M0N0EC1A POLYANDRIA 529 



Ur*e smoothish leaves which are very obtuse or rounded at apex, the flowers 

 dioicous, on ra'her stout pubescent pedicels half an inch to an inch long, and the 

 bracts and perianth pubescent, resembling those of the var. pubescens. It seems 

 to be the S. obtttsa, of Authors ; and yet it may, perhaps, be doubted whether it be 

 anv thing more than another variety of the present species. 



2. S. heterophtlla, Pursh. Leaves smooth, generally elliptic, acute 

 at each end, 6ome of them sagittate, with the lobes linear and divari- 

 cate; scape simple, few-flowered, the pistillate flowers subsessile; bracts 

 oval, obtuse. Bech y Hot. p. 377. 

 Vabiovs-lkaved Sagittaria. 



Ryot perennial, of numerous coarse fibres. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, and an 

 inch to an inch and half wide, generally elliptic and entire, but some of them 

 occasionally sagittate, smooth, on petioles G to 12 or 15 inches long. ScapeO to 12 

 inches high, simple, smooth. Flowers in 2 or 3 verticils of 3, the pistillate ones, 

 or those in the lower verticil, subsessile, the staminate ones on pedicels 1 fourth 

 to half an inch long ; bra-Is small, oval, or elliptic-ovate, smooth. Perianth 

 smooth, the inner segments white, petaloid. 



Hab. Margin of the Schuylkill, at Black rock : rare. Fl. August. Fr. Octo. 



Obs. Collected in the above locality, by D. Townsend, Esq. in 1830. It is rare 

 in this County,— but quite frequent, lower down the Schuylkill, towards the tide. 

 Eight or ten additional species are enumerated in the U. Slates ; but the whole 

 genus is so pjlymorphous, that it is not easy to say how many of them are genu- 

 ine species. 



426. ARUM. i. Nutt* Gen. 762, 

 [An ancient name, of obscure etymology.] 



Spathe cucullate, convolute at base. Spadix naked at summit, stam- 

 inate in the middle, and pistillate at base (often dioicous). Perianth 



0. Berry 1-oelled, many-seeded. 



Herbaceous: often stemless ; leaves pseudocompound, or simple; flowers 

 Baked, on a spadix. Nat. Orel. 256. Lindl. A&oidejE. 



1. A. Dracoxtium, L. Leaf mostly solitary, pedate ; leaflets lance- 

 oblong; spadix subulate, longer than the oblong convolute spathe. 

 Betk,Bot.p. 381. 



Dragox Arum. Vulgo — Green Dragon. Dragon Root, 



Root perennial, tuberous. Stem 0. Leaf 1, radical, pedately dissected,— or the 

 petiole dichotomous at summit, the branches divaricate, each bearing 3 to 5 or 6 

 leaflets, or segments, and always a dichotomalone in the centre or division of tha 

 petiole; leaflets 3 to 6 or 8 inches long, and 1 to 2 or sometimes near 3 inches 

 wide, lance-oblong, acuminate, entire, sessile or subsessile, smooth, and, when 

 dry, very thin and membranaceous-; common petiole 12 to 18 inches long, the lower 

 half embracing the scape, and invested by a loose membranaceous sheath at 

 base. Scape 6 to 12 inches long, rather slender ; spathe 1 to 2 inches long, convo- 

 lute or rolled into a tube, with a short erea acumination ; spadix mostly dioicous, 

 bearing numerous sessile stamens, or pistils, around its base, within the spathe, 

 and with the summit 2 to 4 inches in length, exserted, slender and tapering to an 

 acute point. Berries in an ovoid cluster round the base of the spadix, smooth, 

 reddish-orange when mature. 



Hub. Low grounds ; along Braridywlne, 5cc. frequent. J7. May— June. F/\ Sept. 



45 



