens 10. Style 5-cl eft at the apex. Ovary with solitary 

 ascending ovules. Carpels distinct, subglobose, at first fleshy, at 

 length hard and indehisoent, separating from the axis. 



L. Uouglasii E. Br. 1. o. Glabrous throughout, diffusely branched 

 from the ba,se : the succulent stems 6-8 inches long: leaves pinnate, the 

 leaflets incisely lobed or parted into linear acute lobes: peduncles at 

 length 2-4 inches long: sepals lanceolate acute, 3 or 4 lines long: petals 

 obovate, emarginate, 6-8 lines long, white, with yellow base : stvle very 

 slender 3-4 lines long : seeds densely covered with coarse obtusish tubercles. 

 Umpqua valley, Oregon. 



L. gracilis. Glabrous throughout, branching from the base the slen- 

 der stems 6-18 inches long : leaves pinnate, the ovate to ovate-lanreo- 

 late or linear acute, leaflets entire or 3-parted: sepals lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, 3 Imeslong: petals oblanceolate, truncate or emarginate 6-7 lines 

 long, white with yellowish base : fruit smooth or sparsely tuberculate On 

 wet rocks, Rogue River Valley and southwai-d. 



L. rosea ffart. in Benth. PI. Hartw'. 301. Glabrous, petals obovate 

 and emarginate or obcordate, light rose-color or purplish below villous 

 withm near the base : fruit strongly tuberculate. California, to be looked 

 for on our southwest border. 



■ h P^H'""*; Glabrous, simple or sparingly branched near the base 9-4 

 inches high: leaves commonly bipinnate with trifoHolate pinna;- pinules 

 lanceolate to oblanceolate acute : sepals lanceolate acuminate S--! lines 

 long: petals white, oblong entire, little if at all longer than the serais- 

 stamens about half the length of the petals: carpels owid, rugose below 

 Co°u'^'ty?oSon °"'° P';°cesses. On top of Table Rock, Jackson 



L. floccosa. Floccose-villous, stems simple or sparingly branched 



