242 OCTAXDRIA MONOGYN1A 



ones pubescent-ciliatc at apex ; petioles very short. Peduncles arising from tht 

 axils of small ovate leaves near the base of the vernal growth of the upright 

 branches, 3 fourths of an inch to an inch or more in length, recurved, pubescent, 

 1-flowcrcd, with 2 nearly opposite lanccovate acuminate ciliatc-pubesccnt bract* 

 a short distance below the Dower. Flowers nodding. Calyx-segments short, broad- 

 ovate, acute, ciliatc, purplish. CW/apale purple; lobes reilexed, or revolute. 

 Stamens inserted on the base of the corolla ; filaments dark purple, short, flatted, 

 pubescent on the margin; anthers long, linear, 2-horncd,or bifid to the middle, 

 each division tubular. Style rather longer than the stamens; stigma simple. 

 Jierry subglobose, about half an inch in diameter, crowned with the persistent 

 calyx-segments, smooth, bright red, or crimson, when mature, persistent during 

 part of the winter. 

 Hub. Swamps; Wynn's meadows: not common. Ft. May-June. /V.October. 



Obs. This little shrub, so justly prized for its fine acid fruit, is very rare, ex- 

 cept in the northern parts of the County, -where it is occasionally to be met with 

 in considerable quantities; especially in the vicinity of Wynn's meadows One 

 or two additional species are enumerated in the U. States. 



b. Ovary superior, f Flowers perfect. 



196. RHEXIA. L. JSfatt. Gen. 359. 

 [Greek, Rlicxis, a rupture; being supposed to be remedial in that disorder.] 



Calyx persistent, tubular ; tube ovoid-vcnlricose at base, contracted to 

 a neck above ; limb 4-cleft. Petals 4, obovatc. Jinthcrs decimate, 

 attached to the filaments behind, naked at base. Capsule free in the 

 ventricose base of the calyx, 4-cclled. Seeds numerous, cochleate. 



Herbaceous, or svffruticose : stem mostly quadrangular ; leaves opposite, simple, 

 conspicuously 3-nerved ; flowers mostly in terminal trichotomous corymbose 

 cymes. Nat. Ord. 51. Lindl Mrlastomacejb. 



1. R. virginica, L* Stem with winged angles, somewhat hairy; 

 leaves sessile, oval-lanceolate, ciliate-scrrate ; calyx sparsely hispid. 

 Becky Bot. p. 127. Icon, Bart. Jim. I. tab. 1. 

 Virginian Rhexia. Vulgo — Deer Grass. 



Root perennial. Stem 9 to IS inches high, often trichotomously branched above, 

 4-angled, angles winged, sparingly hispid with membranaceous bristles. Leaves 

 i to 3 inches long, and half an inch to an inch wide, acute, with 3 prominent nerves, 

 sprinkled with bristly hairs on the upper surface, and nerves beneath, closely ses- 

 sile, somewhat connected at base by a bristly ring. Calyx urceolate, somewhat glan- 

 dular-hispid ; segments lanceolate, acuminate. Petals bright purple, large, obovate, 

 hispid externally, caducous. Stamens shorter than the petals, inserted at the ori- 

 fice of the calyx ; filaments subulate, purple; anthers yellow, long, sublinear, recur- 

 ved, somewhat incumbent, or adnate to the filaments nearly to the base, then decli- 

 ned almost horizontally, each with a small setaceous process near where the fila- 

 ment is apparently articulated to the anther. Ovary superior, contained in the 

 ventricose tube of the calyx; style rather longer than the stamens, curved or de- 

 clined / stigma obtuse. Capsule subglobose, inclosed in the ventricose tube of the 

 calyx. Seeds numerous, small, incurved, or cochleate, with an enlarged umbili- 

 cate base, striate-grooved, muricate or scabrous under a lens, of a pale tawny 

 color. 



Halh Swamps, in the Mica-slate range : not common. Fl. August. Fr. Sept. Oct. 

 Obs. Seven or eight additional species arc enumerated in the U. States. 



