VALEEIANACE^. (VALE^IAN FAMILY.) 175 



lobed, the lobes imbricated in the bud. Style slender : stigmas 1-3. Fruit 

 indehisoent, 1-celled (the two empty cells of the ovary disappearing), 

 or 3-celled, two of them empty, the other 1-seeded. Seed suspended, 

 anatropous, with a large embryo and no albumen. — Flowers in panicled 

 or clustered cymes. (Roots often odorous and antispasmodic.) — Repre- 

 sented by only two genera. 



1. VALiSBIANA, Toum. Valbkian. 



Limb of the calyx of several plumose bristles (like a pappus) which. are rolled 

 up inwards in flower, but unroll and spread as the seed-like 1-celled fruit ma- 

 tures. Corolla commonly gibbous at or above the base, the 5-lobed limb nearly 

 regular. Stamens 3. — Perennial herbs, with thickened strong-scented roots, 

 and simple or pinnate leaves. Flowers in many species imperfectly dioecious, 

 or dimorphous. (Name from valere, to have efficacy, alluding to the medicinal 

 qualities.) 



# Root fibrous : leaves thin. (Stems l°-3° high.) 



1. v. paucifldra, Michx. Smooth, slender; root-leaves ovate, heart- 

 shaped, toothed, pointed, sometimes with 2 small lateral divisions ; stem-leaves 

 pinnate, with 3-7 ovate toothed leaflets ; branches of the panicled cyme few- 

 flowered; tube of the (pale pink) corona fonjr and sfender(^' long). — Woodlands, 

 Ohio and W. Virginia, Kentucky, &c. June. 



2. V. sylvdtica, Richards. Smooth or minutely pubescent; root-leaves 

 ovate or oblong, entire, rarely with 2 small lobes ; stem-leaves pinnate, with 5-11 

 oblong-ovate or lanceolate nearly entire leaflets ; cyme at first close, many- 

 flowered; corolla inversely conical (3" long, rose-color). — Cedar swamps, W. 

 Vermout and New York to Michigan, and northward. June. 



* Root spindle-shaped, large and deep (6' - 12' Umg) : leaves thichsh. 



3. v. eduiis, Nutt. Smooth, or minutely downy when very young ; stem 

 straight (l°-4° high), few-leaved; leaves commonly minutely and densely 

 ciliate, those of the root mostly spatulate and lanceolate, of the stem pinnately 

 parted into 3-7 long and narrow divisions ; flowers in a, long and narrow in- 

 terrupted panicle, nearly dioecious; corolla whitish, obconical (2" long). (V. 

 ciliata, Torr. ^ Gr.) — Alluvial ground, Ohio to Wisconsin, and westward. 

 June. — Root with the strong smell and taste of Valerian : it is cooked and 

 eaten by the Oregon Indians. 



58. FEI>IA, Gsertn. Corn Salad. Lame-Lettuce. 



Limb of the calyx obsolete or merely toothed. Corolla funnel-form, equally 

 or unequally 5-lobed. Stamens 3, rarely 2. Fmit 3-celled, two of the cells 

 empty and sometimes confluent into one, the other 1-seeded. — Annuals and 

 biennials, usually smooth, with forking stems, tender and rather succulent leaves 

 (entire or cut-lobed towai'ds the base), and white or whitish cymose-clustered 

 and bracted small flowers. (Name of uncertain derivation.) — Our species all 

 have the limb of the calyx obsolete, and ai-e so much alike in aspect, flowers, 

 &c., that good characters are only to be taken from the fruit. • They all have 



