592 LYTHEACEAE (^LOOSESTEIFE FAMILY) 



1. A. cocclnea Rottb. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 5-7 cm. long, with a broad 

 auricled sessile base ; cymes subsessile, dense ; petals purplish ; stamens more 

 or less exserted ; style long and slender. — Muddy banks and wet sandy shores, 

 N. J. to ria. ; and from 0. to Dak. and southw. 



2. A. Koehnei Britton. Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, the lowest con- 

 tracted, the others broadly auricled at the base ; cymes sessile or nearly so ; 

 style very short; petals minute, jjiiik, fugacious. — Swamps, N.J. (according 

 to Britton) to Fla. — Differs from the tropical A. latifolia L. only in having 

 petals. 



3. A. auriculslta Willd. Erect, few-branched ; leaves lanceolate to narrowly 

 oblong, acute ; cymes on slender peduncles (4-6 mm. long) ; fruit small ; style 

 relatively long-. — Borders of ponds, etc., w. Mo. and Neb. to Tex., and southwestw. 



4. D^CODON J. F. Gmel. Swamp Loosestrife 



Calyx with 5-7 erect teeth, and as many longer and spreading horn-like 

 processes at the sinuses. Stamens exserted, of two lengths. Capsule globose, 

 3-5-celled, loculicidal. —Perennial herbs or slightly shrubby plants, with opposite 

 or whorled leaves, and axillary clusters of trimorphous flowers. (Name from 

 S//CO, ten, and iSoiis, tooth.) 



1. D. verticilUtus (L.) Ell. (Water Willow.) Smooth or downy ; stems 

 recurved, 6-25 dm. long, 4-6-sided ; leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile, opposite 

 or whorled, the upper with clustered short-pediceled flowers in their axils ; 

 petals 5, wedge-lanceolate, magenta, 1.2 cm. long ; stamens 10, half of them 

 shorter. — Swampy grounds, Me. to Fla., La., and Minn. — Bark of submersed 

 parts of the stem often spongy-thickened. 



S. LYTHRUM L. Loosestrife 



i 



Calyx cylindrical, striate, 5-7-toothed, with as many little processes in the 

 sinuses. Petals 5-7. Stamens as many as the petals or twice the number, 

 inserted low down on the calyx. Capsule subcylindrical, 2-celled. — Slender 

 herbs, with pink or magenta (rarely white) flowers in summer. (From XiiSpoy, 

 blood; perhaps from the styptic properties.) 



* Stamens and petals 5-7 ; flowers small, solitary and nearly sessile in the axils 



of the mostly scattered upper leaves ; proper calyx-teeth often shorter than 

 the intermediate processes ; plants smooth. 



1. L. Hyssopifblla L. Annual, 1-6 dm. high, pale ; leaves oblong-linear, 

 obtuse, longer than the inconspicuous flowers ; petals pale-purple ; stamens 

 usually 4-6, included. — Marshes and sterile soil, near the coast. Me. to N. J. ; 

 also on the Pacific coast. (Eu. ) 



2. L. lineJLre L. Stem slender and tall (1-1.3 m. high), bushy at top, with 

 2 margined angles; leaves linear, chiefly opposite; petals whitish ; flowers with 

 6 included stamens and a long style, or the stamens exserted and style short ; 

 ovary on a thick short stalk; no fleshy hypogynous ring. — Brackish marshes, 

 N. J. to Fla. and Tex. 



3. L. aUtum Pursh. Tall and wand-like perennial; branches ioith mar- 

 gined, angles ; leaves oblong-ovate to linear-lanceolate, acute, with a cordate or 

 rounded base, the upper mostly alternate ; calyx about 4-6 mm. long ; petals 

 rather large, deep purple; st<tmens of the short-styled flowers exserted; fleshy 

 hypogynous ring prominent. — Swamps and meadows, Ont. to Minn., s. to Ga., 

 La. , and Col. ; also locally in e. Mass. and Ct. 



The allied Mexican L. VclnerXria Ait., with calyx 9-12 mm. long, has been 

 reported from the vicinity of St. Louis, Mo. 



* * Stamens 12 (rarely 8 or 10), twice the number of the petals, 6 longer and 6 



shorter ; flowers large, crowded and whorled in an interrupted spike. 



4. L. SalioXria L. (Spiked L.) More or less downy and tall; leaves 

 lanceolate, heart-shaped at base, sometimes whorled in threes; flowere magenta, 



