962 



LYSIMACHIA 



punctata, Linn. {L. verilciUhbi, Bieb.). Tall and 

 stout: Ivs. verticillate, in 4's, lanceolate, ovate or cor- 

 date-ovate, acute, subsessile: corolla lobes oval, denticu- 

 late, glandular-citiate, acute ; stamens united. Very 

 similar to L. inilgaris, but differs in the calyx lobes not 

 red-margined : tls. in axillary, equidistant Tvhorls, not 

 paniculate, and corolla glandular. En. W. Asia. B.M. 

 2295 (as L. verticHlaris). 



AA. Flowers ivliite. 



clethroides, Duby. Tall and stout, 3 ft. high or less, 

 sparingly pubescent, rarely glabrous : Ivs, opposite, 

 large, 3-6 in. long, and sessile, broadly lanceolate, at- 

 tenuate at each end, radical spatulate; tis. ,^o in. iu 

 diam., in a very long, slender, terminal l-slded spike, 

 pedicels short, bracts subulate; corolla lobes ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, obtuse ; stamens not monadelphous. Japan. 

 Mn. 8, p. 141. — Fine for cut-flowers, also for border. 



L. harystacliys, Biinge (L. brachystar-bys, Carr.). Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: tis. white, dense. Chin;i. R.U. ltiSl-90.~L. cina(.a,h\-au. 

 =SteiroTiema ciliatum. — /^. Ephememm, Linn. Lvs. linear: (Is. 

 white, dark eye. Eu. R.H. 180L p. 303. BM.'Z^i-iG.—L. hybrida, 

 Michx. ^ Steironema laneeolatum. — L. lanccoldta, Walt. ^ 

 Steironema laneeolatum. — L. LeschenaultU, Duhy. Lvs. lanceo- 

 late: tls. carmine. India. R.H. 1891. p. 303. — L nutans, Nees, 

 Lvs. lanceolate: lis. dark purple. Cape of (xood Hope. B.M. 

 4941. — L. pari.diform is , Franch. Lvs. oval: fls. yellow, axillary 

 or in head. China. B.M. l'22i).—L. poli/dntha, FernnAd. Similar 

 to L. quadrifolia, but tls. in a distinct terminal I'aceme. East- 

 ern U. S.~L. producta, Fernald. Similar to L. stricta, but 

 lower lvs. often verticillate and raceme very leafy, bracts pass- 

 ing into the foliage-lvs. Eastern U.S.~i. ^/i.i/rs*'//a*-a. Linn.— 

 Naumburgia thyrsiflora. £;_ ]\j^_ WiEGAND. 



L'?THK0M (Greek, blood; possibly from the styptic 

 prop)erties of some species, or the color of the fls.). 

 Lijthrdceo'. About 12 widely scattered species of herbs 

 or subshrubs, of which 3 are cult, in hardy border.^. 

 Branches 4-angled : lvs. opposite or alternate, rarely 

 whorled, linear-oblong or lanceolate, entire: fls. rosy 

 purple or white, in the upper axils usually solitary, 



LYTHRUM 



lower down more or less whorled ; calyx tube cylindrical, 

 H-12-ribhed; petals 4-0, obovate; stamens as many or 

 twice as njany: capsule 2-celled, with an indefinite 

 number of seeds. 



Lythruras grow about 2-3 ft. high in the wild, but im- 

 prove wonderfully iu cultivation, often attaining 4-5 ft. 

 and flowering freely. Some of them are called willow- 

 herbs or soldiers in England from their strong, erect 

 habit and willow-like leaves. They are of ea.sy culture 

 iu any moist soil, and are usually planted amid shrub- 

 bery, where they hold their own. They ai-e denizens of 

 low grounds, swamps and meadows. They flower in 

 summer and are prop, by division. A nameless species 

 from Japan has been considerably advertised of late, 

 but the specimen in the writer's hands is L. alalum. 



A. Stamens twice as many as the petals. 

 B. Fls. in an inferrnpfed, leafy spike. 

 Salic&,ria, Linn. Spiked or Purple Loosestrife. 

 Fig. 1342. Height 2-3 ft. : lvs. opposite or sometimes in 

 whorls of three, lanceolate, 2-3 in. long: fls. purple; 

 stamens barely if at all exserted. North temp, regions! 

 Australia. B. B. 2 : 473. — Best of the genus. Vars. 

 sup§rbumand roseum, Hort.,have rose-colored fls. Var. 

 r6seum sup§rbum, Hort., may be the same as the pre- 

 ceding varieties. It is large-fld., rose-colored, more 

 robust (4-0 ft.), and somewhat later in blooming. It is 

 an excellent form. It is generally sold as L. roseum 

 superbum (not as a var. of Z/. Salicaria). 



BB. Fls. solitary in (lie upper axils, racemose. 



virgitum, Linn. Lower Ivs. opposite, rounded at the 

 base; calyx not bracted. Eu., N. Asia. 



AA. S(ame7is not more numerous than the petals, 

 alatum, Pursh. Lvs. mostly alternate, obtuse: sta- 

 mens exserted. N. Am. B.B. 2:472. 



F. W. Barclay and W. M. 



