236 KEY AND FLORA 
II. VALERIANELLA Hill 
Annual herbs; stem forking regularly. Leaves opposite, entire 
or dentate. Flowers in crowded, terminal, bracted cymes. Calyx 
limb toothed or wanting. Corolla white or purplish, funnelform, 
5-lobed. Stamens 3. Style 5-lobed. Fruit 3-celled, 1-seeded.* 
1. V. Locusta Betcke. Lamp Lerruce. Stem erect, smooth, or 
downy at the nodes, many times forked, 9-12 in. high. Basal leaves 
tufted, spatulate to obovate, entire; the upper lanceolate, dentate, 
sessile. Cymes short-peduncled, bracts linear. Flowers pale blue. 
Fruit compressed, oblique. On rich soil in waste places. Some- 
times cultivated for salad. Introduced from Europe.* 
2. V. radiata Dufr. Corn SaLap. Stem erect, smooth above, 
downy below, 2-4 times forked, 8-12 in. high. Lower leaves spatu- 
late, entire; the upper lanceolate, clasping at the base, dentate. 
Cymes compact; bracts lanceolate. Flowers white. Fruit ovoid, 
downy, furrowed. On damp soil.* 
98. CUCURBITACEH. Gourp FamiILy 
Somewhat succulent, tendril-bearing, prostrate or climbing, 
herbaceous plants. Leaves alternate, with stipules. Flowers 
epigynous, dicecious or moncecious, often sympetalous. Calyx 
limb (if present) 5-lobed. Corolla usually 5-lobed and with its 
tube more or less united with the calyx tube. Stamens perigy- 
nous or borne upon the corolla; the anthers usually joined in 
long, serpentine ridges. Ovary 3-celled; stigmas 2 or 5. Fruit 
generally a pepo (like the melon, squash, and pumpkin), but 
sometimes dry. Seeds commonly large and flat. A large family, 
mostly of tropical plants, many with eatable fruit, but some 
species poisonous. 
I. CUCURBITA L. 
Annual or perennial herbs; stem trailing or climbing, 2-20 
ft. long. Leaves angular-lobed; tendrils branching. Flowers 
moncecious, solitary or in small clusters. Calyx 5-toothed, the 
limb deciduous. Corolla bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Staminate flowers 
with 3 stamens and no pistil; pistillate flowers with 1 pistil and 
3 imperfect stamens. Style short; stigmas 3-5, each 2-lobed. 
Fruit 1-celled, with numerous seeds on the 3 parietal placentee.* 
