PENTAXDRIA DIGYXIA 165 



Herbaceous : leaves opposite, entire, sessile and subconnate ; flowers axillary, oi 

 termiiul, solitary, or fasciculate. Nat* Ord. 197. Lindl. Gsntiaksjb. 



1. (r. Saponaria, Z. Stem terete; leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute; (low- 

 ers axillary and terminal, fasciculate, terminal cluster verticillatc-capitate; 

 <:alyx-<egments ovate, shorter than the tube; corolla ventrieose, limb 

 somewhat 10-cleit, plicate, connivent, exterior lobes very obtuse. Beck, 

 Rot. p. 239. Icox, Bart. Am. 3. tab, 79. Not? of Mr. 



Soap-tort Gextiaxa. Vulgo — Gentian, Soap-wort Gentian. 



Root perennial. Stem 1 to 2 feet high, simple, erect, smooth. Leaves about 3 

 inches bag, and an inch wide, closely sessile, and subconnate by a sheathing 

 membrane, 3-nerved, very smooth, scabrous on the margin. Flowers large, scs- 

 lilo, principally in a dense terminal verticillate fascicle, with bract-like leaves at 

 base ; U se below axillary, or in few-flowered and often pedunculate fascicles. 

 Calyx deleft; tube about half an inch long; segments lance-ovate, acuminate, mi- 

 nutely tiliate, half the length of the tube. Corolla bright blue, paler or nearly 

 white in the folds, about 2 inches long, swelling above the middle, but contracted 

 or plaited, and nearly closed, at summit ; outer lobes very short, obtuse, inner ones 

 plicate, lacerate-serrate. Stamens much shorter than the corolla; filaments 

 broad, linceolate ; anthers erect, sagittate. Stigmas lance-oblong, diverging, or 

 recurved. Capsule oblong, acuminate, tapering at base, covered w ith the marces- 

 cent cor ilia. Seeds numerous, margined,— or rather imbedded in a flat ovate-lan- 

 ceolate xeticulate-striate spongy arillus-iike envelope. 



Hub. Low grounds; margins of swampy rivulets : frequent. Fl. Sept. Fr. Nov. 

 Obs. A handsome plant. The root, as in all the genus, is bitter and tonic. 



2. G. ocnuoLv.uvA, Frorlich. Stem subangular; leaves lanceolate, ellip- 

 tic, and obovate, acute, or obtuse; flowers mostly in terminal suhses- 

 jitle fascicles; calyx-segments linear-lanceolate, longer than the tube; 

 corolla cam panu late- ventrieose, limb somewhat 10-cleft and plicate, ex- 

 terior lobes ovate, acute. Beck, Bot. p. 239. 

 G. Sapmaria. JM.vl Am. l./>. 17G. Not of Linn. 

 Also ? \\. villosa. WilUL Sp. I, p. 1338, 



OcHnoLEicous, or Yellowish-white Gextiaxa. 



Root perennial. S! em 9 to 12 or 15 inches high, simple, erect, slightly ridged, or 

 angled, ty the decurrence of the leaves ; angles minutely scabrous. Leaves 1 or 2 

 to 4 inches long, and half an inch to an inch and half wide, varying from lanceolate 

 and acutt, to elliptic, obovate, and obtuse, indistinctly 3-nerved, subcoriacccus, 

 smooth. Flowers mostly in a terminal bracteate fascicle, smaller than the prece- 

 ding. Cdyx 5 cleft; tube about half an inch long; segments linear-lanceolate, 

 ab)ut 3 f urths of an inch long. Corolla yellowish white, tinged with pale green, 

 and sometimes purplish blue, about an inch and a half long, subcampanulate ; outi r 

 lobes ovate, acute, entire, inner ones plicate, serrate-dentate. Stamens one third 

 shorter Uan the corolla ; filaments flat, lanceolate ; anthers erect, sagittate. Stig- 

 mas lance-linear, elongated, erect. Capsule lance-oblong, acute, striate, or ru- 

 joscly grooved, when young. Seeds flat, lance-ovate, margined. 



Hab. Fields and woodlands : Londongrove: not common. Fl. Sept. Fr. Norem. 



06$. This species, which is somewhat rare in Chester County, was detected by 

 Dr. Ezra Michener, in 1^23. It has also been found on the Mica-slate hills, 

 North of West Chester, by Mr. Joshua Hoopes, and John Ruttek, Esq. I have 

 received i specimen from the District of Columbia, from my friend Dr. Brereto.v, 

 *f the United States Army, with coriaceous lance-linear leaves, the margins and 



